I want to grow plants in my breeding tanks and was going to put them in pots. Planning on aquasoil or eco complete because we have extra left over. Thinking about dwarf lilies, swords and crypts.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
growing submersed in pots
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Rick Dotson
- Posts: 406
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2003 3:43 am
- Location: United States
I've done a lot with pots in the past, now do only a few things such as the aquatic banana plant when I want heavy surface cover from the floating laves, or the dwarf lilies if I should be crazy enough to run that much light again. Those plants want a rich susbstrate, deep enough and sheltered by an unsupplemented substrate layer to protect the water column from too much nutrient seeping out. Check the water the first few weeks to be sure that you are not steting yourself up for an algae or green water outbreak. Once established, the water column and substrate (if any) will be well protected/shaded. Then it just a matter of avoiding upsetting the parameters for the fish.
If I wanted swords or crypts or such more conventional tank plants potted, I would use the mesh or slotted pots as the commercial and pond growers do, but with tank substrates, not rock wool. Things such as EcoCopmplete or Flourite may need a porous liner to avoid sifting out the fines over time - especially if moved with any regularity. Every time you lift the pot from the water otherwise you will get a cloud or rain of fines. Even undisturbed, you will get a ring-around-the-collar, er, pot, of the fines. If this is not being done with aesthetics of great import, cut off pieces of panty hose (diameter matched to pot size, a simple knot to hold the bottom closed has worked well for me. Stretch the open end over the rim to secure it while filling with substrate and planting - once established you can trim the excess).
HTH
If I wanted swords or crypts or such more conventional tank plants potted, I would use the mesh or slotted pots as the commercial and pond growers do, but with tank substrates, not rock wool. Things such as EcoCopmplete or Flourite may need a porous liner to avoid sifting out the fines over time - especially if moved with any regularity. Every time you lift the pot from the water otherwise you will get a cloud or rain of fines. Even undisturbed, you will get a ring-around-the-collar, er, pot, of the fines. If this is not being done with aesthetics of great import, cut off pieces of panty hose (diameter matched to pot size, a simple knot to hold the bottom closed has worked well for me. Stretch the open end over the rim to secure it while filling with substrate and planting - once established you can trim the excess).
HTH
Where's the fish? Neptune
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chris_todd
- Posts: 1118
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:05 pm
- Location: Catonsville
We did that with a bunch of vals and other plants in our 65g, which had already been setup with large plain gravel and an undergravel filter. We also did that because we have a 12" pleco in there, and thought the plants might not get uprooted as easily if they were in pots. We used ecocomplete as well. Worked pretty well for the vals, which run along the back of the tank in small 2.5" pots, but the larger 5" pots we used were just too big, and Plucky the pleco was able to root around in them. Now there's just one lonely little dwarf sag in them.
But the approach works great, and gives you a lot of flexibility. If you're careful when you submerse the pot in the tank, so as not to stir up the substrate, it won't make a mess. Ecocomplete is pretty dense stuff, though.
But the approach works great, and gives you a lot of flexibility. If you're careful when you submerse the pot in the tank, so as not to stir up the substrate, it won't make a mess. Ecocomplete is pretty dense stuff, though.
