# An Idea



## Thomas McMillan (18 Oct 2008)

I'm always looking for inspirationan and brainstorming new ideas for aquascapes that I can create etc and just had this idea that I think would be interesting.

I'm thinking of having an open-top tank and creating an aquascape where the plants grow above the water and out of the tank. I reckon it'd look pretty neat. 

Now I know Hygrophila and Crypts are suitable for this but are there any other low-maint plant options?

Also does anyone have any comments or examples of this?

Cheers


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## vauxhallmark (20 Oct 2008)

Is your plan that the tank is full of water, with suspended lights, and that thethere are plants growing in the water, and plants breaking the surface and growing above the water, 

(like this http://www.tropica.com/article_picture. ... bredde=733)

or a set up where the water level is much lower than the top of the tank, and the tank contains plants growing in the water, and plants which are above the water line (but still inside the tank)?

(like this http://www.plantedtank.net/images/artic ... rium/9.jpg)

(Both links are just examples - neither of them are mine).

Mark


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## Fred Dulley (20 Oct 2008)

Amazon swords will flower out of water.
Off the top of my head, I'd would also give, bacopa monnieri and some lilys a go.


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## Thomas McMillan (20 Oct 2008)

I don't really know what I was thinking to be honest, but I think the first looks better. Thanks for the examples.


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## jay (2 Nov 2008)

Bolbitis and anubias are easy to grow out of the water.


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## GreenNeedle (3 Nov 2008)

A lot of plants will do this given the chance.  Trick will be to get plants that don't overwhelm the underwater section whilst getting to the surface like Nymphea.

Bacopa Caroliniana is a good one as it will maintain it singular stem.

AC


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## Thomas McMillan (3 Nov 2008)

Wow, there's so many choices! I knew Anubias could but not Bacoupa or Bolbitis.

So the list now stands at:s.

Hygro Polysperma
Crypts
Anubias
Bacoupa Carolina

for plants that could grow out of water.

I'm not sure that I'm gonna go ahead with this idea anymore, but it's always useful to have this thread handy! Thanks for all the help guys


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## vauxhallmark (3 Nov 2008)

Thomas McMillan said:
			
		

> Wow, there's so many choices! I knew Anubias could but not Bacoupa or Bolbitis.
> 
> So the list now stands at:s.
> 
> ...



I can't think of a stem plant that won't grow out of the water. You can add any of the carpeting plants (Gloss, HC, Hairgrass, Four leaf clover), all the java type ferns, all the echinodorus species, and most of the mosses we grow in aquaria. Only things I can think of that won't grow emerged are vallis, aponogeton, waterlily. Actually, maybe egeria/elodea won't grow emerged. So when you do come back to this project, you won't be limited by plant choice! (Although some need high humidity.)

Mark


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## a1Matt (3 Nov 2008)

Lots of plants you buy in the LFS are in there emmersed form and then adapt to submerged life, so you have plenty of options.

You can add pennywort, echinodoruses (amazon swords), and saggitaria to your list to start with.


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## GreenNeedle (3 Nov 2008)

vauxhallmark said:
			
		

> I can't think of a stem plant that won't grow out of the water. You can add any of the carpeting plants (Gloss, HC, Hairgrass, Four leaf clover), all the java type ferns, all the echinodorus species, and most of the mosses we grow in aquaria. Only things I can think of that won't grow emerged are vallis, aponogeton, waterlily. Actually, maybe egeria/elodea won't grow emerged. So when you do come back to this project, you won't be limited by plant choice! (Although some need high humidity.)



It's a bit harder than you imagine.  In nature the plants that will grow emerged don't have a hot light directly above every day like with aquaria.  They do of course have the sun in nature but its not every day and not 6 inches or so above the plant.

things like moss will more than likely dry up and die out of water in our setups.  We would have to find some way of keeping them moist which in an open top setup is not so easy.  Anubias and ferns are similar.  They dry out very quickly.  It mainly the Anubia flower that goes above the surface in our setups.

AC


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## vauxhallmark (3 Nov 2008)

Some of them will struggle with an open aquarium, but Thomas hadn't decided whether he was going to go for that or a paludarium.

In an enclosed Paludarium humidity would be near 100% all the time.

Mark


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## Goodygumdrops (3 Nov 2008)

How about this bad boy?Complete with chameleon:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/foru ... arium.html


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## Thomas McMillan (3 Nov 2008)

^ It's funny you sears ahould post a link like that. I was used to keep stick insects about a gazillion years ago and thought that maybe I could keep them again in the top half and shrimp or something in the bottom half. I don't know how they would fair with the plants though.


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## vauxhallmark (3 Nov 2008)

They eat privet don't they? We used to have them at school too. The babies are so cute. You'd lose a lot of eggs in the water.

Thank you for reminding me of a word I haven't had cause to use for 25 years - Parthenogenesis !

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenogenesis)

Mark


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