Side by side
API Master Test Kit vs Vallisneria
API Master Test Kit
23 positive (82%) · 4 mixed (14%) · 1 negative (4%)
Trust + time weighted: +77%
Top excerpts
Cycling duration varies hugely, agree with the below that an API master test kit is a must have.
I’d recommend API liquid master test kit, it’s a good balance of affordable and accurate.
Get the API Master Test Kit. Bit pricey to start but worth its wait in gold.
For example, my pH from paper test strips was always like 6.2. Odd I thought given i was on wellwater in limestone. Api master test kit had my pH at 7.6.
In my experience, I have performed more than 10 parallel tests with both strips and API master test kit over the space of 3 months and the results have always closely matched each other.
Vallisneria
11 positive (92%) · 1 mixed (8%) · 0 negative (0%)
Trust + time weighted: +93%
Top excerpts
Best beginner plants imo -> hornwort, crypts, frogbit, any moss, pothos (dont even have to plant), amazon sword, and vallisneria.
Tall grass-like background plants that are beginner friendly sounds like Vallisneria.
For the plants, I would pick Vallisneria. It's a seagrass-like plant that will sway in the current really nicely. It's easy to grow, you can grow it in gravel with root tabs fertilizer.
Limnophila Sessiflora and vallisneria are two super low maintenance plants that will grow nicely even with a stock light.
Vallisneria is a great family of plants to look out for to fill tall space and grows in basically any substrate and basic light.