MeGustaUnaPez926

I just bought two amazon swords for my main show tank. But, since they grow really slowly, I was thinking I could put them in the one gallon tank I just bought, because I can put up to a seven watt light bulb in there. The only other thing I'm putting in there is a ghost shrimp, would that be a problem?
I'm just trying to figure out if this would make them grow faster.

mathas

There are three key interrelated factors to plant growth... light, carbon, and nutrients.

If you increase lighting, you increase the desire to photosynthesize, which requires increased carbon and nutrients. Just increasing lighting without providing adequate carbon and nutrients results in some very ragged-looking swords, as I found out the hard way.

I think a good root tab for nutrition, moderate lighting (around 2WPG), and carbon of some sort (Excel is fine) will go much further towards stimulating healthy growth than just dumping them in a tiny tank and cranking the light way up.

MeGustaUnaPez926

Okay. Not really what I wanted to hear, but oh well!
When you say carbon, do you mean put some extra carbon in the filter?
Also, when I was at my LFS, they showed me some fertilizer stuff to use. I didn't get it, because I only had a couple plants. I figured I would buy some as I got more. I'm assuming thats the sort of thing you mean when you say nutrients?

mathas

No, I mean the plants need a source of the element carbon (C) to engage in photosynthesis. SeaChem has a good PDF on the process found here.

Carbon is introduced to an aquarium through respiration and bacterial activity, but if your lighting drives photosynthesis beyond what's naturally introduced, supplementation becomes necessary for healthy growth. This supplementation can take the form of pressurized CO2 gas, or a liquid source of carbon such as SeaChem Flourish Excel.

Yes. There are a lot of options out there, but be aware that most sword plants are heavy root-feeders, meaning that dosing nutrients in the water would not be as effective as placing a root tab underneath the plant. I've had success with Flourish Tabs in the past, but would probably order something like Wonder-Gro Root+ Tablets in the future... 10 Flourish tabs for ~$10, or 50 Wonder-Gro tabs for $24.99.

MeGustaUnaPez926

Yeah, they were the tab things, so thats good.
My dad bought me the tank, and we're waiting for my mom to come home and give us the final verdict as to wether or not it stays, so I can't take any action yet.
But if I can keep it, I'll definitely look into those options.
Thank you for all your help!