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Re: pH of 5.8 and plants

> Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 11:48:26 +0000 (GMT)
> From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Edward=20Venn?= <ewvenn at yahoo_co.uk>
> Subject: Plants for a Blackwater Tank
> 
> I'm looking for plants suitable for a blackwater tank.
> The tank a 90cm x 45cm x45cm will be used to house a
> pair of Betta macrostoma in a community situation. The
> fish currently 18cm in length will be in water with
> the following parameters. pH 5.8, temp 26-28C, DH and
> KH will be variable and the the water will be
> maintained by using RO water treated with peat
> extract. What plants can successfully survive in this
> setup?
> 
> Edward Venn
> Tokyo Japan

How do plan to keep anything at that low pH with any KH at all? No KH and
you are going to have all sorts of problems. You add much KH and still keep
that low pH and things are going to very difficult due to all the CO2 that
will be present. And you have the humic acids which may or may not add even
more CO2.
You've given yourself a choice of rock and hard place.
Slow to die plants will work for awhile. Try raising the pH. Fish should be
fine. If you need to lower the pH and KH for breeding that's fine as a
"temporary thing"......this would apply to all fish. Folks do quite fine
without resorting to such water parameters when they breed fish and keep
Discus and Apisto's and tetra's and and etc. They do not "have to have"
super soft water and very acid conditions to keep them or breed them (in
most cases). If this were the case all of mine would have died. Instead they
grew and were sold off as nice fat fish. If breeding is a big deal, food is
the biggest key IMO. Dropping the KH/GH will often trigger things but it's
not needed the whole year long.

You could try floating plants. Or use plants as a rotating "temporary thing"
like the fish conditions above. Just some options:)
Regards, 
Tom Barr