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Cool/cold water plants


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Hey all, I’m looking to redo tank with the fluval stratum substrate. These are few fathead minnows, creek chub is archer fish, and comin Redfin shiners. 
Ordered Java moss, Vallisneria, pogostamon stellatus octopus. My tank hovers around 60 degrees. Will these plants not take off at all? Hoping to get some nutrients cycled outa tank not water change so often. These fish are fed and kept for ice fishing but eventually I’d like to have a dedicated tropical fish tank that would be ideal heated for such fish! Thanks everyone

 

29D76390-C2E0-49D7-A7E1-54B9088C6884.jpeg

Edited by Bendel2
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Most aquarium plants actually do well and prefer a little cooler water than what we keep them at. I would think that most would be fine at that temp. Are you using a chiller to keep the water that cool? 

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hey there, I’m keeping them in unheated part of my basement. Trying to keep them in 50-60 degree water to cut down on shock when fishing temps on lake are 30s. Just trying things out before I get Any expensive prized fish! Good to hear these plants may work. 

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On 2/7/2022 at 3:44 PM, Bendel2 said:

Hey all, I’m looking to redo tank with the fluval stratum substrate. These are few fathead minnows, creek chub is archer fish, and comin Redfin shiners. 
Ordered Java moss, Vallisneria, pogostamon stellatus octopus. My tank hovers around 60 degrees. Will these plants not take off at all? Hoping to get some nutrients cycled outa tank not water change so often. These fish are fed and kept for ice fishing but eventually I’d like to have a dedicated tropical fish tank that would be ideal heated for such fish! Thanks everyone

 

29D76390-C2E0-49D7-A7E1-54B9088C6884.jpeg

My inside tanks (outside of QT and grow out tanks) are unheated. Tanks range in temp, based on placement with 58° lows and 76° highs.

My plants grow better in the unheated tanks, but not the outdoor tanks.

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4DA26D4C-861F-42A0-9466-B013B21915D1.jpeg.f3976b00bd134ca73b1507c4d88c3427.jpeg

small update, rearranged and added few fake plants until my plants and new substrate arrive. Wanting it to look like the minnows natural habitats, less my plants aren’t from my area. I caught all the minnows in a trap at local mountain headwater to small stream that flows into trout lake I fish! I am located in maine

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Its a good choice of plants and Zenzo is spot on. My Java Moss and Valisneria seem to handle cold water (might depend on the species - I have jungle val). Others I have tried are

Dwarf hairgrass (mine are surprisingly resistant to cold but don't like it)

Lilaeopsis (a non-tropical so should prosper)

Glossostigma Elatinoides (its actually a cold water species which is often mistaken as tropical) - it will grow very well (not just survive) in any water temperature from 4 deg C up to 30 C.

Some of these plants don't like cold but they survive. By cold I mean super cold down to 6 degrees C, but my winters are usually about 10-24 degrees tank temperatures with excursions down to 6 or 8 degrees for a few days. 4 degrees C as a rule is approaching ice conditions so these plants display a wide range of tolerance. It makes sense since natural non-tropical biotopes experience a wide range of temperatures even in one day. I have observed outdoor water bodies and it can vary quite a lot, a bit the same as ambient temperatures do during the day and night.

My summer water temperatures (same plants above) reach 30 degrees C routinely.

An example of an outdoor waterbody I measured just below the surface level, about 10cm below water level on the one day in Australia (where you measure is tricky as temperature varies with depth and you have to be consistent - ie measure at the same depth)

9am... 15 deg C water temp 

Afternoon... 25 deg C water temp

Ambient air temperature afternoon peaked at about 30 deg C and was generally hot all day including in the morning.

When it comes to cold alot of plants don't do well but survive. But then again tropical species do not do well at all - I generally avoid tropicals like crypts, ambulia etc...

One aspect of plants commonly misunderstood is that non-tropicals will thrive in tropical water. They handle a wide range of temperatures. Tropicals are limited in range. To know which is which you need to study their geographic origin.

Edited by Water Box Dreams
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On 2/8/2022 at 5:15 AM, Bendel2 said:

4DA26D4C-861F-42A0-9466-B013B21915D1.jpeg.f3976b00bd134ca73b1507c4d88c3427.jpeg

small update, rearranged and added few fake plants until my plants and new substrate arrive. Wanting it to look like the minnows natural habitats, less my plants aren’t from my area. I caught all the minnows in a trap at local mountain headwater to small stream that flows into trout lake I fish! I am located in maine

Can you collect some wood from the area, and this spring look for plants in the creek? Harvest responsibly, and don't take more than 1 out of 10 of each item,  and you should be able to recreate their environment with a powerhead generating strong flow.

16443471241302774877949710274706.jpg.d32bb9de4edf7dab77f1a297dc09e792.jpg

Or, you can use a pond pump to move water from one end of the tank (look at the far right back corner for the pump, and the tube carries water to the other end of the tank to generate a waterfall) to the other. Water is pulled down into a UGF on the far right side of the tank, under the large river rocks. 

Wood and hardscape help complete the look.

16443471566765430557044079072874.jpg.51330e7564d512513581b8790c575acd.jpg

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On 2/8/2022 at 2:09 PM, Water Box Dreams said:

Its a good choice of plants and Zenzo is spot on. My Java Moss and Valisneria seem to handle cold water (might depend on the species - I have jungle val). Others I have tried are

Dwarf hairgrass (mine are surprisingly resistant to cold but don't like it)

Lilaeopsis (a non-tropical so should prosper)

Glossostigma Elatinoides (its actually a cold water species which is often mistaken as tropical) - it will grow very well (not just survive) in any water temperature from 4 deg C up to 30 C.

Some of these plants don't like cold but they survive. By cold I mean super cold down to 6 degrees C, but my winters are usually about 10-24 degrees tank temperatures with excursions down to 6 or 8 degrees for a few days. 4 degrees C as a rule is approaching ice conditions so these plants display a wide range of tolerance. It makes sense since natural non-tropical biotopes experience a wide range of temperatures even in one day. I have observed outdoor water bodies and it can vary quite a lot, a bit the same as ambient temperatures do during the day and night.

My summer water temperatures (same plants above) reach 30 degrees C routinely.

An example of an outdoor waterbody I measured just below the surface level, about 10cm below water level on the one day in Australia (where you measure is tricky as temperature varies with depth and you have to be consistent - ie measure at the same depth)

9am... 15 deg C water temp 

Afternoon... 25 deg C water temp

Ambient air temperature afternoon peaked at about 30 deg C and was generally hot all day including in the morning.

When it comes to cold alot of plants don't do well but survive. But then again tropical species do not do well at all - I generally avoid tropicals like crypts, ambulia etc...

One aspect of plants commonly misunderstood is that non-tropicals will thrive in tropical water. They handle a wide range of temperatures. Tropicals are limited in range. To know which is which you need to study their geographic origin.

Awesome thanks for the insight! I understand the waters temps vary, depth and sun exposure, been fishing for all my life and both are something I track extensively. I have a sonar I use fishing and even just four feet under the ice I’ll have temps of 35 or more some days. And in depths of 20+ feet in our trout lakes still photosynthesis layer. The water is so clear could see for 30 feet some times!

On 2/8/2022 at 2:11 PM, Torrey said:

Can you collect some wood from the area, and this spring look for plants in the creek? Harvest responsibly, and don't take more than 1 out of 10 of each item,  and you should be able to recreate their environment with a powerhead generating strong flow.

16443471241302774877949710274706.jpg.d32bb9de4edf7dab77f1a297dc09e792.jpg

Or, you can use a pond pump to move water from one end of the tank (look at the far right back corner for the pump, and the tube carries water to the other end of the tank to generate a waterfall) to the other. Water is pulled down into a UGF on the far right side of the tank, under the large river rocks. 

Wood and hardscape help complete the look.

16443471566765430557044079072874.jpg.51330e7564d512513581b8790c575acd.jpg

Yes I could probley get a few water loggged sticks. There’s quite a beaver dam adjacent to where I trap them. Maybe I can dislodged a few. Yes I’m hoping come spring I could go for wade and grab some native plants. 

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