# Aquarium heater in emersed setup?



## Dominic (17 Jan 2014)

Since my previous mistake with not using a heat mat resulting in melting hemianthus- i decided that a good idea would be to use an aquarium heater in the setup. 

I have a 15 gallon tank full with pots and planters full of plants, the water level is around 1-2 cm below the soil level, and the heater is submersed in the water and set to 25 degrees. It is covered in cling film with a light directly above it. 

BUT

I still seem to have a problem with plants melting? 

Any thoughts?


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## Andy Thurston (17 Jan 2014)

What are you growing them on/in?


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## Dominic (17 Jan 2014)

ordinary garden potting soil, think its from b&q but not sure which.


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## Andy Thurston (17 Jan 2014)

I grew mine in john inns 3. It grew like crazy. Is it getting enough light? Was the hc you used emersed when you got it? 
I did have a little bit of melting in the first week but that was just the damaged bits from handling and planting it.


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## foxfish (17 Jan 2014)

To wet, I would guess, try just sitting the pots on top of wet soil.


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## Dominic (17 Jan 2014)

i didnt think light would matter if it is emersed as long as it got enough? Its got an 18w t5 light with a piece of white guttering over it so its getting a fair amount of light, 

I did get a bad quality batch last time, (melty, no healthy roots, small portions) of glosso and hc, and i tried to use your method bigclown but i think the batch was too brittle and in bad quality and seemed to melt over the next couple of days. I got a replacement batch though and that was good and healthy, and is in the setup now.

And i do not think the soil is too wet. it looks like bigclown's soil in his propagator thread, maybe even drier. 

My most recent attempt was a couple of days ago, where i decided to actually cap the soil with a small amount of spare moler clay, and laid plugs of HC and glosso over the top, and it seems to be doing okay so far. 

If it does not work, should i use JINo3?


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## foxfish (18 Jan 2014)

Hi Dominic I certainly don't want to argue with you & it is great that you are confident about sitting your pots in water wont cause capillarity action & draw up the water.
I can only suggest... in that case that you need to up the lighting considerably.
However I cant help to point out that I have been experimenting for many years now & planting into a moist or wet substrate with under tank gentle heat coupled to high light for 12-16 hours a day has worked very well for me.
I can also point out that I have tried to use pots full of plants standing in water too, this seemed like a good idea as I could forward on the pots of mature plants still in there pots to my friends on this forum. The plants did grow but, no where near as well as my normal method & I personally considered my experiment as 'none successful'.
Of course this was just a very small scale experiment & doubtlessly there are plenty of folk out there having fantastic success using your pot & low light method with great results... good luck.


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## Dominic (18 Jan 2014)

Haha i wasnt trying to argue with you at all foxfish dont worry about it haha, you guys know so much more than me about this kinda stuff so i dont wanna argue with anyone here haha, sorry if i came off like that. 

I was just trying to use bigclowns method as it seems to have worked so well! 

Those are some really healthy plants :O i like the lilaopsis setup, what did you do? Do you basically just get soil, make it wet (not flooded) and plant? 

I used this method before and it didnt work but i think it was too flooded, as at the time i was thinking- 'they live in water anyway, how is flooded water going to harm them?' BIG MISTAKE  

Is it more about humidity rather than water supply? do you think i need to purchase a heat mat? 

And i dont understand how the lighting isnt sufficient- some people put their plants on windowsills in english weather, i'd have thought that would be classed as really low light. should i purchase more lights or...?


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## Andy Thurston (18 Jan 2014)

Mine was on the window cill during the summer when there was bucket loads of light, much more than could be provided by t-5 or leds
More light in an emersed setup cant hurt because of the amount of co2 they have access to. Then if they still melt it must be a nutrient problem.
I like the heated propagator because it keeps humidity high and i dont have to worry about daily misting


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## foxfish (18 Jan 2014)

I prefer to use cat litter & pelleted chicken poo mix, the only thing is you need to wash the roots before planting in your aquarium but they come out pretty easy in cat litter anyway.
I grow them all year around but the outdoor summer light is by far & away the most productive time.
In the winter I still use the natural light in my green house but, when I have grown under lights, you need bright light to see fast growth but even low light should still keep them alive & growing.


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## Dominic (19 Jan 2014)

Oooh i see i see, where could i get the chicken manure from without having to order it off the internet? haha  

And i see, so natural lighting is a lot better, but less reliable? 

and do you think the fact that my soil is too wet is the main culprit of my plants melting? And do you use a heat mat? 

And bigclown- if you think it is a nutrient problem, do you think i should switch to using another form of compost/substrate?


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## foxfish (19 Jan 2014)

A heat mat is not essential but from my experience is make a hell of a difference. Not necessarily  day light but bright light will give faster growth & yes I think your soil is to wet.


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## Dominic (20 Jan 2014)

I've been away over the weekend, and have not been at home. When i left, everything in my emerse was doing fine, when i got back, two of my hemianthus plugs were covered in the mould-type stuff i was talking about. Everything else is absolutely fine, my glosso seems to be growing like crazy which is in the back of the picture, and my eleocharis s.p seems to be fine, no visible growth no deteriorations. The soil i have been using is *B&Q grow your own, does that soil seem okay to use? 




*


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## Dominic (21 Jan 2014)

anyone...?


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## foxfish (22 Jan 2014)

I am not sure if your question is .. is the soil ok to use in my aquarium with fish? if so ... I suspect it is loaded with ammonia & possibly lime, so no, not ideal!
Obviously it seems ok to use in your immersed set up.


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## Dominic (22 Jan 2014)

I mean for my emersed setup, i dont know much about soil but are there any types that may have a fungi within or something?


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