# Stem plants without CO2



## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

Maybe try other substrate?

I'm just curious tho, 
What about your light? 
Filters?
Livestock? 

Some plants just don't do very good, like red cabomba.


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## FriendsNotFood (Sep 21, 2010)

The 2.5 gallon tank with ludwigia and hydrocotyle has a 10W ZooMed directly light over it, which I think is about medium-low light? I tried using the PAR meter even though it was really hard to get in there through the opening in the hood, but the PAR was in the teens at the substrate. 

My 36 gallon has a boat load of light (2x24w t5HO), no algae issues. The moss and java fern loves it but all my hygros just sit there looking droopy and CO2 deprived


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

How about your gas exchange with the atmosphere? 
Is there any surface agitation? (no splashing)


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## FriendsNotFood (Sep 21, 2010)

The 2.5 has a tiny HOB that pours straight down, so it has barely any surface agitation. 

The 36 gallon has an Eheim with a spraybar but very little flow at the moment, it's pretty clogged up. I'm adding a second canister soon.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

You have two extremes of lighting. The 2.5 gallon seems to barely have enough light to grow low light plants, while the 36 gallon has too much light to do without CO2. What specific light fixture does the 36 gallon tank have? There are some that are cheap and underpowered, which would be good for non-CO2.


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

FriendsNotFood said:


> The 2.5 has a tiny HOB that pours straight down, so it has barely any surface agitation.
> 
> The 36 gallon has an Eheim with a spraybar but very little flow at the moment, it's pretty clogged up. I'm adding a second canister soon.


 I would address the surface agitation and water flow. Know your light capability/needs too.


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## nosebleed (Apr 2, 2012)

Exactly what one of the member said. If you have way too much light you need to have Co2. ex: if a body builder works out and does eat enough calories to maintain is muscles he will loose his mass. Everything has to be balance. Also I've read somewhere if you overfeed your tank with fertilizer it isn't always good. If this is incorrect someone on here will tell me that I'm wrong.

As for the 2.6g is it a 6500k and up?
Do you have any algae break on either tank?


I have a 5g tank and I keep HC and its doing okay. It's not growing crazy like medium or high light but growing enough where it isn't dying off. My light is probably 5 inches over the water with a 10w 6700k. I use no Co2 and the my hang on filter is giving it some decent agitation.


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

nosebleed said:


> Exactly what one of the member said. If you have way too much light you need to have Co2. ex: if a body builder works out and does eat enough calories to maintain is muscles he will loose his mass. Everything has to be balance. Also I've read somewhere if you overfeed your tank with fertilizer it isn't always good. If this is incorrect someone on here will tell me that I'm wrong.
> 
> As for the 2.6g is it a 6500k and up?
> Do you have any algae break on either tank?
> ...


Do you mean this?:


pejerrey said:


> Light is like hunger, co2 is like exercise, nutrients are food, algae is like fat, plants are like muscles.
> 
> Too hungry, eat a lot, not enough exercise, I get fat.
> 
> ...


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## FriendsNotFood (Sep 21, 2010)

This is the bulb over the 2.5 gallon:
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-UltraSun-Daylight-Fluorescent/dp/B003QZF7JA

And this is what's on top of my 36 gallon:
http://www.aquaticlife.com/products/286
There's a thin layer of window screen under the light, I messed around with a PAR meter for a while and that seemed to give me just enough light at the bottom of the tank. It's a corner tank so most of the sides get no light at all at the substrate.

The 2.5 gallon has some green algae on the glass and brown algae on a lot of the plants ): I think that's from the daily water changes? Or not enough light?

The 36 gallon has a sprinkling of green algae on some of the java fern leaves where the light is most intense but that's about it. Algae isn't really a concern in this tank.


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