This thread documents my attempt to implement Ghazanfar's excellent directions. I have also received good advice from Aaron, Jim, and Sean.
My emersed tank is a 40 breeder with a glass top, but I leave a gap at the rear that is about 1 inch to keep the humidity high, but not at 100% (I usually just leave the small plastic strip along the rear of the top either off, or slightly overlapping the edge of the glass). The lights are just T-12 fluorescent shop lights that I got for eleven bucks at the local big-box home improvement store (yes, I should have gotten the three foot lights instead of four foot, but when I got them, I had plans to have some 5 gallon tanks next to the emersed setup. Those 5 gallon tanks are now gone).
I (usually) maintain the water level at about 3-4 inches (it's a little low in these pictures, I need to add more), because my setup is in my rather cool basement, and I keep plants (mostly crypts) that want temps in the mid to high 70s, and I need the extra depth to submerse the heater. I have some "egg crate" (a plastic grate that is normally used as a light diffuser - you can find it in the lighting section of home improvement stores) to raise the pots up a bit, so the water level reaches no higher than the top of the substrate.
To circulate the water (not a requirement, but it made sense to me), I used a small powerhead (a mini-jet 606, IIRC). I saw a pic on Kris' blog that showed using a filter sponge underneath the intake to keep it from clogging, and that works great.
I used ceramic pots with drainage holes, though in retrospect, using square plastic pots (typically available at either home improvement stores or hydroponic shops) would have been cheaper and a more efficient use of space. To keep the substrate from leaving via the drainage holes, I put some cotton pillow batting (available in huge bags at craft shops - I use it for filter floss in my canister filters as well) in the bottom of each pot, though any material that lets water flow will work.
That photo also shows the labels I use - I'm still learning about plant identification, and I have a lousy memory, so I have made the mistake several times now of getting a plant at the auction, bringing it home and putting it in a tank next to similar plants, and then a few weeks later, I can't tell which plant is which. At least in the emersed setup, I have decent labels.
For substrate, I've tried many combinations, because I wasn't sure what would work best. I've used Flourite, eco-complete, amazonia, sphagnum moss, or some combination of them. To date, I've noticed some plants work better in certain substrates, but I've had decent growth in all of them.
I also have an area on the right without eggcrate, where I've just dumped some moss and anubias because I needed someplace to keep them, LOL. Turns out they like this arrangement. And as you can see, even my emersed setup has duckweed!
This setup is extraordinarily low maintenance, compared to my fish tanks. There's very little evaporation, so about once a month, I add enough water to bring the level up to the substrate again. Somewhere between once a week and once a month (whenever I remember, LOL), I fertilize the water column with Flourish and Flourish Iron, though Jim, Sean, and Ghazanfar use different fertilizers. That difference may account for their ability (and my inability to date) to flower their crypts. I've had this setup going for about 6 months, and while I've had a few plants that did not grow well, most things are prospering. It is interesting to see some plants convert from their submersed form to emersed form. For example, emersed marsilea minuta (a tiny foreground plant) looks like this in my setup (the photo does not show it well, but that stem is over 10 inches tall):
I know that Kris, Aaron, and Corey have emersed setups, in addition to Sean, Ghazanfar and Jim. If you have an emersed setup, share your experiences/setup on this thread. As this newbie has discovered, emersed setups are fun and easy - you should try them, too!
Thanks again....Loni
