Hornwart Absorbing all the Ferts?

[Riso-chan]

I was just wondering if hornwart, since it is a faster grower than the other plants I have, is using all the liquid ferts I dose before the other plants can use them. I'm thinking of removing it and seeing if the other plants start to flourish on their own. What do you guys think? Would this be dangerous to my fish because hornwart is an oxygenater and good bio-filter?

 

[Aries]

It depends on your water parameters and how much ferts you are adding.

It "could" if you dose very minimally and not very often. But with this scenario, the hornwort would suffer as well once it used up all the nutrients in the tank. While hornwort may be a fast grower, when you dose, it doesnt growl at the other plants and keep the ferts to itself :Angel: . However, IME, no, it does not use up all the nutrients. I have a few fast growers in my tank (anacharis, hornwort and something else - I forget). They do quite well. But, by tank is high light high tech and dose 3 times a week nutrients. The hornwort does grow somewhat quickly but it doesnt stay put (since it is not rooted). :rant2: But that is the whole point of hornwort - yes?

Good Luck

Aries

 

[Riso-chan]

I guess I'm a stickler for wanting a nice ground covered aquascape, the horwart kind of offsets that. Never does stay put even if you plant the stuff!
What would be a good fast grower that will stay planted and add more ground cover? I keep thinking of watersprite as an alternative, but I am open to other suggestions.


I've also gotten bad about consistantly dosing my tank lately though. My goal is to dose this way:

All ferts are Seachem

Excel= Every other day.
Flourish= 1-2 times weekly
Potassium= 2-3 times weekly

 

[tricksterpup]

Why not try some dwarf hair grass or some micro swords for a ground cover? These plants do well with plenty of light.

 

[phanmc]

It depends on your plantmass and whether or not the plants have been established (rooting) yet. If this is a new setup, don't remove the hornwort until your main plants have rooted and are growing.

Looking at your setup, the problem with growing a nice foreground will most likely be lack of sufficient lights. The dwarf hairgrass and pygmy chain sword (e. tenellus) might work. Marsilea (quadrifolia/minuta) is a better option if you can find it.

edit: didn't read your sig

 

[reiverix]

Dwarf sag makes a nice ground cover and is very easy to grow. It's a little larger than the above mentioned plants though.

 

[Aries]

I have had troubles with Dwarf sag, dwarf hairgrass, and some japanese grass plant. I have Marsilea quadrifolia (clover like) that is finally doing very well. It is sending out shoots out moderately. But ime, it is a high light like plant - dont know if that is true or not.

80W over a 55G yields ~1.5 or so wpg - suffecient for lower range plants. I really dont see ground cover doing too well with this low of light - but I have been wrong before - many times. For ground cover, you will need more light IMO because the light disappates quickly before it hits the level of the ground cover. Aquariumplants.com has Marsilea (quadrifolia/minuta) but is a "seasonal" plant from what I understand.

Hornwort does not grow roots persay - it grows little attachers from what I read. But I have yet to see them in mine. Watersprite can grow like wildfire - even in lower light so it may be the option for you. But I really dont think it is much of a ground cover - it can grow upwards.

Ferts - it looks like you got the top three. You will need traces as well. For your amount of light - dose very lightly because there is not much light and over dosing can cause problems. Remember, balance is the name of the game.

Also note - Excel is harmful to Anacharis and some vals (IME). It kills them. I had vals in my 5.5G with Excel. They never once did well (there was plenty of light and ferts). But when I added pressurized co2, they took off. Just for reference.

Good Luck

Aries

 

[Riso-chan]

I only dose the recommended amounts on each bottle, nothing over. I'll have to check out the watersprite, it could still add to ground cover if it's planted in different areas I suppose, and I've always liked the look of it. My tank is low light, but there are a good array of choices despite that. Thanx.