tekmanx

When it comes to substrate, obviously most plants will need more than gravel. I have heard about fluorite and aragonite both of which apparently are not available locally. My questions are as follows:

Can I use sand or very fine gravel?

Would I need additional products to "feed" my plants or get a special cycle going for the plants initially?

What do you guys think about the idea of taking plants from local ponds and placing them in your home fish tanks?

TedsTank

Sand will work but not too musk...ie: and inch or 2....so it doesn't build up dead spots or gas pockets.

I just use gravel and occasionally cut up my plantfood pellets for my Koi pond and put a piece deep in the gravel near my plants. That is what I do!!...not a good recomendation probably but works. There are also some good liquid plant foods. Need to know what is in them....I know copper can damage invertabrates and snails.

Someone will be along and give ya some good brands of the liquid food.

EDIT: oops...Bahamas?...local sand might create some pretty high
pH water....coral, shells etc.!!...if so go for fine gravel.

Nate McFin

Many people harvest plants from local ponds and streams. Just be careful not to introduce disease and or pesticides. Disinfect with 1 part bleach to 19 parts water. 3 minute dip is what I usually do. Other dips can be used such as Potassium permanate.
As far as sand goes...ted hit the nail on the head. Do test for the affect of the sand on Ph. Pool filter sand can be used as well. Also as pointed out depth of sand is important to avoid gas pockets building up.
For fertilizers...I use Seachem Flourish, Excel, potassium,iron, and trace. I also use root tabs for root feeding plants such as swords.
Hope this helps and we look forward to pictures!
Nate

navyscuba

Well I don't know if you can get this but I use Turface Atletics Pro league for substrate is basically the stuff that is use for baseball parks around the home plate. Here is a threat i posted a little ago.
Turface Allsport Soilmaster Select
Also here a link to the pics of the tank that i used in.
Here is new look
Good luck.

tekmanx

I let my impatience get to me :/

I went out and purchased one Anubias Hastifolia:

Note my plant... mine doesn't look so healthy :/

I currently have this type of gravel in my tank:


The plant itself is still in the small pot that I purchased it in, my questions are:

1. Should I keep it in the pot it was sold in or take it out and put it into my gravel?

2. Should I put this in a tank with my other fish (see my aquarium info) or put it in this 10 gallon tank I have sitting around that is empty? If you recommend the small 10gallon tank, do I need a filtration system?

3. Does this type of plant spread or will this just sit as a single plant?

4. What do you recommend to get my plant in top shape? I will try to get a picture of my actual plant. I would describe my plant as 'not at it's best, but not at it's worst'. It has one dying leaf of about five.

Note - My goal is to propagate this plant if possible.

tekmanx

I did some research already, here's what I found:

- Low to medium light requirement.
- Propagated via cuttings off the rhizome (Spreads like grass)
- Very hardy... this plant can withstand a lot of bad conditions

Here is my source.

I'm guessing I'm gonna keep this in the small 10 gallon tank so I can maintain it without disturbing my fish in the main tank. I intend to lightly cover the roots in the gravel as the rhizome needs light. I usually vacuum my gravel once ever 2-3weeks, planting this in my main tank would probably disturb the roots too much. Questions now are:

1. Do I need a water filter in this 10 gallon tank?

2. Can I feed the plant with my shrimp pellets? If so, how frequent?

3. In my research I have found a number of sources to describe the growth rate as "Slow", how slow are we talking :| ?

Thanks in advance guys.

mare2009

hi heres a site I have been working with, and is well known here.. www.plantgeek.net, just type in your plant type, or name and it should be helpful. I'm asking a lot of the same questions, wanting to build up a live plant aquarium. I did plant one, in small gravel, and left the stems sticking out. I also took it out of its container too. Washed away the gel it was stuck in. What are the instructions your plant came with if any?
Mine is doing great, no special plant food, gets window light and incandesent hood lights. These plants can do well in low light. Pretty hardy I would say, and my fish dont bother the plant. good luck

eiginh

It's fine in the 10g, it'll actually help cycle your tank.

The link you posted provides great info about your plant. Here's another one on plantgeek though it's about the same information or less.
http://plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=23

Once your tank is cycled the fish you keep in there might give enough nutrient it needs though I've read this from a diff. thread so I might be wrong.

Nate McFin

Thanks for sharing the pics! Anubias is a great plant to start out with. I wouldnt feed shrimp pellets as you will be more likely to get algae than plant growth. I would wait and see how it does with just normal water changes and if you see any deficiencies starting (yellow or browning of leaves, twisted growth, clear leaves etc) then you can look into food if needed. Some browning or loss of leaves is normal however when you first get them as it takes awhile for them to adjust to the new water conditions. Love the substrate by the way. Dark substrate and plants just look great together.
If you intend to have fish you should still get a small filter though.
Best Wishes,
Nate

Neji

tekmanx, you can use regular gravel, extra large gravel or sand for your plants I just use normal large gravel all the time so my plants can stay rooted down. They usually are able to root themselves into the gravel within a few days I believe. Some plants take longer like my large amazon swords. Either way, sand is the best I know they are gentle on the plants roots, although pretty much all plants have strong tough roots that could easily dig into the gravel. Sand is a little tougher to clean because they are very very light, and when you siphon the tank the sand can get sucked in so you have to be very careful. Regular gravel wont get sucked in, and even if they did... some siphons do have a gravel guard so then they wont get into the tube where all of the waste and water flows through.

TedsTank

If it is in a pot with that fuzzy stuff it is better to carefully remove and replant.