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Old 20-04-2003, 07:15 AM
H8That
 
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Default Asian Water Spinach?

Will the "Water Spinach" commonly sold in Asian supermarkets proliferate in an
aquarium? Water plants are expensive.... so if these water spinach will do, I
would be able to save tons of money and buy a whole bunch for a really green
tank.
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Old 20-04-2003, 07:15 AM
Marvin Hlavac
 
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Default Asian Water Spinach?


"H8That" wrote in message
...
Will the "Water Spinach" commonly sold in Asian supermarkets proliferate in an
aquarium? Water plants are expensive.... so if these water spinach will do, I
would be able to save tons of money and buy a whole bunch for a really green
tank.



Hi H8That,

You could then make up some fancy name for it and distribute it to aquarium
stores ;-)

Now on a serious note: I don't know what Asian Water Spinach is but why don't
you try it in your aquarium and then let us all know.

--
Marvin
hlavac (at) rogers (dot) com


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Old 20-04-2003, 07:15 AM
H8That
 
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Default Asian Water Spinach?

Water spinach, Ipomoea aquatica, is an emersed vine. It grows in damp soil
or
in water with its leaves above water. Not really ideal for an aquarium.

Water spinach can be easily propagated and grown at home. First of all,

loosen the shoots, remove dead foliage, and re-cut the stems. Then,
immediately
dip the ends in rooting hormone and insert them into a drainage-free
container
filled with inundated sharp sand. After roots develop, transplant them into a
fertile soil mixture and place in a very sunny portion of the water garden.
These plants relish heat and humidity, and flourish in areas with very hot,
frost-free temperatures, such as USDA Zone 11 and 12.

What kind of tank do you have? (Size, substrate, lighting?)

I ask because the cost of the plants is generally the least of your expenses
when you're setting up a planted tank. People here are generally happy to
share their clippings for little more than the cost of postage. But that
won't
do you any good if you don't have your tank set up so that plants will grow
in
it.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/


Thanks Leigh. I will try that. I have both outdoor ponds and inside tanks.
My inside tank is a 100 gallon with approximately 3 watt per gallon neon
setting. I have regular aquarium substrate with bichir fish.
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Old 20-04-2003, 07:15 AM
LeighMo
 
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Default Asian Water Spinach?

My inside tank is a 100 gallon with approximately 3 watt per gallon neon
setting. I have regular aquarium substrate with bichir fish.


Yikes! That's a lot of light for a tank that size. I hope you are injecting
compressed CO2.

It can be difficult to keep plants in a tank with fish that get as large as
bichir do. They tend to uproot plants just by moving around. Something with
nice, strong roots, like Amazon swords or tiger lotuses (lilies) might be good.
But rooted plants generally like a rich substrate. If your tank is new, you
might want to put some laterite balls in the substrate, near the roots of the
plants.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/
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Old 20-04-2003, 07:15 AM
H8That
 
Posts: n/a
Default Asian Water Spinach?

Yikes! That's a lot of light for a tank that size. I hope you are injecting
compressed CO2.

It can be difficult to keep plants in a tank with fish that get as large as
bichir do. They tend to uproot plants just by moving around. Something with
nice, strong roots, like Amazon swords or tiger lotuses (lilies) might be
good.
But rooted plants generally like a rich substrate. If your tank is new, you
might want to put some laterite balls in the substrate, near the roots of the
plants.


Leigh


I thought that would be a lot of light for freshwater. It used to be a salt
water tank which needed more light. I've been successful with reef tanks;
however, this nature aquarium thing is new to me. I decided to get into it when
I saw several books from a Japanese guy (Amano or something like that... there
were something like 3 volumes.) About how much CO2 do you need per gallon? I
currently have Java fern which are easy to keep alive but will cost me a lot of
money if I wanted to plant them all over a 100 gallon tank. That's why I
initially inquired about water spinach. What spectrum bulbs are best? I
suppose one of my blue spectrum from my reef tank days may not be too good for
the plants?

Is it easier to keep plants healthy in separate pots or to just plant them
into the bottom of the tank?

This water plant thing is tough. Even though I've been into fish aquariums for
over ten years, I feel like a rookie again because of this "natural aquarium"
thing. I thank you for any assistance.


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Old 20-04-2003, 07:15 AM
LeighMo
 
Posts: n/a
Default Asian Water Spinach?

I thought that would be a lot of light for freshwater. It used to be a salt
water tank which needed more light. I've been successful with reef tanks;
however, this nature aquarium thing is new to me. I decided to get into it
when
I saw several books from a Japanese guy (Amano or something like that...
there
were something like 3 volumes.)


Takashi Amano's tanks are gorgeous. He's the reason I ended up keeping planted
tanks, too. :-) He injects CO2, believe me.

About how much CO2 do you need per gallon?


CO2 is measured in ppm. There are charts, like this:

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

You need to measure your pH and KH to use the charts.

And the charts are generally conservative. You can have up to 35ppm without
harm to fish.

What spectrum bulbs are best? I
suppose one of my blue spectrum from my reef tank days may not be too good
for
the plants?


Planted tank keepers generally prefer light with more red in it -- maybe 6500K
or so -- but plants are not as sensitive to spectrum as corals are. For
plants, intensity matters more than spectrum. Some people claim that too much
blue light causes algae, but IME, it's not critical. For a planted tank, feel
free to choose your lighting based on aesthetics.

Is it easier to keep plants healthy in separate pots or to just plant them
into the bottom of the tank?


With as much light as you have, you should have a *lot* of plants. 80% or more
of the tank should be planted. That being the case, it would be easier to
plant in the gravel.

You have too much light for a non-injected tank. Either reduce your lighting
or inject CO2. Given the size of your tank, compressed CO2 is your only
option. Dave Gomberg sells CO2 systems for planted tanks, and offers help in
setting them up:

http://www.wcf.com/co2iron/

You'll have to get the cylinder of compressed CO2 locally, from a beverage
supply or welding supply company.

I would definitely remove a few bulbs until you can get a CO2 system set up.
Too much light without CO2 is asking for trouble. Not only will it be an algae
nightmare, but you can have sharp daily pH swings, because of the plants'
stripping CO2 out of the water during the day, as well as a gradual pH increase
over time, followed by a sudden crash, as the CO2-deprived plants strip
carbonate out of the water.

Unfortunately, you really can't start small with as much light as you have.
You must inject CO2, and you must plant heavily. The idea is to have enough
plants to out-compete the algae. Otherwise, that extra light will turn your
tank into an algae farm.

If you want to start small, try to get your lighting down below 2 wpg. You
won't have to inject CO2 then, though you should still have lots of plants.
You might find this article helpful:

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_newtank.htm

As for plants...if you're in the U.S., e-mail me when you've got your CO2 up
and running. I'll give you enough clippings to fill that tank for the cost of
postage (probably about $10).


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/
  #7   Report Post  
Old 20-04-2003, 07:15 AM
Haywire
 
Posts: n/a
Default Asian Water Spinach?

hmm,

I used water lettuce to help me get my algae under control, it grew super
fast covering my tank quickly thereby diffusing the light that got to the
bottom, it also proved to be a good surface for algae to grow on, I scooped
the floating stuff with the algae and tossed them. After all what else do
you do with Lettuce, *PUN*

I'd definitely throw floaters in to the new set up to at least start
stripping excess nutrients.


"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
I thought that would be a lot of light for freshwater. It used to be a

salt
water tank which needed more light. I've been successful with reef

tanks;
however, this nature aquarium thing is new to me. I decided to get into

it
when
I saw several books from a Japanese guy (Amano or something like that...
there
were something like 3 volumes.)


Takashi Amano's tanks are gorgeous. He's the reason I ended up keeping

planted
tanks, too. :-) He injects CO2, believe me.

About how much CO2 do you need per gallon?


CO2 is measured in ppm. There are charts, like this:

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

You need to measure your pH and KH to use the charts.

And the charts are generally conservative. You can have up to 35ppm

without
harm to fish.

What spectrum bulbs are best? I
suppose one of my blue spectrum from my reef tank days may not be too

good
for
the plants?


Planted tank keepers generally prefer light with more red in it -- maybe

6500K
or so -- but plants are not as sensitive to spectrum as corals are. For
plants, intensity matters more than spectrum. Some people claim that too

much
blue light causes algae, but IME, it's not critical. For a planted tank,

feel
free to choose your lighting based on aesthetics.

Is it easier to keep plants healthy in separate pots or to just plant

them
into the bottom of the tank?


With as much light as you have, you should have a *lot* of plants. 80% or

more
of the tank should be planted. That being the case, it would be easier to
plant in the gravel.

You have too much light for a non-injected tank. Either reduce your

lighting
or inject CO2. Given the size of your tank, compressed CO2 is your only
option. Dave Gomberg sells CO2 systems for planted tanks, and offers help

in
setting them up:

http://www.wcf.com/co2iron/

You'll have to get the cylinder of compressed CO2 locally, from a beverage
supply or welding supply company.

I would definitely remove a few bulbs until you can get a CO2 system set

up.
Too much light without CO2 is asking for trouble. Not only will it be an

algae
nightmare, but you can have sharp daily pH swings, because of the plants'
stripping CO2 out of the water during the day, as well as a gradual pH

increase
over time, followed by a sudden crash, as the CO2-deprived plants strip
carbonate out of the water.

Unfortunately, you really can't start small with as much light as you

have.
You must inject CO2, and you must plant heavily. The idea is to have

enough
plants to out-compete the algae. Otherwise, that extra light will turn

your
tank into an algae farm.

If you want to start small, try to get your lighting down below 2 wpg.

You
won't have to inject CO2 then, though you should still have lots of

plants.
You might find this article helpful:

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_newtank.htm

As for plants...if you're in the U.S., e-mail me when you've got your CO2

up
and running. I'll give you enough clippings to fill that tank for the

cost of
postage (probably about $10).


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/



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