Open top tank and emersed anubias & others

[Gfish]

Hi all,

Really feeling like I'm throwing myself off the high-dive here but I've been thinking about this for some time now, and thought you guys must have some good pointers for me

Is humidity an absolute must?
The plants I want to use will be mounted on wood so various anubias are the way I'm thinking.
The tank will be in an alcove and I'd like the plants and wood sticking out of the top to be a striking feature with some large flowering floating plants too.
Very open to suggestions on plants at this stage, but it's possible the fish I house here could be eartheaters Geophagus so that's a major consideration.
Aside from that, I just love wood and attaching plants to it!

This tank will be lightly stocked with perhaps only the pair of medium sized cichlids and a few tetras.

If I have some plants in the substrate, they must be tough. Perhaps an echindorus or two.

I'm really new to all this and would love to make this work. So much so, I have the measurements already written down, to order a tank to fill this alcove to the max with a custom built open top job.

Any suggestions, help and advice would be hugely appreciated!!!

Cheers to y'all

Gavin

 

[Dan Crawford]

Re: Open top tank and emersed anubias & others

Hi Gavin, not too many aquatic plants will do well with low humidity. I have Java Fern, Anubias, Eleocharis, hydrocotyle, A. reineckii and M. winderlov growing in my vivarium with a humidity of 90% and misted once a day with a rain system. If i let the humidity drop below 60% all the plants take a hit, the Anubias seems the worst :0(

I'd suggest using terrestrial ferns and mosses and mist with a rose sprayer every day.

For reference, Eleocharis species and Hydrocotyle seems to do best at low humidity from my experience.

I hope that helps.

 

[ghostsword]

Re: Open top tank and emersed anubias & others

For reference, Eleocharis species and Hydrocotyle seems to do best at low humidity from my experience.

I hope that helps.

I have used a number of plants at very low humidity, and Hydrocotyle are very good indeed, even just floating on the water. You can also use moss, or spagnum moss to provide substrate for most hygros, as they also do not need humidity to grow and flower.

About Anubias, I am trying also to grow some of mine on low humidity, but it is much harder. The rhyzome needs be wet all the time.

You can probably have wood on the water level with some anubias on it, and maybe some leaves will grow emersed.

Also have a look at Syngoniums, they are perfect attached to wood.

This is how I currently have my tank setup:

Sygonium and Hydrocotyle:

Draecena and Riccia on wood:

Hygro's flowers:

Anubias nana on a mesh with Riccia and mosses, trying to get it to emerge, this floating island is at least 6 months, and still only two or three leaves:

This tank was on the garden, in London, from April till September:

Also, use the LFS'es to your advantage, they are always stocking non aquatic plants, those are good for emersed.

 

[Gfish]

I've such alot to learn! But I have lots of time so that's great.
Thanks for the pointers on plant species guys. I will read up on those soon.

My reasons form choosing anubias are mostly that the fish I like are cichlids and they tend to leave them alone. Mostly.
Id like to have some plants rooted to wood that when I initially plant them they're below the surface but only just. Then hopefully I'll see them grow high and out of the water. Species I have in mind for this would be the taller anubias. I just put some lanceolatta in my 5ft and these would work well for this I think, as well as a number of other less common anubias.
As well as this, I'd like to carefully cut branches at an angle and attach them to the back wall of my alcove so they appear to hang into the tank. The back here will be painted black as will the rear tank glass and this area will be lowly lit. On these branches I'd like to have anubias nana attached. I'd attach them just below water level and hope to see some grow north and some head south.
In doing this, the wood will be wet so this has got to be a plus for emersed growth (?) but if that's not enough I may arrange a multiple trickle filter to run small streams of water over the branches and rhizomes. Maybe cable tying small tubing to the top of the wood, and hope it runs down the branch but it could run straight off and into the back of the tank.

There would only be a gap of about an inch between tank and wall and I will aim to seal this around the pipes. Somehow?!? (a minor detail)

I like the idea of a flowering plant above the surface, but I must be careful and choose only plants the cichlids won't eat.
I had thought of floating plants for the flowering effect.

What do you guys think of the plan???? Is it feasible?

Thanks again

Gavin

 

[Gfish]

And.... What kind of lighting should I go for?
I understand that I probably need to have two types. 1 at the rear for the emersed growing plants, and the other near the front for the overall tank lighting and submerged plant growth.

With the alcove being a round rainbow shape from one side edge to the other, I probably have a maximum height in the middle of only 16 inches or so and tapering down to zero at the sides.

Cheers

Gavin

 

[Gfish]

No more to offer on this one gents?
It seems not many folk try this kind of tank, and reading snippets elsewhere it seems some have had success where others have failed, and for no explained reason.

 

[ghostsword]

Re: Open top tank and emersed anubias & others

I believe that unless you use a large variety of Anubias, they go get somewhat boring after a while, so that is maybe many people drop from it.

I like Anubias and they are good plants to use, but emersed is not easy, as you need to have high humidity.

Otherwise, attach them to some mesh and closed cell foam and leave them floating on the tank, I had good success from it, and Hydrophyte has good materials for it.

 

[Gill]

Re: Open top tank and emersed anubias & others

I would also Advise looking into the Marginal Pond plants, There are loads of sellers on ebay that sell marginal plants that would suit the type of scape you are talking about. I like to Use Creeping Jenny, Does very well Full emersed or creeping along wood or partially submerged. Also Alot of garden centres sell 99p plants that you can use aswell.

 

[Gfish]

@ Ghostsworld, so with your anubias you have floating on blocks of foam, how much of the plant is under water? Is it just the roots? Roots and Rhyzome? Or with some leaves underwater too?
I wonder how the tall anubias' would do, let's say Lanceolatta, if planted on wood with tips of leaves close to the surface. Would the leaves and stems grow to push the height above water level do you think?

Also, when looking into Anubias, I've read that some are not good for submersed growth. And that they eventually die, eg Hastifolia. I think? :-/ have you tried some of these plants as emersed growers too?


@ Gill, Do you think it's possible to find marginal pond plants that will handle 26 or 28 degrees temp? And that resemble some of the anubias plants we use? If yes to both, then I could have the same branches decorated with two different plants, one submersed and then one emersed above it, hopefully looking like the same leaves growing along the branches and some of them just hanging underwater. I need to establish which plants will work with their leaves above the water and at regular room temps, be they regular aquarium plants or as you suggested, pond plants.

Cheers

 

[dw1305]

Re: Open top tank and emersed anubias & others

Hi all,
Have you looked at Hydrophytes riparium threads? they have lots of plants that will grow emersed (mainly Aroids like Anubias and Syngonium). GuitarFish's blog is another source. <http://www.guitarfish.org/>

Another possibility is weeping fig (Ficus benjamina), I've used it as an emersed plant. Have a look here:
<http://www.tuncalik.com/2009/07/my-aquariums-at-home-july-2009/>

I don't think the temperature will be a problem for any of the plants, the problems are more likely to come with the temperature rising and the %RH falling.

cheers Darrel

 

[Gfish]

Many thanks Darrel

Those links are very helpful and the second one I've looked at lots and it makes me feel much more confident I can make this tank a success. As well as the Hydrophytes Riparium. That's a beautiful setup!

The hardest part will most definitely be which plants to try. Marginal pond plants opens up a whole new world and I'm sure there's only some that would work well so much research is required

Thanks again

Gavin

 

[Gill]

Re: Open top tank and emersed anubias & others

@ Gill, Do you think it's possible to find marginal pond plants that will handle 26 or 28 degrees temp? And that resemble some of the anubias plants we use? If yes to both, then I could have the same branches decorated with two different plants, one submersed and then one emersed above it, hopefully looking like the same leaves growing along the branches and some of them just hanging underwater. I need to establish which plants will work with their leaves above the water and at regular room temps, be they regular aquarium plants or as you suggested, pond plants.

Cheers

I Have used Pond Plants in a Trop Tank a few times with success. I will have to look thru my pix and try and remember the ones i have used.
Of Course there are the standards, Like Hosta's and Spider Plants, Grass'.

 

[Gfish]

Thanks Gill
Please take note that im a beginner to plants full stop, nevermind emersed growing. So the 'Hostas, and others you mentioned, they mean nothing to me, until I get the chance to start googling. So exact names of any you think might work will be really helpful.
Thanks so much
Gavin