[MeCasa]

I started buying my plants a month before my tank will be ready so I bought another cheap Walmart 10 to store the plants.

What if any preparations should I make? Will that cheap little LED be enough if I leave it on all the time or should I add light. I have some CO2 pellet cartridges I can let lose in the water or perhaps Club Soda?

Right now the tank will hold

10 pieces - Pogostemon Erectus
2 pads - Fissidens fontanus

 

[Method]

Why not just add the plants to your big tank? Are you doing a dry start?

 

[MeCasa]

My grandaughter and myself are building out the tank including rock work and a colorful reef, we're both having so much fun building out that I wish the building stage lasted forever :smile:

 

[Mizuhuman]

What kind of LED do you plan to use? show us some pictures or give us a link to it. It should be fine as long as you provide it with basic needs like nutrients and light. You probably won't need Co2, but it won't hurt.

 

[MeCasa]

It seems strange posting pictures on the web but my grandaughter and myself will start a build thread this weekend

 

[Tihsho]

MeCasa, rather than a plant storage why not build a growout? With stem plants it's nice to have a place growing spares for later projects or to give you space to grow out stems to fill in some places. You can treat it the same way as a display tank with lighting and substrate, but it's sole focus is the plants. That said, it doesn't have to be display worthy, but more so functional. I did when I was getting out of the hobby 6/7 years ago and am planning to start it up again. I had a 20 long that was getting light from a Coralife dual PC and just using a small Marine land pump for circulation and dispersion of DIY CO2. I had a concoction of substrate that was left over Flourite red, Flourite black sand, and laterite.

 

[MeCasa]

Ironically, I thought about that but I'll need all tanks on deck as quarantine tanks when I fire up the main tank. I'm getting the plants early so that I can use a 10 as a grow-out. When I'm ready to start filling the tank I'll place the plants in place with the tank half full and fill her up.

I explained to my granddaughter that we couldn't fill the tank until we were done working because we couldn't reach the bottom after it was filled (28" deep)

She goes outside and comes back in with her snorkel and goggles with a big smile on her face. I guess I should be happy she left the fins outside

 

[Tihsho]

Depending on the plants you are using/getting you can do the planting process pre-fill. Foreground (carpeting) and midground plants are a ton easier to deal with pre water. I find it less messy to plant said plants since the substrate won't shift due to water suspending the substrate slightly. Plus, when you fill the tank the substrate will somewhat auto level.

 

[MeCasa]

I didn't know that the plants could be out of water, how long can most plants be out of water?

Thanks

 

[Tihsho]

The key is to not let the plants dry out. The plants are fine as long as they are moist, other wise processes like the Dry Start Method (DSM) wouldn't work. If you're concerned just be prepared with a spray bottle of room temp water to spritz down everything while you work to keep it moist. Oh, also you can start with a damp substrate as well to keep the plants weighted down while you place them in their new home.

 

[MeCasa]

Good information. I'll probably start with 6" -8" of water. I built a scaffold level with the bottom of the tank and the granddaughter LOVES hanging in the thing. Adding 6" of water will give her a whole new experience and will keep me laughing.

Thanks