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#1
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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. |
#2
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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 |
#3
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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. |
#4
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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/ |
#5
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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. |
#6
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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
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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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