Rescaping Crypts

[oscarmeir]

I know this sounds elementary but what is the proper way to prune and manage Cryptocoryne. I've neglected my tank for a while and now all the roots are tangles and intertwined, I pull out a bit and it get a lot more then i asked for. How do i trim without ripping out half the plant.

Attached is a current picture, (90Gal 4ft) I really want to have a lot more free swimming space on the left hand side, with an anubis jungle on the right. Its hard to see in the picture but there is a lot of Java Fern on driftwood that is getting lost in the cryps. I would love to clean up that front jungle in the center of the tank as well, its a mess of like three or four types of plants.

Also is there a way to rid a tank of Java Moss? The stuff can reproduce from one strand! I do find that it is great for young Java Fern drifters, I let them get tangled in and in a few weeks pull em out at a nice size and properly tie em somewhere. But its not worth it when it takes over the tank.

Please! I would love to hear any advice.

O.

[l8nite]

Let me know what you find out for Java Moss... It's pretty tenacious.

[aokashi]

depends on what you are looking to do with the crypt. if the roots run deep it's going to be hard to remove them in one piece without uprooting the entire substrate. what I do is clip the rhizome then lift up the clipped section slowly. I'll keep pulling really slowly until i cant pull out any more without wrecking havoc on my tank. then I clip the roots as close to the substrate as possible.

[cah925]

I usually try to cut the roots using a razor or scissors prior to removal. Cut a deep circle in the substrate around the plants to be removed. Pull the plants out very slowly and continue cutting the roots until the plant comes out cleanly.

[BruceF]

I think it is better to lift and seperate, then replant. Typical perrenial gardening!

[ChadRamsey]

i love it all overgrown like that i think that it looks great!

[oscarmeir]

Ok. So i ended up ripping out 99% of the cryptos, I kept just a bit for the foreground. I'm sure it'll bounce back in no time. As I was cleaning I found clumps upon clumps of Java Fern buried in the Java Moss. I tried to get rid of the moss but of course the one string that escaped will multiply and end up choking the tank in a matter of months. Hey, what can you do?
In any event the amount of sludge under the plants and under the rocks in there was insane. After 2 60% water changes its still all over. I'm hesitant to do another change so soon. Should I wait a day or two?
The open space is great, its actually relaxing to sit there and watch. Now I can go back to my LFS and get some new residents, I've been pushing it off till a did this clean up. Not sure why but I can't invest in a tank I know I'm gonna renovate...

As an afterthought, does the tank look unbalanced? With the dense right and the open left

[HD Blazingwolf]

crypts are best separated and replanted using the new sproutlets. if u trim the roots on an established crypt. it's likely to go through a melting phase

[aokashi]

watch the ammonia, nitrates and nitrites...
cutting back on so many plants is also cutting back on your ammonia sink...

[oscarmeir]

Originally Posted by aokashi

watch the ammonia, nitrates and nitrites...
cutting back on so many plants is also cutting back on your ammonia sink...

Didn't think about that, thanks I'll keep an eye out for them. Can I expect an algae bloom as well?

[aokashi]

not sure... >.>
quick release the floaters! lol.