New to plants, need advice.

[Don H]

Hi, 

I’m fairly new to plants.  The only plants I’ve had in the past were anacharis elodia, cabomba, and Java moss.   All were bought at my local store in NY.  The anacharis and cabomba are so easy to grow they are considered invasive now and can no longer be sold in NY. At least not by fish stores.  I still managed to kill the cabomba.  The Java moss is practically indestructible, I used to give away pounds of it.  The anacharis actually grew to the top and got little white flowers.  Really nice if you can get your hands on it.

I purchased some pearl weed and bacopa caroliniana a few months ago and both are doing great.  
Can I leave them both in the pots?

If I can’t, can they be planted in gravel or do they need a different substrate?

 I have them in a 29 gallon tank, but I might move the pearl weed to a 10 or 15 when I’m ready to do a shrimp tank. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I can't speak to the pearlweed as I don't have any. I run low tech so I only do "easy" plants. The Bacopa you can leave in pots- in fact I grow my bacopa IN a pot, I trim it and replant and it just keeps going! You likely could plant it in gravel, you can float it (it grows roots). It's probably one of the easiest stem plants I've had. 

[Don H]

Thank you.  Pearl weed is also listed as easy.  I stick to easy too.  Lol

Edited February 6, 2022 by Don H

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Yeah I like to keep life simple as I can Don 😄 The other stem plant that works well for me is Ludwigia Red Needle Leaf (which doesn't turn red in my low tech tanks) - it gives a different texture to the typical easy care plants, I trim tops and replant! 

[Don H]

What kind of substrate is that?

Have you tried easy iron fertilizer?  I saw a video where they said the iron is what brings out the reds in the plants. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

That is Caribsea EcoComplete. I have 6 tanks and it's in 5 of them (the last is bare bottom but has eco complete in pots with plants). I actually use no fertilizer at all, just rely on my little boxed ecosystem to support itself. Just use filters (sponge mostly) and light. No heaters, no fertilizers, no co2. 

Edited February 6, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[Greg Stewart]

@xXInkedPhoenixX ludwigia and rotala tend to need lower nitrates, some CO2, and high light to turn red.

@Don H Cabomba isn't actually an easy plant to keep. It's got very high light demands and loves CO2. If you got it to last at all, I think you're more skilled with plants than you give yourself credit for. I have wild harvested cabomba that i found locally in a CT river, and I can only get it to stick around in a small spot in my tank--it does well in that small spot, but I kinda' wanted it to fill the background. Oh well.

Bacopa is definitely easy to keep.

I actually harvested some anacharis from a pond, here in CT, but in the wild it gets so grungy looking I decided against adding to my tank.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Greg Stewart yep exactly (about the red). I'm ok with this pretty green bushy plant as it is- it still does well though it's not what most people are looking for in that particular plant. Red plants definitely need more than what my low tech tanks can give so I've accepted those limitations- I just go with "texture" trying to balance narrow long leaves, small rounds, needles, broad leaves, long and short stems, whatever I can find. 🙂 

[Don H]

@xXInkedPhoenixXyou just gave me an idea with the pots in your bare bottom tank.  I have a bunch of small clay pots I can put the plants in with ecocomplete or fluval stratum without changing the whole tank.  
@Greg Stewartthe Cabomba did last for a bit.  I used to leave my lights on a lot back then.   I also had a lot of air being pumped into the tanks and a HOB that was meant for a tank twice the size.  I had a tendency to overstock back then.

The pearl weed and bacopa were much smaller when I got them. Less than half the size they are now.  I try to give them about 12 hours of light a day.  I know that’ll cause algae, I want algae for the ramshorn snails. I also dose once a week with some aquarium fertilizer I had gotten years ago (like 25) at a pet shop in Woodstock, NY called the Birdcage. Lol.  When I was there was about the time the movie came out.  My friend and I had drove up there for the day so he could get some birds.  I found the bottle in my parents garage where I have most of my fish stuff.  I’m still moving everything over to my house.  I plan to eventually have all 10 of my tanks running again. I have 3 running right now.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Pots are your friend. My original 20 gallon tank I had to rearrange but didn't want to "re-do" the tank so I got pots that looked like wood and rock and viola!

This is my bare bottom tank where I use bamboo pots: 

Our lovely forum member @Guppysnail does all sorts of bare bottom pot things so she's a good source of inspiration for that style as well!

[Odd Duck]

On 2/6/2022 at 3:16 PM, Don H said:

Hi, 

I’m fairly new to plants.  The only plants I’ve had in the past were anacharis elodia, cabomba, and Java moss.   All were bought at my local store in NY.  The anacharis and cabomba are so easy to grow they are considered invasive now and can no longer be sold in NY. At least not by fish stores.  I still managed to kill the cabomba.  The Java moss is practically indestructible, I used to give away pounds of it.  The anacharis actually grew to the top and got little white flowers.  Really nice if you can get your hands on it.

I purchased some pearl weed and bacopa caroliniana a few months ago and both are doing great.  
Can I leave them both in the pots?

If I can’t, can they be planted in gravel or do they need a different substrate?

 I have them in a 29 gallon tank, but I might move the pearl weed to a 10 or 15 when I’m ready to do a shrimp tank. 

If you can grow Cabomba, then you’ll do just fine with most plants.  The pearl weed and Bacopa pull most of their nutrients from the water, so the only need for substrate for them is to help keep them where you want them.  You can do pots, suction cups clips like @Guppysnail, or full on fancy plant substrate if you want.  Again, if you’re doing well with Cabomba, you’ll be fine.

Iron is important for color in -pants, but light is more important.  Iron is only important in that it’s important for all plants.  You don’t need extra iron for 99% of aquarium plants.  For more plants turning red, it’s all about light intensity and duration.  Intensity and duration along with fertilizer can be a bad recipe for algae, so you do have to be careful.  There are also a few plants that need a combo of low nitrates, CO2, and high light to get the best color.  I’m not a CO2 person and don’t have fancy lights, so I’ll let others dive into that with you if you find yourself interested in going deeper on that subject.

Edited February 7, 2022 by Odd Duck
Typo

[Guppysnail]

On 2/6/2022 at 7:02 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Pots are your friend. My original 20 gallon tank I had to rearrange but didn't want to "re-do" the tank so I got pots that looked like wood and rock and viola!

This is my bare bottom tank where I use bamboo pots: 

Our lovely forum member @Guppysnail does all sorts of bare bottom pot things so she's a good source of inspiration for that style as well!

I must know where you got these two pots please. My inspiration came from @Odd Duck 🙂  

here are some of mine to give you ideas. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Ahh @Guppysnail bonsai and succulent pots are awesome they both come in sets the wood look comes in 2, the rock look in a set of 3 courtesy of our friends at Amazon:

Check this out at Amazon.com
happy bonsai 2 pc Cement... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JTJV59T?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Check this out on Amazon
T4U 5.5 Inch Ceramic Succulent Pot Planter with Drainage Hole Set of 3, Stone Shape Rectangle Window Box Cactus Plant Containers Gift for Mom Sister Aunt Best for Home Office Table Desk Decoration https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B071GRCXJV/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_ECM59N4JJ0XAE6205Y7F?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Don H]

@Odd Duckthe cabomba lasted a few months or so.  Lol.  I do not consider my time with it successful. I’ll be sticking with the easy plants for now.  I also don’t want to mess with CO2 or expensive lights.  I’m trying to stay simple these days.  I want my tanks to relieve more stress than they cause. Lol.  Thank you for the information it is a big help.  I was thinking of trying scarlet temple in the future, which is listed as a medium skill level plant.  Baby steps though.  I have some dwarf water lettuce I got with the ramshorn snails I bought.  That’s actually in a small tote with an air stone and a few snails.  I got mixed colors on the snails and wanted to see the variation on one clutch of eggs, so I moved a small rock with one batch of eggs on it into the tote.  The water lettuce kept getting stuck away from the light in the tank and was dying off.  The tote is next to the tank by a window that gets a good amount of light.  I attached a picture of the tote.  They seem to be getting smaller over the winter.  I’m hoping to put them outside in a patio pond this summer to get them to take off.  

@GuppysnailI love your tanks.  Thank you for sharing the pictures.  I have a lot of similar clay pots from when I had jack dempseys.  Also the previous owner of my house left a lot of pots in the shed.  A few are bigger and I thought about using them for patio ponds in the summer.  

[Odd Duck]

@Don HI would caution you about using anything that was owned by someone else since you probably have no way to know if they used pesticides or not.  As long as you know the history of the pot and no chemicals used, you should be fine.

I’ve tried Cabomba many times over the years with the most recent time just a couple months ago, and it’s never ended well for the Cabomba.  I have a little bit still struggling in one tank, but I let the tank get a bit too overrun with frogbit.  I’ve cleared out some, but need to move more if the Cabomba and other plants in that tank are going to stand any chance.

Don’t get me started on scarlet temple.  I have a resent/hate relationship with it.  I want to love it but always end up resenting it because I haven’t been able to make it happy no matter what I do.  I’ve even put it in front of a window under lights that will grow most “moderate light” plants and it still just looks puny and feeble even in a planter cup that keeps it right up to the lights.

I’m doing my complete best to ignore a single stem I got as a freebie from a fellow, local aquarist and it seems to be doing a bit better.  I try not to look at it more often than once weekly and it seems to not mind me taking a very brief peek as long as I don’t get too close to the tank.  It’s like the most delicate wild thing that doesn’t want to be disturbed, yet it can’t help itself, it keeps coming around.  Watch, now, I’ve jinxed myself.  I don’t dare look at it for at least a couple weeks, now.

I think some sellers just want to taunt us with their gorgeous, high red plants, putting them in the “moderately easy” or “moderate light” category.  I’ll stick with my colored swords and Crypts over cantankerous stem plants any day.  Don’t kill me, @Guppysnail.  I know you do great with stems, but I’m still lousy at them, in general.  😘 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Odd Duck making it sound like the rose in the story The Little Prince. 

[Odd Duck]

On 2/6/2022 at 7:42 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

@Odd Duck making it sound like the rose in the story The Little Prince. 

😆 😂 🤣  Well, she is very delicate and beautiful.  😉 

[Don H]

@Odd Duckgood advice with the pots.  I actually bought the house from a friend I grew up with.  Most of the pots were his mother’s.  She sold him the house and he sold it to me. They both moved to Texas.  He was never big on chemicals.  He did everything organic and so did his mother.  They’ve always had dogs and other pets and were always worried about their animals getting sick from chemicals.  Even their floor cleaner is safe to drink and he used to buy special pet safe de-icer for the driveway in the winter.  
 

I actually use the floor cleaner they use now.  It works well and smells nice.  😉

Last summer I put my turtles outside in 2 kiddy pools about 4 feet in diameter.   One of my turtles has since died, so the one will go back out this summer and the other will be my first attempt at a patio pond.  I might try mosquito fish in one of the pots.   I want to try a few small ponds.   I’ve been watching a lot of Rachel O’Leary’s patio pond videos on YouTube.  I like how everything colors up outside.   I also watched some by aquarium co-op.   My MTS is in overdrive and I’m trying to pace myself so I don’t burn out.  🤣

[Odd Duck]

@Don H Well that’s great to know!  You should be safe using them, then.  Awesome you have that history available since it sure expands your options.

Now I want to know more about this floor cleaner!  😃 

[Don H]

@Odd Duckto be clear, my friend said you can drink it 🤣🤣 I don’t recommend doing that.  It is nontoxic though.  I use them in these Rubbermaid swiffer type mops I got that have a built in sprayer.  I do 50/50 with water in the sprayer.   I hope these links are allowed. 

For wood floors. 
https://www.target.com/p/method-cleaning-products-squirt-mop-wood-floor-cleaner-almond-25-fl-oz/-/A-13532562?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tmnv&DFA=71700000080814343&CPNG=PLA_DVM%2B0060H00000uKAWLQA4-SCJ_2021_method_Search_Flight-AO&adgroup=PLA_Method&LID=700000001393753pgs&network=g&device=t&location=9004857&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgP6PBhDmARIsAPWMq6lVtEeNKxw7Pf8Hm30ozmmmtCzjDgdPT6Xa5sNs7BbflNZpT2nD7wcaAhrcEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I use this on the tiles.

https://www.target.com/p/method-squirt-mop-hard-floor-cleaner-spearmint-sage-25-fl-oz/-/A-50918995?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000049437459&CPNG=PLA_Household%2BEssentials%2BShopping|Household%2BEssentials_Ecomm_Essentials&adgroup=SC_Household&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=t&location=9004857&targetid=pla-616194086873&ds_rl=1246978&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgP6PBhDmARIsAPWMq6kcbNCTQLPT3rw2zdNPy9VaRs9k0G58WeL3ofPAQmAOJnvPRDlV1vEaAq19EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Original flavor listerine was originally a floor cleaner.  Tastes like it too.  🤣

[Greg Stewart]

@Guppysnail Love the tanks. So bright and cheerful. I think I need to have a conversation with you about cable and hose management, though 😉

[Guppysnail]

On 2/6/2022 at 10:02 PM, Greg Stewart said:

@Guppysnail Love the tanks. So bright and cheerful. I think I need to have a conversation with you about cable and hose management, though 😉

Stand in line my hubby lectures ...I mean has conversations with me weekly about it 🙂. But I am DEFINITELY open to suggestions my bread ties don’t cut it. 

[Greg Stewart]

@Guppysnail Since you have rimmed tanks, like I do, you can use something like this to help tame your cable tangle.

https://www.amazon.com/25pcs-Adhesive-Adjustable-Optional-Management/dp/B072XJT436/?th=1

I go a little more OCD, since i work in the IT sector, and I have my rats nest tamed using these mesh sleeves and cable ties. All my airlines, heater/ & lamp power, thermocouple leads, and outflow/intake hoses run through these two mesh management bundles at either end of the tank. Leaves an unfettered view of the vast fields of algae I grow on the back wall for my otos 😉

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FW3MKGH/

[Odd Duck]

On 2/6/2022 at 9:02 PM, Greg Stewart said:

I think I need to have a conversation with you about cable and hose management

I need this conversation, too!  😝  I need suggestions for my tank rack.  I’m planning better wrangling when I move my rack, but I need to do something that still needs to be fairly easy to get cords and airlines in and out.  I was thinking just some kind of loops or hooks attached to the frame.  Right now it’s a rat’s nest of cords and lines.  I haven’t worked out exactly what hooks, yet, but I’d like something I can open and close, but will still keep cords secured.  I’ve thought about these, but they would let the cords hang lower than I want.  I’d like to keep the cords tighter to the frame and shelf.

https://www.amazon.com/MMM17304-Command-Communications-Bundler-Medium/dp/B001B2I3GY/ref=sr_1_3?crid=57LND7Y1RGLT&keywords=Command%2Bhook%2Bloops&qid=1644227883&sprefix=command%2Bhook%2Bloops%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-3&th=1

I also thought about these but haven’t used them before, so I don’t know how durable they would be after being opened and closed repeatedly, or how easy or challenging they would be to open and close.  I appreciate input from anybody on how to do this.

https://www.amazon.com/Management-SOULWIT-Organizers-Multipurpose-Adhesive/dp/B07RQCXCR2/ref=sr_1_5?crid=6MSXMN3VFNXZ&keywords=cable%2Bclips&qid=1644228156&sprefix=cable%2Bclips%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-5&th=1

I plan to do an air loop around the top of the room but drop down a home made PVC plenum to an easy height, level with the shelf above the top tank so it’s hidden from the front.  I’ve got the screw in valves and I’m not climbing on a step stool every time I need to adjust or shut off a line.  I need the valve in reach.  Air pump will be on the top shelf, no tanks on the top shelf, only some light weight storage, the air pump, and it’s battery UPS.  Individual tank lines will drop from the smaller plenum to the tanks.  One plenum per 4’ rack.  The tanks not on racks (only 3), I’ll drop single lines to small gang valves, 1 for the 75 G (and any plant buckets 🤷🏻‍♀️), and 1 for the 20 G high and 29 G that sit side by side on the desk.  There is potential room for another rack but it will be easy enough to drop another plenum if I ever decide to add another rack.

 

@Don HThanks for the links!

Edited February 7, 2022 by Odd Duck

[Greg Stewart]

@Odd Duck Ya know... I figured this is probably a good subject for it's own topic, so I'm writing something up to start a discussion dedicated to prettying things up 😉