Okay so I have seen those tools that let you trim and plant plants. Do they work at all? Trimming and planting all my stem plants is a lot of work, and if there is a tool that made this easier then I would be very interested. However if all it does is keep me dry and not make the job any easier then I have no interest in it.
If you don't mind getting your arms wet, don't bother. I'd think those things could actually make it more difficult. can you imagine trying to plant clippings with tweezers?:aah:
I like sticking my hands in the tank and pinching off clippings and replanting. I can't imagine how cumbersome and slow it would be with all those contraptions.
I guess they'd be a benefit if your tank was especially tall and you couldn't reach the bottom with your hands.:fish:
i have been looking around at those items as well. my finger are big and i find when i push 1 stem into the gravel one an inch away lifts up and so i plant it the another one comes up it drives me nuts i was thinking since they are smaller tiped they woud not do the same thing but then again that is all i would be useing it for. think it woudl work or is there a beter way?
Originally posted by m.lemay
can you imagine trying to plant clippings with tweezers?I can't imagine how cumbersome and slow it would be with all those contraptions.
I guess they'd be a benefit if your tank was especially tall and you couldn't reach the bottom with your hands.:fish:
I have an aquarium tool set. I use the spatula for finishing touches on the gravel. I use a plastic spatula when setting up the tank to level the gravel the way I want it to be. I use scissors for trimming - get some stainess steel, and they are great. I use them primarily to trim my swords and shortening stem plants, as well as trimming roots before planting. The last piece are the tweezers. Yes, I plant my stems 1-3 at a time. I also plant chain sword, microsword, most of my crypts and hairgrass in about the same fashion. My tank is 2' deep and I have large hands. The tweezers allow me to be more precise with planting.
Basically the tools are not worthless if you can find a use for them. About the only thing I plant by hand are my anubias and large root swords. Once the tanks are set up, my primary tools are the tweezers and scissors when trimming. My plants seem to grow back better with a clean cut through the stem versus a tear. When cutting with scissors, the plant tissue does not bruise like it could possiblly do when trimming plants with your hands.
Do the tools keep me dry, not really. Do I have to use the tools? I'm going to use something, so why not. For example, instead of getting a long algae scraper from the LFS - I found a window scaper at home depot that does the same job. This is one of my tools. The blade is thin enough to scape algae - and turned a 1 hr job into about 5 or 10 minutes.
i got a plant tong from Eheim. There is a scissor and a "grabber" with it. I use it for instance, if the hose to my Co2 difussor is on its way of. Also, when i trim my Hygro. poly. and replant the clippings i use it, because if i use my hands, one of the other hygros goes up. You really dont need it, but it can be useful.
I have seen them and was wondering about buying them. But I have some long and short scissors I use to trim the plants with and I use a pair of forcepts to plant my plants. I need to be careful not to close them or else the plant base will get snipped off. I have used regular tweezers that you get at the drug store and those work well too. The advantage of using a tool, which ever one you choose, to set your plants into the substrate is that you get minimal disturbance to the substrate and also it does make it easier instead of burrowing a small hole with your finger and placing the plant into the hole them trying to cover it up with the substrate. When you do that you can cause the nutrients in the substrate to be release into the water column and that can cause an algae bloom.
I would incourage the use the differant types of tools that are available,whether it is designed specificly for planted aquariums or if it is a tool for other uses and adopted into using it for your planting needs.
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