{"id":713,"date":"2022-01-07T06:36:25","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T06:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/?p=713"},"modified":"2022-01-07T06:36:26","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T06:36:26","slug":"low-tech-carpet-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/low-tech-carpet-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Carpeting Plants For Your Low-Tech Aquarium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many aquascapers love the look of a lushly grown aquarium plant carpet. However, many people struggle to find plants that grow well in low-tech tanks<\/a>. This article dives into five plants that serve as excellent carpeting plants for your low-tech setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dwarf sagittaria<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dwarf sagittaria is a beautifully messy-looking plant that looks great in jungle aquascapes. It is very undemanding and will grow well in a wide range of water parameters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Newly planted dwarf sagittaria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It will carpet your substrate by shooting out runners. We would recommend providing dwarf sagittaria with a nutrient rich substrate to maximize its growth potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant species<\/strong><\/td>Dwarf sagittaria<\/td><\/tr>
pH<\/strong><\/td>6.0-8.2<\/td><\/tr>
Temperature<\/strong><\/td>68-82\u00b0F (20-28\u00b0C)<\/td><\/tr>
Water hardness<\/strong><\/td>50-250ppm (3-14 dGH)<\/td><\/tr>
Fertilization<\/strong><\/td>Root tab fertilization, active substrate, soil\/dirt<\/td><\/tr>
Growth rate<\/strong><\/td>Moderate<\/td><\/tr>
Light requirement<\/strong><\/td>Low light<\/td><\/tr>
CO2<\/sub> requirement<\/strong><\/td>No CO2<\/sub><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Staurogyne repens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Staurogyne repens is one of our favorite low-tech plants in general. It also happens to be an excellent low-tech carpeting plant under the right conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Staurogyne repens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You’ll notice in the photo above that S. repens grows in a bushy-like shape. The key to having an S. repens carpet it to trim the stems are they grow a couple inches and replants them across your substrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This requires a little more manually work than other low-tech carpet plants on this list. But in our opinion, it creates a very pleasant carpeting effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staurogyne repens tends to grow taller in very low-light tanks, as it tries to grow towards the light source. But in moderately lit tanks they will often remain shorter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what’s great is that staurogyne repens are a popular plant species that can be purchased from many plant retailers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant species<\/strong><\/td>Staurogyne repens<\/td><\/tr>
pH<\/strong><\/td>6.0-8.2<\/td><\/tr>
Temperature<\/strong><\/td>68-86\u00b0F (20-30\u00b0C)<\/td><\/tr>
Water hardness<\/strong><\/td>50-250ppm (3-14 dGH)<\/td><\/tr>
Fertilization<\/strong><\/td>Root tabs, nutrient rich substrate helps<\/td><\/tr>
Growth rate<\/strong><\/td>Moderate<\/td><\/tr>
Light requirement<\/strong><\/td>Low light<\/td><\/tr>
CO2<\/sub> requirement<\/strong><\/td>No CO2<\/sub><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Java moss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Java moss is an epiphyte plant that attaches to hardscape and substrate, but does not plant roots. It has a soft appearance with many tiny oval-shaped leaves, making it an excellent carpeting plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Java moss<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We believe java moss is a great carpeting plant because it’s one of the few low-tech options that grows densely. This gives it a more full and lush appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s incredibly easy to maintain and will work in most, if not all, low-tech tanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant species<\/strong><\/td>Java moss<\/td><\/tr>
pH<\/strong><\/td>5.5-8.0<\/td><\/tr>
Temperature<\/strong><\/td>59-82\u00b0F (15-28\u00b0C)<\/td><\/tr>
Water hardness<\/strong><\/td>110-260ppm (6-15 dGH)<\/td><\/tr>
Fertilization<\/strong><\/td>Liquid all-in-one fertilizer<\/td><\/tr>
Growth rate<\/strong><\/td>Moderate<\/td><\/tr>
Light requirement<\/strong><\/td>Low light<\/td><\/tr>
CO2<\/sub> requirement<\/strong><\/td>No CO2<\/sub><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pygmy chain swords<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pygmy chain swords are a beautiful grass-like carpeting plant thatwill thrive in low-tech tanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plant has around 10-15 stems per bunch, grows up to 4-inches tall<\/a>, and propagates will runners across the substrate. This means it requires little to to maintenance or manual propagation to grow successfully<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pygmy chain swords<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It’s recommend to use a nutrient rich substrate for it to grow best. This means either an aqua soil or dirt base layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant species<\/strong><\/td>Pygmy chain swords<\/td><\/tr>
pH<\/strong><\/td>6.5-8.0<\/td><\/tr>
Temperature<\/strong><\/td>72-80\u00b0F (22-27\u00b0C)<\/td><\/tr>
Water hardness<\/strong><\/td>50-250ppm (3-14 dGH)<\/td><\/tr>
Fertilization<\/strong><\/td>Root tabs, nutrient rich substrate recommended<\/td><\/tr>
Growth rate<\/strong><\/td>Moderate<\/td><\/tr>
Light requirement<\/strong><\/td>Moderate light<\/td><\/tr>
CO2<\/sub> requirement<\/strong><\/td>No CO2<\/sub><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Helanthium tenellum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Helanthium tenellum is another grass-looking substrate that will carpet most low-tech tanks. Like dwarf sagittaria, it shoots out runners across your substrate to propagate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Helanthium tenellum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In our experience, helanthium tenellum grows rather slowly and does best in nutrient rich substrates. We did grow it successfully in a low-tech tank with inert Seachem Flourite substrate, but it quickly died off after we missed one root tab fertilization schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A nutrient rich substrate would mitigate this issue and allow you to grow this beautiful plant more successfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant species<\/strong><\/td>Helanthium tenellum<\/td><\/tr>
pH<\/strong><\/td>6.0-8.0<\/td><\/tr>
Temperature<\/strong><\/td>59-82\u00b0F (15-28\u00b0C)<\/td><\/tr>
Water hardness<\/strong><\/td>50-250ppm (3-14 dGH)<\/td><\/tr>
Fertilization<\/strong><\/td>Root tabs, nutrient rich substrate helps<\/td><\/tr>
Growth rate<\/strong><\/td>Slow<\/td><\/tr>
Light requirement<\/strong><\/td>Low light<\/td><\/tr>
CO2<\/sub> requirement<\/strong><\/td>CO2<\/sub> helpful but not required<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to maximize the growth of low-tech carpet plants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A shallow tank will increase light intensity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A shallow tank reduces the distance that light waves have to travel before reaching your carpeting plants. This means that your carpeting plants can receive more photosynthetically active radiation without actually increasing your light intensity for your entire tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This extra light may help some low-tech carpeting plants grow a little more effectively if they don’t get enough light in normal tank setups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many carpet plants benefit from nutrient rich substrate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

All aquatic pants take in their macro and micronutrients from both their roots and the water columns. But many carpeting plants take in a greater percentage of their nutrients from their roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, a nutrient rich substrate is often beneficial for growing low-tech carpeting plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve have particular success with 1-inch of garden soil caped with 2-inches of sand. But an aqua soil such as ADA Amazonia or Fluval Stratum are excellent choices as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenges of growing carpeting plants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Carpeting plants experience the same challenges as other low-tech plants. First of all, a low-tech environment typically has low concentrations of CO2<\/sub>, which is a crucial nutrient for photosynthesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of CO2<\/sub> in low-tech tanks<\/a> is a limiting growth factor for all aquatic plants in your aquarium, not just carpeting plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another disadvantage for carpeting plants is low light<\/a>. Seeing as how most carpeting plants remain are the substrate level and do not grow taller than a few inches, they receive less PAR from your light source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s also possible that your overgrown background plants are casting shade on your carpet, worsening this problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best solution is to make sure nothing is blocking substantial light to your carpeting plants. Also, consider a shallow tank, like we mentioned above.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many aquascapers love the look of a lushly grown aquarium plant carpet. However, many people struggle to find plants that grow well in low-tech tanks. This article dives into five plants that serve as excellent carpeting plants for your low-tech setup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Feature-images-55.jpg",1170,675,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Feature-images-55-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Feature-images-55-300x173.jpg",300,173,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Feature-images-55-768x443.jpg",768,443,true],"large":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Feature-images-55-1024x591.jpg",1024,591,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Feature-images-55.jpg",1170,675,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Feature-images-55.jpg",1170,675,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ryan Ferguson","author_link":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/author\/ryan\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Many aquascapers love the look of a lushly grown aquarium plant carpet. However, many people struggle to find plants that grow well in low-tech tanks. This article dives into five plants that serve as excellent carpeting plants for your low-tech setup.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":723,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713\/revisions\/723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}