GUPPYSLAYER Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 well i went nuts on ebay last week and bought some plants, they arrived on friday and my tank has never looked better. but the problem is i can't get the plants to stay in place, i end up re planting about 3 or 4 every day. so i would like some ideas in how to hold my plant in place. currently i have just tucked them in to the gravel in the bottom of the tank. will post pics soon brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 what sort of gravel is it? and what sort of plants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUPPYSLAYER Posted October 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 here is a before and after picture: before after brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 I attach cable ties to the base of my bunches, occasionally strapping on a rock to weigh them down. Its a rather crude method, but with plants like elodea it seems to work well :thumbs: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUPPYSLAYER Posted October 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 bugga knew i should of got some info off the bag i got the gravel in.... i think it's like 3 mm stuff, not sure on the specifics of it. the types i posted before, i think.. will look up and repost brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUPPYSLAYER Posted October 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Hygrophilia Hygrophilia polysperma Giant Val Vallisneria gigantea Baby Tears micranthemum umbrosum Corkscrew val Vallisneria sp. Java Fern Microsorum pteropus lily grass Lilaeopsis sp. Elodea Egeria densa are most of the plants, there is one other i'm off to find the name now of. found Rotala Macranda brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 they should root in ok in time (ie very soon) if you leave the gravel/roots undisturbed and don't have digging fish or too much current. meanwhile you can try putting a stone on top of the roots. PS - looks great! Do you have a single or double tube on it? IME a double tube grows plants like hygro rotala and val a lot better. Elodea IME is bad for getting uprooted .. then again, I used to grow it in a goldfish tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUPPYSLAYER Posted October 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 only single tube, could get one in town. they could order me one but it would take about 2 weeks to get here. currently there are only 3 comets in the tank. might turn off the power heaD then for a while to let the roots settle in a bit brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 if you want to spread your lilly grass, pull apart the roots and plant them individually and any stems without roots leave them at the surface and theyll grow some in no time... i know it takes a while... and youll do your back in...but itll give the immediate effect of a carpeted tank. you can pick up shop lights from bunnings and install them yourself, if your competent in electric things if you need lighting straight away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUPPYSLAYER Posted October 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 i have two electrian brothers..... been waiting 4 months for them to come wire my shed up. i suppose one has an excuse as he currently lives in america. i did think about using a normal fluro batten but wasn't sure how it would go. well i got some extra gravel tonight to hopefully root the plants a bit deeper. might have to look into getting some rocks though if the extra gravel doesn't work.... going to uproot all the plant probably tomorrow night to add the extra gravel and to sort out plants better. how do you work out how much light is getting through, seen somewhere here people talking about plants needing xxx amount of light to grow well. brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Some people use wattage per gallon as a rule so if you had 60watts on a 20gal tank youd have 3 watts per gallon (60 / 20 = 3 ), which means that you could grow basically any plant but would probably need CO2. So id aim for around 2.5watts per gallon on a 4ft tank if you dont want to add co2. You could easily wire a light up your self, buy the shop light and an extention cord remove the casing of the light cut the female end of the cord, strip the wires and plug them into the sockets. I have done it without any problem, though there is the added risk of electricution which isn't present with some of the "aquarium" fixtures on the market, which cut off their power as soon as they hit the water. If you want better lighting however your brothers being electricians may be able to hook you up with some more powerful fixtures such as power compact/compact flourescent or T5 lighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 i would also suggest that you not plant your plants in clumps try spreading them a little and they will not rot at the bottom as easy this way and will fill out in time and look more natural and just a little patience they will grow some roots also your lillie grass will need a lot more light from my experiance and tie your java fern to your log or a rock do not plant Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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