# Small bushy plants for a low tech tank?



## lifeofbrian (Mar 28, 2011)

I would like some small fore/mid ground plants that would grow in a tank with only 2.8WPG on for 8 hours per day, I use Profito fertilizer twice a week and Easycarbo liquid carbon every day.
Plants that grow no more than 6 inches or even smaller would be great, but it seems all the plants I look at require high light. I don't mind them staying small as long as they stay healthy.

120ltr tank(32 U.S. GAL)

Sand floor on top of TetraPlant Complete Substrate 4 years ago.

Lights:
1.ZOO MED Flora Sun T8 5000k
17W
610mm

2.Sun Glow 20w T8
T8 Bulb
20 W
1,300 Lumen
4,200 K


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Your lights are too low a kelvin, you need to get into the 6000k range, 6500k being the 'sweet spot' but many say 6200-6700k works great. Your lights won't grow any plant.

As for plants desnse clusters of anubias nana petite or micro work well (don't buy as a 5-10 leaf rhizome, get the dense ones (25-35+)) the leaves stay short an the plant only gets 'tall' if you let the rhizome grow upward, but cutting it into new plants (always give at least 1"-1.5" of rhizome for each cutting when splitting plants to avoid slowing down growth) or angling the new growth down instead of up will keep it low. But then I might be reading "bushy" wrong as just thick growth clusters.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

AquaAurora said:


> Your lights are too low a kelvin, you need to get into the 6000k range, 6500k being the 'sweet spot' but many say 6200-6700k works great. Your lights won't grow any plant.


This isn't the lighting forum, but I call that *highly* questionable......

The flora sun is a plant-growth optimized blue/red bulb.. Lots of emission in the chlorophyll-a bands. Kelvin numbers are damn near useless on non-white spectrum plant-centric bulbs. You can certainly grow plants under this bulb.


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## aquarist (Aug 29, 2012)

With all bulbs aside, to address the question of this thread, I would suggest blyxa japonica, it grows well in low light situations and can be very bushy and still maintain a pleasant form. 

Here are some images I snagged off google:



















On another note, I agree with Matt what was said previously about your light spectrum is just here-say. I personally use 5,000k bulbs in my 75 display tank and have had great results.


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## haril (Feb 17, 2015)

Pygmy chain sword, Dwarf sagittaria, cryptocoryne undulata are very easy low to mid ground plants. You could also try a hand at Pogostemon helferi. Oh BTW I wouldn't consider 2.8 Watts per gallon low light.


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## schnebbles (Jan 10, 2015)

I like this little plant. Someone identified it for me but I didn't write it down. 








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## rhiro (Sep 21, 2012)

Try Myriophyllum Guyana. It is growing well in my 10 gal with 2 13w CFL bulbs horizontally positioned. Does not grow tall and forms a nice bush appearance.


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

5000k grows plants very well. Anyway, many stem plants can be trimmed to stay low and bushy. Some easy ones are Hygrophila polysperma, Hygrophila corymbosa, Hygrophila difformis. You can also use species of Cryptocoryne - C. Wendtii, C. "petchi", C. Becketii. Also mosses - attach some to a rock or, piece of driftwood and trim until it looks nice to you!


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## Wilderman204 (Mar 5, 2015)

schnebbles said:


> I like this little plant. Someone identified it for me but I didn't write it down.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That looks like a rossette sword, sry idk the scientific name

Found it - echinodorus parviflorus, if you have a good source of iron in your substrate the new leaves will come out with a rusty red hue, turning green as the get bigger

Also look for Hygrophila corymbosa "compacta"- just like H.corymbosa, but stays very short and bushy. It displays rusty reds, and lime green Colors, and will turn deep red when grown emersed. It also prefers a nutrient rich substrate.


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## schnebbles (Jan 10, 2015)

Thanks Wilderman - I wrote it down this time.

It's a really cute plant that should keep that shape.


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## Wilderman204 (Mar 5, 2015)

schnebbles said:


> Thanks Wilderman - I wrote it down this time.
> 
> It's a really cute plant that should keep that shape.


NP. I have one in my 20gal in dirt with sand cap, under "25wfluval Aqualife & plant led" and it's growth pattern is just like in that picture, but mines not quite that big yet.it was tiny when I got it, But now that it has rooted well, its shooting out about 3 new leaves a week, so it shouldn't be long.:hihi:

Haha don't mind that root in the pic, guess it stayed above substrate when I planted it...it wasn't that long yesterday lol... Time to snip:icon_smil

Oh and u can't see in the pic but the newest leaves growing out are very rusty color, there is alot of iron in my dirt(laterite +Texas and Jersey greensand)


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## BeardedCrow81 (Mar 6, 2015)

I got some anubias micro last week and they are very cool looking.
I'm using them to balance out my taller plants.
I do see new leaves after a week.


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