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low-light planted tank advice?


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I'm planning a nano tank (6.5 gallons) with nanofish and snails. I want it to be low to mid light (with a black background and dark substrate, nice and dramatic) and I'm also a big fan of absolutely jam-packing tanks with plants so they help manage fish waste. However, most low-light plants I can find are rhizome plants, and I'm worried I need more root-feeders to help with the waste that settles in the substrate. The complete plant list I'm planning on including is: 3-4 dwarf lillies, 2 anubias barteri, 2-3 anubias gold coin, 2-3 crypt tropica, and a whole bunch of crypt parva. Is this line-up ok or do I need to find more low-light root feeders?

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I think that you should be fine. The dwarf lillies might choke out everything else though. The dwarf lillies will seem to be big in you nano tank, especially 3-4 of them. I would try to do maybe 1 or 2 at most. The dwarf lillies will take care of most of the debris and waste along with the crypts. 

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I agree with @Yannithat 3-4 dwarf lilies would be choking overkill for a 6.5 gallon tank. I would stick with one and continually trim it unless you want it for the floating leaves, and even then in an open tank of that size I would probably be more inclined to go with water lettuce and/or Amazon frogbit but that is just my preference, dwarf lilies, especially the red, can have some amazing patterns and coloration on the right lighting and fertilization schedule. The rest of your plants seem spot on, do keep in mind though that crypt parva is an ultra slow grower, so whatever you want to see as the end result should pretty much be what you plant. Any of the Anubias grow like a weed in comparison to Cryptocoryne parva. Cryptocoryne willisii would be another option but their rate of growth is pretty much similar to crypt parva in my experience.

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3 hours ago, Yanni said:

I think that you should be fine. The dwarf lillies might choke out everything else though. The dwarf lillies will seem to be big in you nano tank, especially 3-4 of them. I would try to do maybe 1 or 2 at most. The dwarf lillies will take care of most of the debris and waste along with the crypts. 

 

2 hours ago, Jungle Fan said:

I agree with @Yannithat 3-4 dwarf lilies would be choking overkill for a 6.5 gallon tank. I would stick with one and continually trim it unless you want it for the floating leaves, and even then in an open tank of that size I would probably be more inclined to go with water lettuce and/or Amazon frogbit but that is just my preference, dwarf lilies, especially the red, can have some amazing patterns and coloration on the right lighting and fertilization schedule. The rest of your plants seem spot on, do keep in mind though that crypt parva is an ultra slow grower, so whatever you want to see as the end result should pretty much be what you plant. Any of the Anubias grow like a weed in comparison to Cryptocoryne parva. Cryptocoryne willisii would be another option but their rate of growth is pretty much similar to crypt parva in my experience.

Thanks so much for the feedback! Follow-up question about the lilies: the reason I had originally planned so many was because the tank is a bookshelf tank (around 2 ft long, 8 in deep and tall) and I'm envisioning it as a tank with very little open swimming space, like only a 2 inch border around the front and sides (which is where the crypt parva will go). The plan was to have the lilies evenly spaced along the back of the tank with the anubias and crypt tropicas interspersed among them, forming a basically solid block of foliage occupying the majority of the tank. Given these tank dimensions and this plan, would you guys still suggest fewer lilies? or maybe switching one or two of them out for something else? Thanks again!

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30 minutes ago, LoachTruther said:

the tank is a bookshelf tank (around 2 ft long, 8 in deep and tall) and I'm envisioning it as a tank with very little open swimming space, like only a 2 inch border around the front and sides (which is where the crypt parva will go). The plan was to have the lilies evenly spaced along the back of the tank with the anubias and crypt tropicas interspersed among them, forming a basically solid block of foliage occupying the majority of the tank. Given these tank dimensions and this plan, would you guys still suggest fewer lilies? or maybe switching one or two of them out for something else?

Interesting! In that case, I think 2 could probably work, one at either end. If you do 3, maybe keep the middle one trimmed down to a bushy shape.

I think the tank's going to be stunning! And another good thing about plants, especially floaters and epiphytes, is that if you change your mind, you can always move them or put them in a different tank. And if one doesn't do well in your water or light, well, it's not as bad as an animal getting sick or dying.

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I would still stick with my earlier statement especially in a tank that's supposed to only be 8" deep and 8" tall with two inches of open foreground. Dwarf lilies are typically a mid-ground plant and you might find them too big soon. As a matter of fact for those dimensions I don't think I would include any dwarf lilies at all. If you want them for the red color something like Rotala macrandra 'mini' might work. I would also definitely include either some Amazon frogbit, or water lettuce, or both.

You could also add some Bucephalandras as they like to be attached to rocks, or wood and you could include some Hygrophila pinnatifida which can grow from below the surface to above and then produce emersed leaves but that is providing you have enough space above in your shelf. Cryptocoryne lucens would be another candidate for your tank as the leaves get only about 3 inches.

 

Edited by Jungle Fan
Another thought.
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6 hours ago, Streetwise said:

Is this a rimmed tank or a rimless tank? If rimless, you could run a Fluval Plant Nano in the tall configuration, and have an easier time balancing the light with your depth.

Thanks for the suggestion! It is a rimless tank, but I actually wasn't thinking of doing a planted tank light at all, they're all too bright and too cold in color for what I had in mind. I'm open to suggestions, but I was thinking of finding a desk lamp I like, since they're the only ones I've found in the appropriate temperature. I have one on my axolotl tank right now and the java ferns and anubias I have in there are quite happy, so I think it will work out ok as far as the plant's light requirements

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5 hours ago, Jungle Fan said:

You could also give Staurogyne repens a try and see how well it does after using a pot of it as a test balloon, what type of lighting are you planning to use? S. repens is a carpet plant and not too finicky in its light requirements as it grows in between my Cryptocoryne wendtii in my tank.

I'm planning on using a desk lamp, actually. Sounds like a bad idea, I know, but I have one on my axolotl tank right now and my java ferns and anubias are doing well there, and desk lamps are the only lights I've found in the color temperature I want, aquarium lights are all too cool tone for what I'm thinking. I'll give the staurogyne repens a shot, thank you!

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