# Hornwort losing needles



## jeano (Jul 1, 2013)

Added hornwort to my 2 gallon and 10 gallon tank a few days ago. I think it was losing needles massively in the 2 gallon because the temp is at 84 for my baby. Took the hornwort out today on that one.

Did a 50 percent wc on my 10 gallon today and noticed those were losing needles too. That tank is at 80. I know they are a lower temp plant but can be acclimated to higher temps. Is this just normal acclimation. It was in a tank at my LFS when I bought it. Any ideas?

Also, need some help with lighting. What does the standard 10g need for low to medium light plants. I do have a hood on this with LED. Can I buy a desk top lamp and use a CFL? At what wattage and kelvin would I need? What about my 2 gallon planted?

Sorry so many questions, but really want to do this right.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah Hornwort is going to shed it's needles no matter what in higher temperatures. I'm not sure if it's just acclimating to your water chemistry which would probably be most logical or if it's due to just higher temps. I've never let it get that far so I don't personally know about that, I just know it sheds like crazy.

As for lighting, yeah LED's generally don't have a good enough PAR rating to grow plants except for if you got a Finnex Fugray, those are decent but they're also costly! Much more effecient to just get a CFL. You can do a desk top lamp or you can get one of those clamp on lights from Home Depot/WalMart : http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerci...-Clamp-Light-CE-300PDQ/100354511#.Ue1Lh9I3szZ and here's the smaller one: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerci...escent-Clamp-Light-CE-200PDQ/100354513#header

As for wattage, wattage is only how much electricity is being used, so that cannot define the strength of the bulb which is needed for low/med/high light. That's where PAR rating comes in (parabolic aluminized reactor rating) it's kind of lengthy to get into but basically it boils down to how good your light bulb is (fluorescent is greater than incandescent), how good of a reflector you have behind your light to reflect it into the water and then how deep your tank is. For 10 gallons and less it's easier to achieve higher lighting because the light doesn't have to penetrate as much! So you could easily get high lighting with a CFL on your tank ^_^

So anyway, you want to find a day light bulb, something with a Kelvin rating of 6,500K or right around there. 6,500K is what the sun is measure at on a clear, sunny, mid-day afternoon when the sun is at it's peek. Best time for growing plants so that's why you want one of those. They can be found at Home Depot too pretty cheap. I got a pack of two for four dollars ;-)

On my 3 gallon I actually went with a 5,000K bulb because the 6,500K was just too bright and it's been growing my plants well. But it's also a shallower tank than my 10 gallon, so you'd do best with a 6,500K bulb in there :-D


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## jeano (Jul 1, 2013)

Thank you lilnaugrim! Does even healthy hornwort shed? Thank you for the lighting help. Going after work to walmart and scope it out. I really don't want the clamp on so will look for a good reflective desk lamp. If needed could I use aluminum foil around the inside for reflectiveness? Also, for the 2 gallon I should go with a 5,000 or less, correct?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Np!

I'm not sure about healthy Hornwort, it shed in my tank and it looked healthy but as I said, I never let it get that far so I'm really not sure if it will stop after a while or continue to shed.

And yes, you can use aluminum on the side, I actually spiffed up my hoods with Aluminum and it helped quite a bit!  If you get a desk lap with either a shiny silver on the inside or white, that will be your best bet, nothing with dark colors is all ^_^

And yes, 5,000K would be fine for you 2 gallon. I also got those at Home Depot so that's a good place to try. You can of course try the 6,500K out and if you don't like it, you can put that in your 10 and then just replace the one in your 2 gallon with a 5,000K one and see how that fair's. My 5,000K is still pretty darn bright and it's at my bed side so I'm like in the spot light all the time when I sit/lay on my bed haha.


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## jeano (Jul 1, 2013)

LOL, I'll bet it makes a pretty good reading lamp though! My family is probably not going to be happy about the brighter lights, but then again, they can "bite me". They think I'm the crazy fish lady anyway. :crazy:


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

lol I am the crazy fish lady here and I've recently converted my friend to being crazy fish lady too! haha it's awesome ^_^


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## jeano (Jul 1, 2013)

So found the bulbs, still looking for the lamps. But I was wondering if using the craft mesh as a lid is gonna damper the tank from getting the proper light. My 10g has a hood but I will remove that and use mesh. My 2 gallon already has a mesh lid. Any thoughts?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Uhh, well it might make it look like you've got a grid pattern underwater haha, not sure though. Is there anyway you can get some clear plexsi-glass cut or regular glass to fit the tank? I had planned to do this with mine but I haven't exactly checked out pricing yet so not sure how much it will cost is all but that's just one idea. I think the mesh should be alright though, if the light isn't sitting right on top of it, that will be good


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

Cling wrap with a few holes works well for a "lid"


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## Sylerwin (Jun 10, 2013)

Hornwort is sensitive when it comes to temperature and chemicals. So far I've had luck with it at 80F, but it drops all of the needles and is bald if I put it in my 72F tank, which is opposite from what I've read, lol. If you add any chemicals to your tank such as dechlorinator or medicine, it is sure to shed. I use dechlorinator, but I let the water and chemical sit for 24 hours in a bucket so it's not so strong. I'm not a huge fan of the plant because when it does shed, you're cleaning it up FOREVER because there's so many needles. Like I said, I've only had luck with it in one tank, but there are a lot of plants in there, and good(ish) fluorescent lighting. Best of luck.


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

I haven't had luck with hornwort in my tank at all. It attracted hair algae like a boss! And I never could keep it free of enough algae, thus it slowly suffocated in my tank. I didn't like how it shed all the time anyhow.


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## jeano (Jul 1, 2013)

Hmmm...well the needles are driving me crazy...what would you suggest as a floating plant...my guys love the floating plants.


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

I've had great luck with anacharis floating

Other floating plants are
asian water grass(huge fav in my tanks)
salvina
duckweed
frogbit

Those are the only ones I can think of atm lol


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Water Sprite!!!!! My girls absolutely LOVE to sleep and play in their water sprite! It works as both planted and floating, it will actually have a better root system if floated so I suggest that but only if you don't have high light plants underneath it is all.

Don't get any duckweed's, they will take over your tank and are hard to get out. Frog-bit is easier to get out because they're bigger and they look nicer IMHO. That and Dwarf Water lettuce and Red Root floaters.


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## Sylerwin (Jun 10, 2013)

lilnaugrim said:


> Water Sprite!!!!! My girls absolutely LOVE to sleep and play in their water sprite! It works as both planted and floating, it will actually have a better root system if floated so I suggest that but only if you don't have high light plants underneath it is all.
> 
> Don't get any duckweed's, they will take over your tank and are hard to get out. Frog-bit is easier to get out because they're bigger and they look nicer IMHO. That and Dwarf Water lettuce and Red Root floaters.


agreed. Don't get duckweed. I got some and was quarantining it, and I only had it for about 3 days before I was annoyed with it. So obnoxious.
Also, water sprite looks neat. I don't have any, but a quick google search makes me want some


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## jeano (Jul 1, 2013)

Thanks everyone:thankyou: I think the hornwort has got to go! It is driving me CRAZY! Will go to my LFS tomorrow(since they get new shipments every Wednesday of plants and fish) to look for some of the plants you suggested. Will stay away from duckweed.


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

Duckweed does take over, but it a very good plant to have period.

How could I forget water sprite, I have it in my own tank LOL


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