plants that would grow on the back wall?

MdngtRain

Large Fish
Jan 9, 2011
288
0
0
New England
#1
are there any plants that would grow on the back wall of a nano reef tank? I'm using the tank for f/w, and can't get the picture of a nice, lush, green back wall out of my head. Are there any plants that would accomplish this (even i I have to put something on the wall to make it happen)?

I'm not sure of the filtration capacity of the tank, but it's a 9g nano tank (total of ~12g with the amount of water in the refugium space). So far, I will have a betta in it (going to ask for stocking suggestions in another post). No ferts. No additional co2 other than what's created by the bio-load that will be in the tank... I'm just not up for maintaining all that, and have had really good luck in the past without having to do any of that.

Tank specs as follows (only using algea where 'fuge is supposed to be): (c/p from a site that used to sell/maybe still sells the tank. changed the pump specs to match what I purchased today)
  • Integral Biological Refugium with 5w 6500K PC Bulb
  • Advanced lift out 4 chamber wet/dry mechanical filtration system (for easy maintentance).
  • Hi Flow 90 gph recirulation pump
  • 5 watts per gallon for superior reef lighting (2x24 watt Power Compact)
  • (1) 24w Power Compact Bulb10K
  • (1) 24w Power Compact Bulb Actinic Blue
  • Moisture proof sealed light lens cover
  • 3 LED Moonlights (Attached to main power supply), for superior evening hour viewing.
  • Radiused Glass for better viewing.
  • 9 gallons of viewing area plus incredible filtration!

sand substrate...

Thanks!
Chrissy
 

Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#2
the way you could do this is get a LOT of driftwood and try to make a backdrop with it. be creative, use thing branchy pieces to make a 3-D driftwood effect. it can be flat-looking because you then can tie moss to it like java or chrismas moss and it should grow into a green background for you. but you must have decent enough lighting for this to happen. what kind of light bulb does the tank fixture use? CFL? halogen? tubes?
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#4
You can also use plastic grid sheets (found at craft stores). If you get them in dark green, you won't see them once the plants take over. Get some moss and 'sandwich' it between two squares (tying them together with fishing line), and the moss will grow through each grid and give you a wall of moss. When you do water changes, pull the wall out and 'swish' it in the old water to make sure no debris builds up in it.
 

FreshyFresh

Superstar Fish
Jan 11, 2013
1,337
23
38
East Aurora, NY
#5
Chrissy, that's a ton of light wattage for such a small tank, plus the K-ratings are high. I know K-ratings aren't everything, but 6500K is supposedly ideal for FW plants. To me this is a very high light setup, which would require CO2 injection to keep a proper lighting/carbon source balace and keep algae at bay.
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#6
Chrissy, that's a ton of light wattage for such a small tank, plus the K-ratings are high. I know K-ratings aren't everything, but 6500K is supposedly ideal for FW plants. To me this is a very high light setup, which would require CO2 injection to keep a proper lighting/carbon source balace and keep algae at bay.
Agreed! Run only one bulb, and a carbon source (Excel 2x a week would work great) and it should be ok.

Reef setups have more light (per gallon) than freshwater needs.
 

MdngtRain

Large Fish
Jan 9, 2011
288
0
0
New England
#10
ty all. I don't think I have a choice about which bulb I run. They both seem to work off the same switch. I can either run the bulbs or the blue LED. Would the LED be enough by itself? (I was trying to upload a pic of the lights from my phone, but photobucket is not registering the upload at the moment). Would a layer of floating plants help with the light-intensity situation? or would they just get burnt?
I like the driftwood idea, and I also like the plastic craft sheet idea... hmm.
I think at the moment this will be an experimental tank with just plants, as I am not sure how well the back "filter" area is working. I see movement off water in 3 out of the 5 "sections", but only in one of the "important" sections. For the moment, I will be working on building up the algea in the back as to bolster the filtering. I don't feel as bad killing plants as I do fish (it still sucks, but it's not as guilt-enducing).
I think because I have the driftwood handy, I will try that first and see what I can come up with. If all else fails with that part, it will just be a decoration in the tank and a place for the moss to grow.
 

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MdngtRain

Large Fish
Jan 9, 2011
288
0
0
New England
#11
finally got photobucket to cooperate.
This is what the fixture looks like:


This is what it looks like with just the blue LED's:


This is the intensity with the 2 bulbs:
 

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Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#12
blue doesnt do too well for a planted tank. yes plants love blue light but alone its not enough. daylight bulbs are ideal.

for the back wall, i'd cover it in many spindly branches of wood (making a very thin sheet) to cover the unsightly coralline algae remains. you can then put moss over the DW or simply wedge the moss between the cracks. I mean really pack that back wall full of branches, vertically.

see if that works. otherwise i think the current pieces of driftwood is interesting but slightly too big for the tank.
darker rocks look best with white sand and algae can make them look more natural:
http://www.aquahobby.com/tanks/img12/04_Tanganyika_Tank_3.jpg
 

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MdngtRain

Large Fish
Jan 9, 2011
288
0
0
New England
#13
thanks. I thought the wood was a bit big, but it's the smallest piece I have at the moment. I do have a very branchy piece of manzanita though that may use to cover the back wall. As for the sand, I had wanted black, but the wife vetoed it (gotta go with compromises once in a while to make things work). I'm also expecting a bunch of colorful and cartoony decor in there. I personally wanted a darker and more natural look, but again, gotta compromise somewhere. She did comment that the tank looks like winter, and since we re in FL at the moment and she misses home, I guess it works. (also, single-colored sand is a huge step above the brightly colored gravel we used to have)
I tried to get some of the algea remains off the back wall, but that stuff is stubborn. I'm hoping the moss BG and some heavy planting will take away some of the "stuck paper" look.
Would a layer of floating plants help with the light intensity situation, or would they just get burned?
 

Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#14
floating plants can help, they may get burned a little but give it a shot. frogbit or water lettuce are good.
i see so this tank is at whim of your wife haha. well in that case do what you can. does she want to go with the winter theme? (if she does you can make pine trees from moss and still have it look natural. I'll explain if that's what you guys go with).

the coralline on the back wall is mostly calcium so use vinegar or some other acid to treat it, let it sit, then scrub it off. maybe razor blade will work, but be careful not to scratch the glass or wall.

another option to cover the back wall is to grow a sheet of tall plants as a backdrop. it doesnt have to be a moss wall.

about the branchy driftwood, you will need much more than just one branch. i was thinking more like 50 small ones that you can intertwine to make a shin sheet of branches as a backdrop. you can use most wood you'd find outside but you have to treat the branches - disinfect them, and then make them sink.

the easiest approach is to forget the moss wall and grow tall plants like giant hair grass, vals, or stem plants all along the back wall to block it. however leave enough space near the drainage holes on the wall so that the plants don't clog that up.
 

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MdngtRain

Large Fish
Jan 9, 2011
288
0
0
New England
#15
ooh, how do you do the pine trees out of moss? that sounds cool. I was just going to go with high-light plants, but a few "pine trees" would be neat too.

The manzanita I have is a large (3' long) branch with several smaller branches (think ficus tree, only a tad thicker). I was thinking of cutting it up to make the driftwood wall, but I have to work up to that. It's been a prized branch in my reptile supplies for years. I keep telling myself it's one way to finally make use of it, but having to cut it up kinda hurts, lol. I may just go with some branches from the live oak out back. They are pretty easy to process, but would I need to worry about any sap or anything leaching into the water?

I think I am going to leave the algea skeletons as is, since it is only the back wall. I would rather put my energy into making that moss wall (and perhaps making it look like a birch or evergreen forest somehow).

I will ef. try the floating plants. I like the way they look.
 

Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#16
the trees you can make by using a cone-shaped object (rock?) and wrapping moss around it. fissidens moss or flame moss will work if you trim it a certain way:
Making a Mountain

dont cut your prized reptil branch, just find some branches outside. make sure oak is aquarium safe, do a search on what types of wood is safe. then get a bunch of it and disinfect it.

however before you go crazy with a moss wall, remember that you can grow tall plants to cover up the back wall.

also i think it would be best to drain the tank and use vinegar to clean the coralline. don't get lazy haha! it would look much better if you removed it all.
 

FreshyFresh

Superstar Fish
Jan 11, 2013
1,337
23
38
East Aurora, NY
#17
That's a cool looking acrylic tank! It looks as if that LED hood was intended for a marine setup, but you need to know PAR, K ratings and such to know for sure if it's intended for freshwater plants.

I'd try some basic plants like waster sprite or wisteria first. Wisteria is maintaining itself and growing slowly floating in my 20L, that has a cheap TopFin LED hood on it that came with a 29g kit. A few inches further away from the LEDs, nothing seems to grow.
 

MdngtRain

Large Fish
Jan 9, 2011
288
0
0
New England
#18
Thanks for the links Newman. I will try the moss on cone-shaped stuff, it looks really neat!. I am also going to look into the "water-safe" branches that I may be able to use... Also, laziness won out.
Freshy, yeah, the lights are intended for marine use, but I'm hoping they won't over-power my freshwater plants. The 2 bulbs are 10k each, and there is no way to use only one of them.

I went and picked up some plants today (java fern and this other bottle-brush looking thing), but neither of the places had moss. There's another store I will check tomorrow to see if they have any. I transplanted the red mangrove pod from the betta tank to this one (it's front & center because that's where the little door is on the lid, so it can just grow out through that. Once it gets too big, it will be moved either to the canal in teh back, or I will attempt to make it a bonsai), I also moved his decor over... I'm thinking of making a "river" of his blue gravel meandering through the bottom, but I am not sure how well it will stay together. Put the betta over because he missed his decor, and now he is busy harassing the ghost shrimp. He is definitely making use of the entire tank.

Here's a pic of things wihtout the "river", I'm still hedging on that one...
 

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Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#20
do not put the java fern in the sand, it is meant to be attached to rock or driftwood. the green rhizome has to be in the light. it is the horizontal stem part of the java fern out of which the leaves grow.