# Riparium Bonsai



## hydrophyte (6 Apr 2013)

*Riparium Bonsai*

This thread is a continuation of a couple of others that I have been working on about growing certain kinds of trees and woody trees as bonsai specimens in planted riparium setups. I thought it would be a good idea to record some of my observations with a journal thread, too.

All of the species that I am using are true swamp-associated plants that can have their roots permanently submerged. Here is a quick list:

Buttonbush (_Cephalanthus occidentalis_)
Montezuma cypress (_Taxodium mucronatum_)
Swamp rose (_Rosa palustris_)
Pond apple (_Annona glabra_)
Hummingbird tree (_Sesbania grandiflora_)
Just yesterday I got the Montezuma cypress (_Taxodium mucronatum_) sapling that I had ordered. The potted plant that they sent looked pretty good. It came rooted in a 1-gallon pot.










The tree had an extensive root system and I had to prune it back quite a bit to fit it into a riparium planter.









The little cypress still looks good today. It hasn't wilted or anything. I have some more pictures to share later on.


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## hydrophyte (7 Apr 2013)

Thanks for the likes you guys!

I cut out a lot of the roots on this cypress so that I could fit it into the planter.





Since I removed so much root I also took about 50% off the top of the plant.


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## NanoJames (7 Apr 2013)

This seems like an interesting idea, growing trees in aquariums! How big would this plant grow normally?


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## hydrophyte (7 Apr 2013)

NanoJames said:


> This seems like an interesting idea, growing trees in aquariums! How big would this plant grow normally?


 
Monetzuma cypress can gro wto be one of the biggest trees on earth (Google it) but you can also keep it small with bonsai training.

I have been growing mangrove trees for some time riparium setups. My 65G tank has white mangrove, black mangrove and red mangrove.


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## NanoJames (7 Apr 2013)

Wow, I find that really interesting! How do you keep the roots small too? Is that with "bonsai training" too?


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## flygja (8 Apr 2013)

This is gonna be a cracker as always!


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## hydrophyte (8 Apr 2013)

flygja said:


> This is gonna be a cracker as always!


 
Thanks mate!



NanoJames said:


> Wow, I find that really interesting! How do you keep the roots small too? Is that with "bonsai training" too?


 
The roots won't grow a whole lot more because they will be contained in the riparium planter.

Here it is in the planter. I've had the plant in the tank for a couple of days now. It still looks pretty good.


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## hydrophyte (9 Apr 2013)

I'm working with a few other tree and shrub species as potential bonsai for ripariums. Here is a quick list...

Swamp Rose (_Rosa palustris_)
Buttonbush (_Cepahalanthis occidentalis_)
Hummingbird Flower (_Sesbania grandiflora_)
Pond Apple (_Annona glabra_)
River Cane (_Arundinaria tecta_)

These are all true swamp/wetland plants, so I hope that they can adapt to growing in a riparium. The river cane is actually one of just a couple of related US-native true bamboos.

I bought a dormant buttonbush a couple of weeks ago and planted it in a ripairum planter. It is starting to leaf out and grow lots of roots in the planter. I should get some new pictures of. This shot shoes the dormant potted buttonbush plant...


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## hydrophyte (11 Apr 2013)

Here is a quick update for the _T. mucronatum_ that I have started from seed. The little plants are growing very fast right in the planter.


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## hydrophyte (18 Apr 2013)

Since this tree seems to be establishing fine I decided to just go ahead and wire it. I was getting tired of seeing its awkward shape. Here it it wrapped with aluminum bonsai wire before I started to bend it. 





Here it is after I put a few more natural curves in it. I'm still working on it and I might change it again, but it is best not to re-bend wired trees very much.


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## hydrophyte (1 May 2013)

I have some new shots.

This picture shows the tank construction. The glass is 1/4" plate and I sealed the seams with GE Type I silicone. After bonding the five glass panels and letting the silicone cure for a couple of days I scraped excess silicone from the inside corners, then masked for 1/8" seams all the way around. This is the easiest way to get nice and straight seams. I gave the completed tank a full week to cure before setting up the tank and adding water a few days ago.





I set up the tank in the basement shop in a provisional way and here it is with water.


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## NanoJames (1 May 2013)

Looks nice, I wouldn't have guessed that it was a DIY! Are you growing the trees in this or are you growing trees and fish? What is the plan?


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## hydrophyte (1 May 2013)

NanoJames said:


> Looks nice, I wouldn't have guessed that it was a DIY! Are you growing the trees in this or are you growing trees and fish? What is the plan?


 
Thanks mate! It's not hard to build a small rimless tank like this. It went together easily.

I'm going to keep the bonsai tree along with a few other plants and some kind of nano fish in a small group. My current two favorite fish ideas are _Microdeverio kubotai_ and _Heterandria formosa_.


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## NanoJames (1 May 2013)

Both nice species of fish! I look forward to seeing your final choice. Where do you find glass for making tanks? Is it cheap?


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## hydrophyte (1 May 2013)

NanoJames said:


> Both nice species of fish! I look forward to seeing your final choice. Where do you find glass for making tanks? Is it cheap?


 
Have you had experience with the _M. kubotai_? Do you know if they are inclined to jump? I can just imagine fish leaping out of this tank, especially since the water is so shallow. I want to choose something less likely to jump.

The glass was about $35 US. Most any local glass shop can cut a few pieces of plate glass pretty cheap. I spent another $5 on the tube of silicone.


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## NanoJames (1 May 2013)

I'm afraid I haven't had either of the species. Have you looke here?   Microdevario kubotai — Seriously Fish and   Heterandria formosa (Dwarf Livebearer) — Seriously Fish This is a great site and lets you know all you need! I didn't realise that you were in the US! Still, once you convert the glass money to GB pounds it's definitely a lot cheaper than buying a ready made tank! Are you going to filter it?


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## hydrophyte (1 May 2013)

NanoJames said:


> I'm afraid I haven't had either of the species. Have you looke here?  Microdevario kubotai — Seriously Fish and  Heterandria formosa (Dwarf Livebearer) — Seriously Fish This is a great site and lets you know all you need! I didn't realise that you were in the US! Still, once you convert the glass money to GB pounds it's definitely a lot cheaper than buying a ready made tank! Are you going to filter it?


 
Yes I visit SeriouslyFish.com quite a lot and I had seen those pages. Both of those fish might be pretty good choices for this tank.

If you put it together right it's pretty easy to make a small to medium-sized rimless tank and like you mention it can be much more economical. Another big plus is that you can make most any shape that you want. I really like low and broad enclosures like this one.

I will use just a few very small fish in this setup, so it won't need much filtration. I will probably use a small submersible filter or maybe just an airstone to move the water around a bit.


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## hydrophyte (8 May 2013)

I wrote a blog post about this setup. It includes most of the same details that I have already mentioned here. Here is the link if you want to check it out...

Bonsai Trees in Planted Ripariums | Riparium Supply

I still need to set up the tank with substrate, hardscape, fish, a few more plants and a better setting, so the blog post just describes it as a work in progress. I will try to make more headway with it as soon as I can.


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## NanoJames (8 May 2013)

Your sapling looks really nice! How long will it be until you're able to take off the bonsai wire?


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## hydrophyte (8 May 2013)

NanoJames said:


> Your sapling looks really nice! How long will it be until you're able to take off the bonsai wire?


 
Thanks!

I'm not sure about that. I imagine it should stay for at least 4-6 months.


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## hydrophyte (17 May 2013)

Last night I set this up with pool filter sand and oak leaves.


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## dw1305 (17 May 2013)

Hi all,
Very nice, what is the shrub with opposite leaves on the left side?
cheers Darrel


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## biffster (17 May 2013)

is that a pine that main plant


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## NanoJames (17 May 2013)

biffster said:


> is that a pine that main plant


 I think it is a Montezuma Cypress. It says earlier on in the thread.


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## biffster (17 May 2013)

looks like a pine or evergreen


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## NanoJames (17 May 2013)

hydrophyte said:


> Just yesterday I got the Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) sapling that I had ordered. The potted plant that they sent looked pretty good. It came rooted in a 1-gallon pot.


I'm sure this is the same one!


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## biffster (17 May 2013)

just thought pines weren't good in the aquarium


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## NanoJames (17 May 2013)

biffster said:


> just thought pines weren't good in the aquarium


 Yes, I think they give off some sort of poison that affects water qualities. Or oils or something like that!


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## biffster (17 May 2013)

NanoJames said:


> Yes, I think they give off some sort of poison that affects water qualities. Or oils or something like that!


 

?????


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## Alastair (17 May 2013)

hydrophyte said:


> Last night I set this up with pool filter sand and oak leaves.



That looks great mate. Really like it 

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2


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## hydrophyte (19 May 2013)

That's a cypress tree, not a pine.

Thanks Alastair! I hope to add fish this week. I think I will use a little group of _Boraras_ as well as a single _Indostomus crocadilus_.


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## NanoJames (19 May 2013)

Do you have any idea of what rasboras you're going to keep?


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## hydrophyte (19 May 2013)

NanoJames said:


> Do you have any idea of what rasboras you're going to keep?


 
It's gonna be _B._ _urophthalmoides_.


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## hydrophyte (22 May 2013)

I got another new plant in the mail last week. These are three bare root sapling of swamp rose (_Rosa palustris_).





As a northern rose this is a temperate plant, but I hope that it will work out in the riparium. I have seen a few cases of roses growing as houseplants, so they might not necessarily require a cold winter dormancy.

Here is one of the plants unwrapped. I planted this specimen in a ripairum planter on Saturday and already the buds have started to open and I see new roots in the planter. This might be a pretty good plant to grow like riparium bonsai.


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## hydrophyte (22 May 2013)

Here's another shot a little bit closer to show the foliage textures.





I hope to have fish pretty soon!


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## ale36 (23 May 2013)

where can we get the ripairum planters in the UK?


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## hydrophyte (3 Jun 2013)

I have a quick update photo. This is with a black background and some Photoshop. I added a couple of new plants. You can see the _Marsilea_ fern over on the right. I am trying to decide whether I like the underwater area or not. The oak leaves have stained the water and sand. I wonder if I might prefer very clear water instead and a combination of sand with gravel and stones(?).

Still no fish yet.


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## mark4785 (3 Jun 2013)

This is certainly a unique aqua scape! Great job.

Where will you put the aquarium heater given the minimal height of the glass?


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## hydrophyte (3 Jun 2013)

mark4785 said:


> This is certainly a unique aqua scape! Great job.
> 
> Where will you put the aquarium heater given the minimal height of the glass?


 
Thanks!

This tank will not need a heater during the next few months as the room is warm enough. If it gets to be more chilly during the winter I can add a small 25w heater and position it horizontally along one side.


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## Alastair (3 Jun 2013)

hydrophyte said:


> I have a quick update photo. This is with a black background and some Photoshop. I added a couple of new plants. You can see the _Marsilea_ fern over on the right. I am trying to decide whether I like the underwater area or not. The oak leaves have stained the water and sand. I wonder if I might prefer very clear water instead and a combination of sand with gravel and stones(?).
> 
> Still no fish yet.



Beautiful mate. Would be a shame to have to remove the leaves as I think they contrast really well. Have you decided on fish by the way 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2


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## hydrophyte (4 Jun 2013)

Thanks so much Alastair. You are right: I should probably keep the oak leaves + sand. Since this is a new setup the water is a bit cloudy while also being stained by the leaves. It will probably clear up as the system matures.

I plan to add a group of _Boraras uropthalmoides_ and a single _Indostomus crocodilus_.


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## hydrophyte (15 Jun 2013)

I finally got the fish into this setup. Last night I added nine _Boraras brigittae_ and two _Sphaerichthys osphromenoides_ chocolate gouramis. The gouramis look great with the oak leaves!.

I'll try to get some new pictures.


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## hydrophyte (30 Jul 2013)

Here's a quick update shot from a couple of weeks ago.






Unfortunately, the _Marsilea_ fern in the lower left has declined over time. It did not like the change in lighting or water parameters or something after I moved it to this setup. I removed it and replaced with a _Lysimachia_ creeping Jenny that looks OK so far.


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## hydrophyte (12 Aug 2013)

I got a quick update shot tonight. This setup is still doing well. The _Lysimachia_ creeping Jenny (lower right) is filling in nicely.


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## NanoJames (12 Aug 2013)

That looks brilliant Hydrophyte! Any chances of some livestock pics?


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## hydrophyte (12 Aug 2013)

Thanks James.

The fish aren't too exciting, but I can try to get some pictures.


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## hydrophyte (20 Aug 2013)

I have a couple more shots to show more foliage detail. Here is a better view of the Montezuma cypress.





And here is the _Cephalanthus occidentalis_ buttonbush.


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## hydrophyte (11 Sep 2013)

I have been trying to get some better pictures of this planting. I cleaned everything up again and here are a couple of quick shots from tonight.


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## hydrophyte (27 Oct 2013)

Here's the tank in a temporary spot. As soon as I can get power to it I'm going to move it out of this corner to another wall. I thought that the planting could be a bit more full, so I added a _Cyperus_ umbrella sedge in one more planter to the right of the cypress tree. 

The bonsai tree looks all blown out against that white wall. When I move the setup again I will hang up that blue background with it. Now that it is in more steady and warmer conditions I hope that the tree will start to grow again.

I am soaking another batch of new oak leaves in that white basin on the floor. The ones in the tank are all brittle and falling apart again.

The little _Boraras_ still look happy enough.


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## dean (30 Aug 2015)

Any update


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