How long should i turn on the light for my java fern to grow TALL?
I want my java fern to grow to about 10-12 inches

I have a 50/50 compact florescent lightbulb w/ 8000k while the distance of the water surface to the tip of the java fern is now 7inch

I rely on the fish i have now to give the java fern fertilizer(their poop) and co2
-1 platy
-2 guppies
-1 dwarf gourami
-2 ghost shrimps

I feed them twice a day for 3 min

I have 3 seperate java fern (seperated by the rhizomes)

So due to the info, my questions are~

*How long should i leave the lightbulbs on so my java fern can grow to 10-12 inch tall?
*How long until my java fern grows 10-12 inch?
hen i purchased the java fern, i seperated the ferns into their own induvidual fern by their rhizomes, are they still considered 1 java fern or now 3 java ferns?

Thank u so much :D

They are slow growing low light plants. With good light and ferts, they will grow faster of course.

If you split the rhizome into the (3) pieces, you now have (3) seperate plants.

You should have lighting long enough for the plants to thrive but not longer then when algae show up.

(best you can do reagardless of the plants)


my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

I've had mixed results with my ferns. It seems that the more light, and especially sunlight they get, the more they get new growth, but they don't get as tall. With lower light, they grow slower, but they do seem to get taller. Either way, you might want to be watching out for algae, it loves growing on slow-growth plants.

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Lead me not to temptation...I can make it there myself just fine, thank you

cut the brown/black roots, tie around roocks or driftwood and have the light on 8-10 hours.

I've tied down using those brown roots...if they're long enough.