A little over excited

[Papagoomba]

So i am in the middle of cycling my first tank and im doing a planted tank. So as i was checking it out it looks like i have my first bit of growth from the Vallisneria that i put in there. I am very excited and maybe a little to excited as my significant other looked at me like i was crazy. Dont think im ready to put fish in yet but still a very exciting moment that I felt I needed to share

[Odd Duck]

On 9/6/2021 at 9:44 PM, Papagoomba said:

So i am in the middle of cycling my first tank and im doing a planted tank. So as i was checking it out it looks like i have my first bit of growth from the Vallisneria that i put in there. I am very excited and maybe a little to excited as my significant other looked at me like i was crazy. Dont think im ready to put fish in yet but still a very exciting moment that I felt I needed to share

Well, you’ve found your people here!

[Papagoomba]

I know. Which is another exciting thing.

[Guppysnail]

Welcome. I’m jealous I’ve had 3 Val variety sprigs for 4 months in 3 tanks that have not grown a drop. They won’t die though 🤣

[Papagoomba]

I got these about 3 weeks ago. And your rite atleast they wont die lol

[Tihshho]

Just you wait, you'll be tearing it out by the fist full later saying "why won't it stop, it's taking over!" Don't get me wrong, I love me some vals and sagittaria, but mannnn thinning those things out becomes a chore.

[Odd Duck]

On 9/6/2021 at 9:52 PM, Guppysnail said:

Welcome. I’m jealous I’ve had 3 Val variety sprigs for 4 months in 3 tanks that have not grown a drop. They won’t die though 🤣

Vals can be temperamental.  I’ve had Vals die before, too.  The corkscrew Vals I put in my 100 gallon just faded away.

My current jungle Vals are growing fairly nicely, even the ones I just barely put in the 29 are showing some early growth.  I put a bunch in pots in the 75 with my Jack Dempseys and they keep trying despite a couple being uprooted repeatedly and chunks being bitten off semi-regularly.  🙄

Keep trying with your Vals.  Have you tried any root tabs?  Oh wait, do you have them in substrate?  You clip a lot of your plants, don’t you?  Have you got them in pots with substrate?

[Guppysnail]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:59 PM, Odd Duck said:

Vals can be temperamental.  I’ve had Vals die before, too.  The corkscrew Vals I put in my 100 gallon just faded away.

My current jungle Vals are growing fairly nicely, even the ones I just barely put in the 29 are showing some early growth.  I put a bunch in pots in the 75 with my Jack Dempseys and they keep trying despite a couple being uprooted repeatedly and chunks being bitten off semi-regularly.  🙄

Keep trying with your Vals.  Have you tried any root tabs?  Oh wait, do you have them in substrate?  You clip a lot of your plants, don’t you?  Have you got them in pots with substrate?.
 

I’m goofy I have less than an inch of inert gravel refuse to use fertz in tank and drop plants in with weight or suction cupped to the wall 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Most things grow great though. When they need some fertz I put them on my window sill 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I stuck the Val in the cup a few days ago. 

I’m goofy I have less than an inch of inert gravel refuse to use fertz in tank and drop plants in with weight or suction cupped to the wall 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Most things grow great though. When they need some fertz I put them on my window sill 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I stuck the Val in the cup a few days ago. 

Edited September 7, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Odd Duck]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:04 PM, Guppysnail said:

I’m goofy I have less than an inch of inert gravel refuse to use fertz in tank and drop plants in with weight or suction cupped to the wall 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Most things grow great though. When they need some fertz I put them on my window sill 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I stuck the Val in the cup a few days ago. 

Maybe try planting them in a pot so you still have that clean, minimal bottom and you can still move the plants around if you want?  Check my 75 Gallon link in my signature.  Just scroll down to the last couple pics.  I put a piece of bilayer material (the blue and white stuff but you could use any kind of filter floss/stuffing) in the bottom, some heavy clay dirt, a sprinkle of Osmocote granules, then a little sand, plant, then a little more sand, then a couple layers of large pebbles to keep the plants anchored because - Jack Dempseys.

I used good sized pots since I used jungle Val (Vallisneria americana) because I wanted the height and thicker, tougher leaves, plus I didn’t want the Jacks to be able to shove the pots around, but you could easily use smaller and/or shallower pots for smaller Val varieties.

I bet your Vals would take off if you got their roots in a little mud.

[Guppysnail]

On 9/6/2021 at 11:43 PM, Odd Duck said:

Maybe try planting them in a pot so you still have that clean, minimal bottom and you can still move the plants around if you want?  Check my 75 Gallon link in my signature.  Just scroll down to the last couple pics.  I put a piece of bilayer material (the blue and white stuff but you could use any kind of filter floss/stuffing) in the bottom, some heavy clay dirt, a sprinkle of Osmocote granules, then a little sand, plant, then a little more sand, then a couple layers of large pebbles to keep the plants anchored because - Jack Dempseys.

I used good sized pots since I used jungle Val (Vallisneria americana) because I wanted the height and thicker, tougher leaves, plus I didn’t want the Jacks to be able to shove the pots around, but you could easily use smaller and/or shallower pots for smaller Val varieties.

I bet your Vals would take off if you got their roots in a little mud.

That’s a great idea. Hubby sprays our entire property for mosquitoes every year (why I struggle getting a mosquito larvae collection to prosper) any store bought dirt recommend that won’t alter parameters or release chems and fertz? I’ve never used dirt in a tank. Edit I did when I was a kid lol 😆 but that doesn’t count I threw anything in then 🤣

Edited September 7, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Atitagain]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:57 PM, Tihshho said:

Just you wait, you'll be tearing it out by the fist full later saying "why won't it stop, it's taking over!" Don't get me wrong, I love me some vals and sagittaria, but mannnn thinning those things out becomes a chore.

I definitely second this went from, why won’t it grow? to propagated in every tank in 6 months 

congrats on the growth!

Edited September 7, 2021 by Atitagain

[shapeshifter878]

It literally made my day seeing the first runner from the Valisneria, and seeing those babies come up from the gravel still makes me happy. I can’t really remember when I was this excited about something! 

[laritheloud]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:52 PM, Guppysnail said:

Welcome. I’m jealous I’ve had 3 Val variety sprigs for 4 months in 3 tanks that have not grown a drop. They won’t die though 🤣

Same deal here. They're just sitting in my 29 gallon, not growing, not dying. I wanted them to make a grass wall in the back and WELL.......... nothing. I keep adding root tabs and hoping something happens.

[Patrick_G]

In gardening there’s a saying “first year it sleeps, second year it creeps, third year it leaps”. The time frame in aquatic gardening is much shorter but the wisdom is the same. 

[tnnlynch]

Same experience here.  First month the vals mostly melted.  Second month the started growing.  Third month they spanned the entire top of the tank ( before I started trimming).  I do have a substrate, fertilize and use root tabs.   I think that gives the plant more to work with.

[Odd Duck]

On 9/7/2021 at 3:59 AM, Guppysnail said:

That’s a great idea. Hubby sprays our entire property for mosquitoes every year (why I struggle getting a mosquito larvae collection to prosper) any store bought dirt recommend that won’t alter parameters or release chems and fertz? I’ve never used dirt in a tank. Edit I did when I was a kid lol 😆 but that doesn’t count I threw anything in then 🤣

I’ve heard MiracleGro Organic Potting Soil is good.  I’m cheap, so I went north into Oklahoma and looked for the darkest red dirt I could find (hoping for higher iron content) and drove around in the country until we found somebody home.  Knocked on their door and asked for some dirt.  😆 

They laughed at me and joked around with hubs and I about it, but they were OK with it and we came home with 5 buckets of heavy clay dirt for free even though we offered to pay them (very nice people, I’m sure they thought we had some screws loose).  I could have got by with 3 buckets worth.  Anybody want some dirt?  😆 

I crumble it and spread it out on parchment paper on a couple old cookie sheets and bake it at 250 Fahrenheit until dry to eliminate weed seeds and bugs for immediate use and especially for long term storage.

It gets a sprinkle of “about that much” of the Osmocote Smart-Release Plant Food Plus Outdoor & Indoor.  Then it gets a sand cap.  I read someplace a “recipe” for how much granules to use per pound of dirt but then couldn’t find it again, so I just visually estimate the amount of granules that would be in an equal area treated with root tabs.  I cook this way, too.  🤷🏻‍♀️ It’s more like stew, not a delicate pastry, after all.  😂 Just be careful not to get too much or you’ll fight ammonia/nitrite/nitrate for a while at start up.  Ask me how I know.  🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🙄  You’d likely be pretty safe with a couple small pots of Val.  I gave myself problems with a full substrate in a 10 gallon.

[Guppysnail]

The dig your own…I have clay soil in my area lots of it!  I think I may go out in the woods that don’t get traffic and look for some for my next order.  Take a peek at my last journal entry today. I boiled it in the sun because I forgot I sat the Val out for a few minutes of soft sun 🤦‍♀️ But I did get planters I so loved the idea. I put pictures there too.

[Tanked]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:57 PM, Tihshho said:

Just you wait, you'll be tearing it out by the fist full later saying "why won't it stop, it's taking over!" Don't get me wrong, I love me some vals and sagittaria, but mannnn thinning those things out becomes a chore.

I would love to have that problem.  It took 2 years to kill the Jungle Val and and about 8 months too kill the Italian Val.  At least the Italian Val actually grew.