# Quick run through on emersed plants?



## Anonymous (2 Aug 2010)

Hi guys Ive bought some plants for my tank and hardscaped it but bought a whole CO2 injection system last minute that will take over a week to arrive so rather than risking the Glossostigma not taking and wanting to plant all at once, I've whacked all the plants in a plastic container, covered it with cling film, and put the lighting over it to keep the plants going (also wanted to try something new).
Can someone run me through the basics of emersed growing. All the plants have just come from 'Tropica'.














I've currently got Echinodorus tenellus, Glossostigma elatinoides, Eleocharis parvula & acicularis,  Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green', Cryptocoryne wedtii 'Tropica', wheeping moss, java moss, and some Ludwigia arcuata growing in there. Theres about 2 inches of water in the bottom of the container, and a Juwel highlight 2x36w light unit over it.
How do I fertilize them? Is the cling film always necessary? and is there anything else I need to consider in addition to the above (such as too much light?).
Also, can I grow stem plants in there (Rotila/ Valis nana..)?


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## daniel19831123 (3 Aug 2010)

You shouldn't need more than lighting from the window sill to keep them growing. That's how I grow mine anyway. Fertilisation is minimal and titre it according to the ratio you would use on the main tank. I only use water from the main tank and then add in a splash of extra fert when I can remember.


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## Anonymous (3 Aug 2010)

daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> You shouldn't need more than lighting from the window sill to keep them growing. That's how I grow mine anyway. Fertilisation is minimal and titre it according to the ratio you would use on the main tank. I only use water from the main tank and then add in a splash of extra fert when I can remember.




"titre it"? I still don't have my tank up and running so just using tap water.. Can garden ferts be used (such as miracle grow etc) in light measures? 
Also Is it possible to overload it with light causing leaves to burn?


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## daniel19831123 (3 Aug 2010)

you can cause the leave to burn if you place the light source too closely. Plant that has adapted to emerse growth will cope just fine with the light but they cannot tolerate the heat that T5 dissipate at times. High heat will also cause more water to vapourise. If you have fresh cutting in rock wool rather than rooted pot plants from tropica or aquadistri, the plant might die off dehydration before developing roots. I personally would go from submerged to ambient lighting emersed and then to full lighting


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## Anonymous (3 Aug 2010)

Okay cool. I just need to know if the process I've done is correct and will work i.e. stuck a load of planted pots into a plastic tub, filled with 2 inches of water, covered with cling film and stuck a 2x 35w T5 tubes over it.? Just to make sure I don't kill all my plants or damage them as Ive never done this before.
Can I use garden fertilizer such as Miracle grow (lightly), and will stem plants such as Ludwigia and Rotila grow okay?
Also what about CO2?
Is there a period when I can take the clingfilm off? and what lighting regime should I use?
Very curious about this form of plant growth and not done it before. Anyone just throw a load of info at me. Will be very much appreciated!


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## daniel19831123 (7 Aug 2010)

I would say with 35W lighting there should be enough unless you are trying to light up a 4 feet long area. I don't use cling film but instead I use one of those underbed storage boxes that comes with their own lids. I just left the lid slightly ajar. You can use any fertiliser you want but bear in mind that when transfering the plant into your tank, commercial fertiliser for terrestial plant use contain high amount of copper and you will most likely than not killl your aquarium inhabitant especially inveterbrates. I tried miracle grow once but they were so concentrated that it's so hard to get the right concentration without burning the leaves. It ended up working out to be something like 1 drop in 2 litres of water which sounded very much like homeopathy to me! So I concluded there must be something else in the chemical that was burning the plants.


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