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Andys HC propagator step by step

i was hoping to get some Marsilea going as well, but wasn't sure if that would work, glad to see it does. Bought some Pogostemon helferi today to give that a go as well

Cheers
 
Nathaniel Whiteside said:
Very nice. Can you supply a few more pics? Where did you purchase prop + equipment from?
I can't find a decent one with a light built in..
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The equipment is an old heated propagator (You can pick them up on ebay for about £20) The lights are also available on ebay but they usually come from Hong Kong/China) The Co2 is supplied by a Robinsons special R bottle with a hole drilled in the lid and an airline fed in. If you wanted to get one with built in lights search for Hydroponics propagator. They're not cheap though. This cost about £30 all in and costs virtually nothing to run. I've not tried any taller plants for obvious reasons but it should be OK for anything up to about 8 inches. What photos would you like?
 
Big clown said:
I'm sure it will Gary I was inspired by Foxfish to do it in the first place. Then I was inspired to write step by step by all the questions from lots of people

Yes mark. I have an idea for multiplying a few stems of rotala rotundifolia and a couple of unknown stems I have to start with. Do I need photos of those too?. I need a half decent camera

I think this will help many species of plants transition.
Its quite wet in there as you can see from the photos and the HC went into the tank and got flooded with no melting so I guess it will work both ways.
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Did you have any luck with the rotala rotundifolia?
 
There were a few stems in there for a few weeks that grew fairly well. They were just laid flat on the substrate and they grew new shoots and roots from every leaf node but i didnt leave it long enough to harvest, i'm pretty sure it will work well. I've seen photos where a member grew it in a diy poly tunnel in the garden and there was loads of it, i'm not sure which thread it was and i think it was member "supercoley"
Most of the plants we use spend a lot of time out of the water but there are 1 or 2 true aquatic plants that are submerged all the time, vallis is one of these and will not grow emersed
 
Excellent.

From my basic understanding, the plants available to the aquarium trade are mainly bog plants. Most aquarium plants belong on flood plains, hence the ability to survive submersed or emersed. So i totally understand why the propogator works.

I'm also fascinated about growing house plants emersed and the visual benefit they'll give. Your thread has inspired me to try a few things that i wouldn't have tried otherwise.

Cheers
 
So, I've read this thread and want to give it a go! Some questions for you! I have a south facing window in my loft conversion which is reasonably hot and gets sun all day Kong, would I need a heated propagator or could I get away without? If not would an old reptile heat mat work?!

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Actually, one more Q! What is the purpose of the heat? GI increase humidity or does keeping the plants warm aid growth?

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If you keep the container warmer than the surround outside air, you will raise the containers inside humidity & high humidity is what most aquatic plants want!
so a heat mat will achieve this, if you place the container in a south window then the sun will heat the inside of the container & cause humidity but the sun could also fry your plants.
 
foxfish said:
If you keep the container warmer than the surround outside air, you will raise the containers inside humidity & high humidity is what most aquatic plants want!
so a heat mat will achieve this, if you place the container in a south window then the sun will heat the inside of the container & cause humidity but the sun could also fry your plants.
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thanks FoxFish! im going to give this a go with Marsilea crenata this week, i have an old retile heat mat, and a little 50 wt heater, i was thinking i could bury the heater in the soil?!?!

will let you know how it goes!
 
Hi guys. I was thinking of doing this steps to grow some HC here in Puerto Rico!!! My firts attempt too!! I was going to ask you...you did not need any co2 when growing the HC?

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I have a question Andy...if I have regular soil, can I mix it with akadama or at least put some akadama substrate on top? Akadama is a substrate for planted tanks but its like gravel size

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