# New Beginnings (Aaron's Riparium)



## aaronnorth (26 Jan 2010)

It was hard to scape this, bearing in mind it will only be half full and the petrified wood is pretty flat, not the best option for a first time iwagumi style.















lighting will be 2 x 11w PCT5
Fluval U3 internal (I can see me swapping this for external pretty quickly  )


Thanks for looking.

_A big thankyou to Devin (Hydrophyte) for kindly sending over some riparium equipment to help get this style up and running in the UK._


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## Krishs Bettas (26 Jan 2010)

I like the petrified wood. It is placed well.
I cant wait till its all planted and set up


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## Nick16 (26 Jan 2010)

looks like in the blue pic your tanks cracked! 

whats the dimensions? 

im interested massively by the ripariums. however, i have always wanted a vivarium with small colourful frogs! 

watchin' this! nice one!


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## aaronnorth (26 Jan 2010)

Krish's Bettas said:
			
		

> I like the petrified wood. It is placed well.
> I cant wait till its all planted and set up



cheers  


> looks like in the blue pic your tanks cracked!
> 
> whats the dimensions?
> 
> ...



lol, it does. I had to remove the braces on it and that scared me a lot!
60 x 30 x 40(H)

There is no reason why you cant have a frog & riparium, you would just need to make sure a rock provides some dry land, (unless that makes it a vivarium  )

thanks, Aaron


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## paul.in.kendal (26 Jan 2010)

You've done a cracking job with that petrified wood, Aaron. I played with some for an hour or so at TGM, but in the end I just couldn't make anything of such severe straight lines.  You've obviously chosen your pieces well and placed them even better - nice one!


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## rawr (26 Jan 2010)

I too like the idea of a riparium, it's nice to see people trying their hand at it. What are your plans for planting?

(Jheez, I dunno if it's my screen or dodgy eyesight but that blue photo blinded me! )


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## AdAndrews (27 Jan 2010)

very intrested to see how this develops, good luck with it mate


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## aaronnorth (27 Jan 2010)

rawr said:
			
		

> I too like the idea of a riparium, it's nice to see people trying their hand at it. What are your plans for planting?
> 
> (Jheez, I dunno if it's my screen or dodgy eyesight but that blue photo blinded me! )



yes they are very bright!
Anubias, Echinodorus, and maybe Bacopa. Some other species too but I have to see whats available etc.



			
				paul.in.kendal said:
			
		

> You've done a cracking job with that petrified wood, Aaron. I played with some for an hour or so at TGM, but in the end I just couldn't make anything of such severe straight lines.  You've obviously chosen your pieces well and placed them even better - nice one!



Thanks, that was my biggest problem too, the style I have opted for above is the easiest way to go with them, so for anyone how does differently they are very talented  



			
				AdAndrews said:
			
		

> very intrested to see how this develops, good luck with it mate



Thanks,


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## hydrophyte (27 Jan 2010)

Hey that's looking great Aaron. I also like your rock selection and scaping. You will find it preferable to apply a dark background to the tank, as this will help to hide the hanging and floating planters from view.

Have you begun to accumulate any plants yet? I just ran into one of my lists of varieties among common houseplants that are good choices for growing in ripariums. The wild progenitors of some of these plants are found in swampy places with wet soil.


_Spathiphyllum_, "peace lilies"--almost any kind will grow well in water
_Pilea_--including "aluminum plant", 'Silver Tree' and others
_Alocasia amazonica_ 'Polly'--"African mask"
_Diffenbachia_--especially 'Camilla', a small variety
_Syngonium_
_Cyperus_, umbrella sedge

I have additional ideas too. You will also find it useful to shop at stores that carry plants for garden ponds, although I imagine it is still early in the season in your area for this.


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## a1Matt (27 Jan 2010)

hydrophyte said:
			
		

> _Spathiphyllum_, "peace lilies"--almost any kind will grow well in water



These are really common in garden centres in the UK (well in the South of England at any rate).
Beautiful plants IMO, so I would vote +1 for including one of these in your setup


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## aaronnorth (28 Jan 2010)

Thanks Devin, I have no plants yet because my lighting is stuck in HK. I am also running my filter alongside my other in my big tank to get it cycled, so I am not to fussed ATM.

Thanks for the plants list, i presume any pond plants will be fine to use if I just go down and take a look at what they have?


I have a structured internal background, but will probably use it externally to save on space, and depending on how it looks, I might just use it to cover the planters, or the full height of the tank. It will help to cover the ugly internal too  Havent had one of these since my first setup years ago!

Thanks, Aaron


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## hydrophyte (28 Jan 2010)

If that background that you currently have proves difficult to accommodate you could also just paint that rear pane of glass. Basic black is just about the best color you can use. 

Yes, there are many good choices for riparium plants among the offerings at pond shops. I would be interested to know what you observe for sale and I can offer a few ideas too. One important thing to keep in mind while shopping for plants is the possibility of hitchhiking plant pests making it into your setup with new plants. Aphids, scale, mealybugs and mites can make a mess, but it is fairly easy to remove them by drowning from new plants. I quote myself below with an explanation of the procedure that I use to de-bug plants.



> Pull plant from pot and shake potting media away from roots. Trim long roots and rinse off remaining potting media.
> Dunk plants in water in a container such as an unoccupied aquarium or large pail. Sink plants all the way to bottom and keep down with small terra cotta pot or similar weight.
> Be mindful of bugs that might float to top alive. Remove any floating leaves or other bits of debris. Rinse or wipe down rim of container in order to wash away and squash bugs.
> Keep plants underwater for ~12 hours.
> ...


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## hydrophyte (29 Jan 2010)

Here's another real good place to shop...

*The Planted Box--Aquatic Plants:* http://www.plantedbox.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=65

I see a number of good variety selections there. The important thing for your open top setup will be to choose plants that can handle moderate household humidities and don't require very moist conditions. I mean to review their list more carefully and pick out some of the plants with best riparium potential. 

Most of those plants are produced in emersed conditions at the nursery, so it should be a simple matter to just pot them up in the riparium planter and get them going.


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## aaronnorth (29 Jan 2010)

hydrophyte said:
			
		

> Here's another real good place to shop...
> 
> *The Planted Box--Aquatic Plants:* http://www.plantedbox.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=65
> 
> ...



James is going to email me the plant list and I may get some motherplants as I can buy them singularly. 6 pots of each is a bit much for this style.  The emmersed production is also something that attracts me with AF (for once!)

Thanks for the acclimatising tips, never thought about bugs.  

Aaron


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## aaronnorth (30 Jan 2010)

My lights come from HK today, and I am pleased with them 
Shouldnt be much longer before I get some plants in




Thanks, Aaron


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## Themuleous (30 Jan 2010)

Nice Arron, like the rock work 

Sam


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## hydrophyte (30 Jan 2010)

Still looking good Aaron.

I wonder if you are able to situate those lights so that they are shining mainly into the front of the tank(?). I have found it generally preferable to mount lighting front of center to ensure that the underwater area is well-illuminated, because it tends to be shaded by the emersed foliage.

I would be interested to see what you might acquire among those Aquafleur plants from PlantedBox.com. If you can, you ought to try and get some of the shorter-statured _Echinodorus_ swords. It seems we don't have a very good selection of _Echinodorus_ here on our side of the Atlantic Ocean. The only one that I have found that performs very well in riparium is _E. cordifolius_, but this one becomes too large for smaller tanks.


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## aaronnorth (31 Jan 2010)

hydrophyte said:
			
		

> Still looking good Aaron.
> 
> I wonder if you are able to situate those lights so that they are shining mainly into the front of the tank(?). I have found it generally preferable to mount lighting front of center to ensure that the underwater area is well-illuminated, because it tends to be shaded by the emersed foliage.
> 
> I would be interested to see what you might acquire among those Aquafleur plants from PlantedBox.com. If you can, you ought to try and get some of the shorter-statured _Echinodorus_ swords. It seems we don't have a very good selection of _Echinodorus_ here on our side of the Atlantic Ocean. The only one that I have found that performs very well in riparium is _E. cordifolius_, but this one becomes too large for smaller tanks.



There arent really many small echinodorus sp, but out of the motherplants list I recieved I would probably choose these:
Anubias barteri nana, Echinodorus Ozelot "green" & Echinodorus Rose.
For the rest of the plants I will probably keep going down to LFS every week when the plant order comes in and get first dibs  

Thanks, Aaron


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## hydrophyte (31 Jan 2010)

If you don't mind shopping a bit more I would actually recommend against both the _Echinodorus_ 'Ozelot Green' and the _Anubias barteri_ var. _nana_. The _Anubias _would do best in a high-humidity setup with a closed top, so it would be less suitable for your riparium, unless you were to use it underwater. I have tried the regular red _Echinodorus_ 'Ozelot' a couple of times and I found that it resists growing emersed. Even up in the air in a well-lit tank it insisted on growing the flimsy underwater-form leaves, which dried up in the air. A real good safe bet among those Platedbox.com offerings is _E. cordifolius_ 'Marble Queen', which happily grows emersed as a very attractive specimen.





I also suggest _Echinodorus radicans_. That one will eventually grow large, but it will probably bloom for you and you can restart smaller new plants with the adventitious plantlets that form on the flower stalk.

Remember that _Echinodorus _swords are heavy root feeders. It's a good idea to add a tablet or capsule fertilizer (such as this one: http://www.fluidsensoronline.com/2009/12/tropica-aquacare-plant-nutrition-capsules/) to the planter cup during or after planting.


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## andyh (31 Jan 2010)

aaronnorth said:
			
		

> My lights come from HK today, and I am pleased with them
> Shouldnt be much longer before I get some plants in
> 
> 
> ...




hey Aaron, have you got a link for those lights. Would be ideal for a setup i am working on at the moment?
Looking forward to seeing this journal, as Devins tanks have motivated me also!
Cheers


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## hydrophyte (31 Jan 2010)

I wondered what kind of lights they are. Are they mini-fluorescents or LEDs?

That blue background looks good.


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## aaronnorth (1 Feb 2010)

hydrophyte said:
			
		

> If you don't mind shopping a bit more I would actually recommend against both the _Echinodorus_ 'Ozelot Green' and the _Anubias barteri_ var. _nana_. The _Anubias _would do best in a high-humidity setup with a closed top, so it would be less suitable for your riparium, unless you were to use it underwater. I have tried the regular red _Echinodorus_ 'Ozelot' a couple of times and I found that it resists growing emersed. Even up in the air in a well-lit tank it insisted on growing the flimsy underwater-form leaves, which dried up in the air. A real good safe bet among those Platedbox.com offerings is _E. cordifolius_ 'Marble Queen', which happily grows emersed as a very attractive specimen.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




cheers Devin, I actually swapped the ozelot for Radicans last night after recieving a new motherplant list! The anubias I have 2, I'll have one submersed and one emmersed, see how they both fare  

Apart from the capsules. do you ever spray the plants with a misting of EI solution or anything?




			
				andyh said:
			
		

> aaronnorth said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



hehe, I fell in love with them as soon as I saw the first tank  

The lights are from here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0145864106

They are 11w PCT5.
One of the units has burnt out, but they have replied offering me a Â£2 refund(to buy a new bulb) or a replacement.
I tried the good bulb in the unit but it didnt work, so I have asked for the replacement  Great service. I did take a bit of a gamble with them being from HK, and I know electricals arent always the best from there but we'll see  

Thanks, Aaron


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## hydrophyte (1 Feb 2010)

You'll like the radican sword--very easy to grow in a riparium. Like I said it will grow large, but you can watch for the new little plantlets on the flower stalk to start new smaller specimens.

I mainly use a low-key fertilization regime. For the planters that contain the finer clay gravel I like to include a fertilizer tab or two, although the tabs are less suitable for planters filled mostly with Hydroton, because the fertilizer quickly washes out through those coarser grains. For ripariums with a decent fishload I find that it necessary to only dose for iron and potassium, as the plants apparently get all of the phosphate and nitrogen that they need from the fish waste.


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## aaronnorth (2 Feb 2010)

hydrophyte said:
			
		

> You'll like the radican sword--very easy to grow in a riparium. Like I said it will grow large, but you can watch for the new little plantlets on the flower stalk to start new smaller specimens.
> 
> I mainly use a low-key fertilization regime. For the planters that contain the finer clay gravel I like to include a fertilizer tab or two, although the tabs are less suitable for planters filled mostly with Hydroton, because the fertilizer quickly washes out through those coarser grains. For ripariums with a decent fishload I find that it necessary to only dose for iron and potassium, as the plants apparently get all of the phosphate and nitrogen that they need from the fish waste.



ok, i just dose some of my EI solution in every so often then, along with root tabs in the echinodorus,


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## hydrophyte (2 Feb 2010)

That sounds like a good plan. To fine tune you'll just have to observe how the plants respond to conditions in the environment you have there for them.

It looks as though you have plenty going on already, but another thing you might consider soon is the use of stem plants in the emersed area. Stems are real important for growing out in the layout midground to create visual depth. The shot below from my 80-litre setup shows a number of stems that were rooted in hanging planters, then trained to grow forward to cover the trellis rafts.





PlantedBox.com has a number of intriguing selections for growing this way, including some that I have tried and others that look promising. Here is a quick list.


_Hygrophila guianensis_
_Limnophila aromatica_
any _Ludwigia_
any _Alternanthera_
any _Bacopa_

These stem plants also generally do best with good root fertilization.


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## aaronnorth (2 Feb 2010)

I am going to try bacopa  I like the look of that.


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## hydrophyte (2 Feb 2010)

_Bacopa_ is a good one. Here is some of my _B. madagascariensis_ grown in the way I describe.


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## aaronnorth (3 Feb 2010)

hydrophyte said:
			
		

> _Bacopa_ is a good one. Here is some of my _B. madagascariensis_ grown in the way I describe.




I recieved the equipment today, thanks  

The quality on these are amazing  I'll get some pics later.

When you are designing a riparium, do you position the planters and form a structure for the layout, or do you buy the plants, plant them, then position them where you think they will go best?

Thanks, Aaron


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## hydrophyte (4 Feb 2010)

Aaron, That's great to hear that you received the order. It got there pretty quick. I am pleased that it meets your satisfaction.

When starting up a riparium with plants I generally just try to get the plants growing and established first in their planters--this takes a little while--then as I get a good idea of their shapes and growth habits I begin to position them in a pleasing layout.


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## paul.in.kendal (4 Feb 2010)

Hi Aaron
Just a comment about plants in containers.  As a terrestrial gardener with a big roof terrace, one of the best parts of gardening for me was moving the pots around constantly, looking for different plant associations and pleasing arrangements, as the plants changed through the seasons, and years.  I reckon you'll be organising and reorganising your plants to your heart's content!


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## aaronnorth (4 Feb 2010)

Thankyou both, that seems like the most sensible option


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## hydrophyte (8 Feb 2010)

Do you have any updates for this project? Just let me know if you need any assistance with the use of those planters.


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## aaronnorth (9 Feb 2010)

Hi
I recieved my motherplants from planted box tonight which are fantastic! 
I need to pick up some gravel to plant them but for now I have just put them in the planters and they are holding fine,
the anubias have been wedged in the floating rafts.

Some of the leaves are drying up and drooping, is this ok?
Will they adapt or shall I add a cover?

Thanks.


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## hydrophyte (10 Feb 2010)

I'd say it would be wise to add a temporary cover--plant leaves often soften during shipping while wrapped up in moist packing.

Some plastic cling wrap will make a quick temporary cover, which can gradually roll back to adapt plants to more and more air circulation.


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## aaronnorth (10 Feb 2010)

hydrophyte said:
			
		

> I'd say it would be wise to add a temporary cover--plant leaves often soften during shipping while wrapped up in moist packing.
> 
> Some plastic cling wrap will make a quick temporary cover, which can gradually roll back to adapt plants to more and more air circulation.



Thankyou


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## hydrophyte (10 Feb 2010)

It will be interesting to see some pictures whenever you might get a chance to shoot some more. I don't know whether the _Anubias_ will adapt very well to the air in that open-top setup--it might be a bit dry for it. You'll just have to watch to see what it does. When you plant the swords in the planters it will be a good idea to also include a fertilizer tablet or two buried in the gravel with each.


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## aaronnorth (12 Feb 2010)

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but with only one light is was hard to get any, but my replacement came today  

the anubias motherplant, which probably has approx 4" rhizome!




E.Radicans & anubias




FTS, which is pretty hard to do trying to get the correct exposure on the top/ bottom.




You can see the magnetic planter in the top right

The plants wont be staying like that, My next purchase will probably be a peace lily, then I will go and look at some pond plants maybe.


thanks.


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## hydrophyte (12 Feb 2010)

That _Anubias_ looks just like my _A. barteri_ 'Broad Leaf'. I imagine it will get too big for that enclosure, but it's a real nice plant so it would be smart look for another spot for it. I have one that has gotten to be real large growing on an "Epi-Trellis Raft".





That shot is from a while ago--this specimen is about 2X bigger now. I had it going for a while in my 120cm tank, but it got to be too large for that riparium setup. You can see it over on the right side of this shot.





It gave me a spathe a while back too.


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## AdAndrews (12 Feb 2010)

Jesus- huge anubias' guys!!

im looking forward to this mate, wondering/excited how it will turn out with the rocks...


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## Gill (12 Feb 2010)

This Is Looking Excellent, Peace Lillies are great and will look really nice. Plus i noticed that most garden centres have them on offer ATM, The Ikea in town Has Huge ones over a foot high for Sale.


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## hydrophyte (12 Feb 2010)

Yeah that _barteri_ 'Broad Leaf' is a real nice plant. The leaves have this handsome waxy sheen. 






You can see that in Aaron's picture too.


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## aaronnorth (13 Feb 2010)

> I imagine it will get too big for that enclosure



it's already to big now   I am considering moving it to my 216l, then splitting some smaller rhizomes off it to keep it trimmed down in this tank  
Thanks guys,
Aaron


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## aaronnorth (18 Feb 2010)

I have just done a water change to remove the surface scum and to top the tank back up aswell. The largest anubias has now been moved to my big tank, I am left with 2 smaller species left and the E.Radicans which is doing great. 
The anubias is still holding up too, I have 1/3rd of the top covered which doesn't seem to be doing a great deal so hopefully it will adapt.
I am going to the LFS tomorrow for some fish and to look at the pond plants. I might also pick up some bacopa.

Thanks, Aaron


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## hydrophyte (19 Feb 2010)

I recommend _Bacopa _as a real good one for planting with the Trellis Raft + Hanging Planter to make a nice floating carpet. There are other stems too that would be good to try out. They have several _Ludwigia_ _Hygrophila_ and a couple other good choices there in the PlantedBox.com store. This shot shows pretty well the carpeting plants that I have going in my 50-gallon.





You could probably find some real nice selections among pond plants. I have tried a number of them, so let me know what you see and I might be able to comment on how they do. One thing to have in mind with pond plants is that such nursery stock often comes with a few insect pests. You definitely want to avoid getting anything like aphids, scale or spider mites into your tank. It is pretty easy to de-bug new plants by dunking them in water for at least 12 hours to drown any hitchhiking insects. I copy here a description of the procedure that I use for this water treatment.


Pull plant from pot and shake potting media away from roots. Trim long roots and rinse off remaining potting media.
Dunk plants in water in a deep container such as an unoccupied aquarium or 5-gallon pail. Sink plants all the way to bottom and keep down with small terra cotta pot or similar weight.
Be mindful of bugs that might float to top alive. Remove any floating leaves or other bits of debris. Rinse or wipe down rim of container in order to wash away and squash bugs.
Keep plants underwater for at least 12 hours. Plants with tougher, waxy leaves (e.g., _Acorus_) can handle being underwater for longer periods (up to 48 hours), which is preferable.
Certain kinds of plants will soften underwater and become susceptible to drying with re-exposure to non-humid air. Keep treated plants in covered, high-humidity enclosure for a few days, while gradually exposing to increased air circulation. 
Some plants might also sustain some leaf damage while underwater. Trim away any dead or badly damaged leaves.


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## aaronnorth (19 Feb 2010)

I have introduced 6 cardinal tetras. I thought about glowlights but they aretoo similar colour to the rocks and sand. The cardinals also show up well with the lighting setup.

Strangely there was no pond plants at all, maybe it's out of season or something but they have a massive section for them. Instead I picked up some ludwigia palustris red and fitonia Superba red. (no bacopa) so I may order that online, I poked at hygro aswell but I couldn't remember you listig it so I left it for now.
They are AF plants too but they have been submerged for approx 24hr so I have covered the ludwigia only, the fittonia has really tough leaves and is ok as it is.

As for planting them the fittonia has been poked through the trellis as they are short stumpy stems. With the ludwigia half is in then planted and half is poked through the trellis to see if any performs better. I have potted the anubias and planted it beneath the water as I didn't like it as it was too distracting.

Thanks Aaron


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## hydrophyte (19 Feb 2010)

Sounds great Aaron. I haven't tried _Fittonia_, but there was somebody on another board who used some just as you describe and it grew well for him that way. If the stems are fatter than those notches in the Nano Trellis Raft then it is a good idea to enlarge them a bit. I use a sharp razor to cut out small pieces of the foam to accommodate plants like _Pilea_ that have fatter stems.

I have found that most aquarium stem plants grow best if rooted in the hanging planter, preferably with a fertilizer root tab buried down inside the gravel. That _Ludwigia_ might grow for you either way if you maintain good water column fertilization.

I suppose it's a bit early for pond plants. That shops around here don't begin to offer them until May.


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## aaronnorth (19 Feb 2010)

Thanks, yeah the stems are a bit fat, I'll dnalrge them tommorow to make sure they aren't beig crushed.
I need to get some root tabs still but for now I keep adding some KNO3 and KH2PO4 to the water column. I worked it out to dose 1/2 EI at a weekly rate. Then I shall add the root tabs to all planters. How often do you replace them?

Also do you have any photgraphy tips? I am finding it hard to get the correct exposures on the 2 sections. I have thought about taking 2 pictures (1 of each part) then stitching the two together.


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## aaronnorth (19 Feb 2010)




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## TBRO (21 Feb 2010)

Looks really nice, the more I see these the more I want to give it a try... Are you happy with the lights? I've probably missed it but what are you doing for a filter? Edit - I see the fluval U, A question I could not find the answer too is what dimensions is the tank ? I 've recently purchased some Nano heaters that may be of interest to you, I'll post in the hardware section, one can even be buried undergravel.


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## aaronnorth (21 Feb 2010)

TBRO said:
			
		

> Looks really nice, the more I see these the more I want to give it a try... Are you happy with the lights? I've probably missed it but what are you doing for a filter? Edit - I see the fluval U, A question I could not find the answer too is what dimensions is the tank ? I 've recently purchased some Nano heaters that may be of interest to you, I'll post in the hardware section, one can even be buried undergravel.


I think the lights are great, hopefully they will last some time.
The filter is a U3.
Dimensions are 60 x 30 x 40(H)

I'll take a look at the heaters post, thanks. This tank probably hasn't got the correct equipment as it was originally going to be for turtles and the heater was just a spare I had lying around.
I would go for a deeper tank if possible next time thought as the 30cm front to back is taken up by the planter and raft by about halfway.
It's very easy to do, although I suppose it depends on the plant selection. The plants require almost mo maintenance as of yet. I like how you can feel the plants aswell as I feel I can interact with it more.


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## aaronnorth (23 Feb 2010)

Intalled a small powerhead today to create a ripple across the surface to add some movement, withthe lighting it also gives it a nice shimmer beneath the water 

All the cardinals came out to feed today for the first time like normal, they must have started to get hungry lol


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## Mark Evans (23 Feb 2010)

Aaron, I'm loving your commitment to this tank


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## aaronnorth (23 Feb 2010)

saintly said:
			
		

> Aaron, I'm loving your commitment to this tank



Thanks, it a really interesting project, and one that can be taken much slower without the risk of algae  

I have just had a look at micronanthemum umberosum, similar to bacopa in terms of looks, so i could try that depending on availability


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## aaronnorth (1 Mar 2010)

The fittonia has started to release some roots in the water so I am happy that it is continuing to grow.
Some of the E.Radican roots are nearly at the susbtrate too!

I order some tropics capsules the other night too, however at the minute they don't look as though they need it as a new leaf is bein produced everyday, 

I am also having to top up just short of 2l daily but I do it otherwise I will be kept await at night


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