First emmersed attempt

[amberoze]

I have everything I need for a 10 gallon tank just laying around the house. 15watt fluorescent tube, tank, kitty litter substrate, and plants. I've been reading up on emmersed setups lately, and I wanted to try my hand at it.


Where the tank will sit when finished.


The tank and light.


Plastic wrap to hold in humidity.


The substrate.


100% clay kitty litter.


After adding kitty litter and water(from an established tank)

More to come. Input appreciated.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[amberoze]

Plant list.

Anubias Barteri var. nana
Anubias Barteri var. marble
Cyperus Helferi
Riccia Fluitans
Marsilea Hirsuta (water clover)
Hydrocotyle sp. (Brazilian Pennywort.

Anyone know if dwarf baby tears will grow emmersed?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[chevyguy8893]

Looks like a good start. I would drop the water level significantly though, standing water is no good with emersed plants IMO. Is this strictly for emersed growing plants to transfer to another tank, or is this a dry start tank? Also, dwarf baby tears grow well emersed.

I don't know if the kitty litter with tank water will provide enough nutrients, but I could be wrong. My emersed setup has only been going for a couple months now, so I don't have a lot of experience with it.

[GMYukonon24s]

First off, good luck with your setup. Also like chevy said I would lower the water. When I did a emmersed setup I had dwarf baby tears growing all I was using was eco-complete.

[amberoze]

I have Riccia that I want to "float" in the pool there. Would the Riccia do okay with nothing more than wet soil.

Also, this is basically a grow out tank for plants that I want to propagate into other tanks as well as sell/trade any extra that might come from this. But that's if the whole thing works at all.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[GMYukonon24s]

Originally Posted by amberoze

I have Riccia that I want to "float" in the pool there. Would the Riccia do okay with nothing more than wet soil?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I'm not sure if it would be ok just with wet soil. The riccia in my tank grows so fast that I've never tried to to emmerse it.

[amberoze]

Originally Posted by GMYukonon24s

I'm not sure if it would be ok just with wet soil. The riccia in my tank grows so fast that I've never tried to to emmerse it.

After a quick search to confirm what I was certain I had read before, Riccia will grow just fine emersed as long as it is kept in a damp, humid environment. Which is why I am covering the top of the tank with plastic wrap.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[GMYukonon24s]

Originally Posted by amberoze

After a quick search to confirm what I was certain I had read before, Riccia will grow just fine emersed as long as it is kept in a damp, humid environment. Which is why I am covering the top of the tank with plastic wrap.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Oh ok I wasn't sure because I've never tried it before.

[amberoze]

Some info on the substrate.

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertil...ate-jamie.html

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[@marko@]

riccia grows excellent just pressed against wet soil like moss. i have some in my emmersed setup.

[amberoze]

Originally Posted by @marko@

riccia grows excellent just pressed against wet soil like moss. i have some in my emmersed setup.

Thank you for this info, I'll put it to good use.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Monster Fish]

What's your fert regime gonna be like? DSM plants need nutrients too.

[amberoze]

Originally Posted by Monster Fish

What's your fert regime gonna be like? DSM plants need nutrients too.

Ha. All my searching and I didn't find any info on fertilizing an emersed setup. What would you recommend?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Monster Fish]

Depends on what you want to grow. From what I see from your list of plants, some root tabs (maybe Osmocote) would work, along with a diluted spray of macro ferts. Also, drop the water level down so the substrate is just saturated but isn't completely covered with water.

[amberoze]

Originally Posted by Monster Fish

Depends on what you want to grow. From what I see from your list of plants, some root tabs (maybe Osmocote) would work, along with a diluted spray of macro ferts. Also, drop the water level down so the substrate is just saturated but isn't completely covered with water.

Would you say that this is a requirement, or is it the recommended way that you would do it?
I don't have root tabs, but I do have some flourish that I can put into my spray bottle to water the plants with.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2