a bit of advice-plant pots

[kelly82]

the plants in my 180 arent doing so great, and im wanting to lift them up a bit towards the light and also give them decent substrate to grow in. my idea is get hold of some 2-3inch deep plastic trays, maybe 6 x 6 inch for roots to grow outward and plant the plants into decent soil rather than the gravel. this way i can easily remove the plants for gravel vacs, any maintainence etc, and the plants have decent nutrients from the roots. what do you think, would it work?

[tanker]

What kind of plants are they?? The problem maybe that they are not aquatic.

[kelly82]

vals, crypts, baby tears (dont know proper name this is what ive found it listed as) swords, wisteria. i think thats everything so ye all aquatic :)

[theredchaser]

It would probably be easier to shove root tabs in your soil rather than pulling them up and replanting them.

How long have you had the plants? Are your other plants doing ok?

I usually keep new plants with weak roots in terracota (sp?) pots with nutrient-rich substrate and a root tab until they grow healthy roots, then replant them. I also do this with emersed-grown plants until they transition into their submerged form.

[kelly82]

the plants have been in there for months now, they grow beautifully at first then start to die off, especially the wisteria. i already have root tabs, well they are clay balls which get pushed down to the roots of each plant. i know my gravel bed isnt really deep enough for them which probably isnt helping, as its only around an inch deep, which is another reason im thinking if i plant them properly i can really give them the root space they need and decent substrate too. plus i can move things around in there to different positions easily if something really takes off but another struggles.

[theredchaser]

Are your clay balls plain or infused with ferts? A normal clay ball only has some of the micronutrients your plants need. You might wanna check out this page and see if you have any similar symptoms:

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/plant_problems.html

The Seachem flourish tabs are the best ones and last the longest from my experience. The other cheaper ones are good too but you need to replace them more often. Do you have enough lighting for your plants?

[timwag2001]

are you adding ferts to your water column? i think that your biggest problem is that you dont have co2. what kind of lighting do you have? what are your watts per gallon?

[timwag2001]

oh... i think that the whole potted plant idea will be more of a pain than its worth. i dont think that you'll be able to get it to look good. if you think that you should completely change out your gravel for some decent substrate.

just my opinions. good luck!

[tekonus]

I actually like this idea. I'm considering getting some pots and some good plant fert substrate for the 2 or 3 rooted plants in my tank. I have a sand bottom and I think a few accents of pots with dirt and plants would look kinda cool in my setup. If they make the plants grow better, even better. I have the room for decent sized pots in my tank... Has anyone actually done this with success?

[dundadundun]

check out hydrophite... he has a couple threads around here where he shows off his ripariums. they all work on the potted plant principle you guys are discussing. he does a great job with them and they are all beautiful. also you guys can benefit from the potters he uses if you choose to. they are pretty sharp and get suction cupped to his tank walls.

i do agree that most potted plants in peoples tanks look horrendous but some are absolutely gorgeous. hydrphyte (sp?) seems to have nailed it.

EDIT: now that i wrote that all up i am hoping he is a he and not a she. that's one apology that never seems to go so well... argh!

[excuzzzeme]

Because of never-ending battle I put some plants into a ceramic pot and then added stones (small) to anchor them. I dose with Seachem Flourish without any problems or die-offs. The rest of the tank is covered in java moss. I use no CO2 and have found it to not being needed for these types of plants. My lighting is marginal at best.

[tekonus]

Because of never-ending battle I put some plants into a ceramic pot and then added stones (small) to anchor them. I dose with Seachem Flourish without any problems or die-offs. The rest of the tank is covered in java moss. I use no CO2 and have found it to not being needed for these types of plants. My lighting is marginal at best.

So do you mean to say you have no substrate in the pot with the plants? Just small rocks?