Best Ground Cover for a High Light / CO2 Injected Aquarium

[Totenkampf]

For some reason I have never had much success with ground cover plants except for one time and that was with glosso under a MH equipped tank. I am looking for a short ground cover that will accent my dark leafed plants and spread quickly (horizantally of course!) . The tank will be slightly acidic, CO2 injected, and have 2-6 x 54W T5HO bulbs available for lighting. the variable number of bulbs is because i will be simulating dawn/dusk as well as a midday sun with my light programmer. substrate is eco complete and filter sand with flourite tabs in soil as well as liquid fert dosing via the PPS-Pro method. i am not interested in riccia and havent had the best results with glosso or lileaopsis but might try the latter again if its suggested. i have had moderate success with chain swords but they never filled in very thickly and got a little taller than i may like. i may have received e.quadricostatus rather than the e.tennelus that i ordered in that case though. I have been looking at dwarf baby tears and dwarf blyxa as possible candidates for my lawn...any suggestions or comments?

[eklikewhoa]

HC, the way to get a nice lawn is to keep replanting

[Totenkampf]

so allow mounds to form, divide the plant, and replant just like you would do for your lawn?

[eklikewhoa]

Yep! Get a nice set pincettes and you'll be set!

[kwc1974]

marcelea minuta is my choice. It creates a nice carpet that resembles Glosso but darker green

HC is nice as well, little more maintenance than I like though

[eklikewhoa]

Marsilea minuta never spread well for me... idunno what I was doing wrong but it was always patchy.

[kwc1974]

I had the same problem at first till I read up on it a little. MM is a huge potassium sponge of a plant. So I dosed that higher. Also, after it takes off cut the runners. After I started doing this my carpets took off and produced like crazy. And its easy to thin out, just grab a runner and pull. The plant is strong enough that the runners usually will not break thus pulling out full lines of the plant.

One big tip, NO MOSS. java moss bits would always settle into the MM and would grow around the base and would choke out the MM. Moss has killed more than one carpet of minuta for me.

[Totenkampf]

so you dont have to cut the m.minuta like you do HC? do you haev to plant it stem by tedious stem as you do glosso? lol

[eklikewhoa]

minuta reminds me of the way ferns spread with the rhizomes. A lot easier to deal with than HC.

[kwc1974]

you can plant it like glosso. and it is probably best too. But no, you do not trim it like HC nor glosso.

[Totenkampf]

hmm, i will keep an eye out for them both but the dwarf clover doesnt seem to be as easy to find. i think i may need to get some of the algae under control. i have this green hair algae type stuff around some of the bases of plants and it occasionally gets think. i think it was one of those morimoto balls or w/e they are called that has actually flattened out after about 10 years. nothing would eat it but true SAE and i lost those in the last hurricane and now cant find more

[kwc1974]

No it is not, and there is more than on miss-identified strain out there that is not as dwarf as others so you have to be careful. I been burned by a person that sold some to be that the leaves where three time the size that it should have been.

I have been wanting to get some more so if you do find it let me know.

[digitallinh]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/swap-n-shop/162436-wts-limited-portions-marsilea-minuta.html

Posted yesterday I think.

[Totenkampf]

[QUOTE=kwc1974;557489]No it is notQUOTE]

no it is not what? a morimo ball? a never had any green algae in this tank until i got those for free from azgardens about ten years ago. no it has rooted to my driftwood and while it looks nice it seems to mat the substrtate too.

is there any issue to HC or MM being grown emersed and then being submerged? Will it need to grow new leaves like echinodorus?

[kwc1974]

I have not tried it with MM. although I think that yes it would have a transitional phase. With HC I have done this with success since HC when floated on the surface will mostly float just below the surface thus being mostly submerged.