Hi all,

as I was planting the aquarium, I have become aware that the gravel I have
is probably a bit too coarse for the plants. like, I can't seem to keep
blubs from dislodging itself, every time I try to plant near one (4in away)
that's already in the gravel, ones nearby gets dislodged etc...

will this become a problem once the roots are allowed to settle? the gravel
is pea-sized standard aquarium gravel...

linda

linda mar wrote:

Hi all,

as I was planting the aquarium, I have become aware that the gravel I have
is probably a bit too coarse for the plants. like, I can't seem to keep
blubs from dislodging itself, every time I try to plant near one (4in away)
that's already in the gravel, ones nearby gets dislodged etc...

will this become a problem once the roots are allowed to settle? the gravel
is pea-sized standard aquarium gravel...

It is probably too coarse. Recommended size is 2-3mm, while peas are more like
4-10mm. What you are experiencing now will continue to happen, only slightly
less so if the roots can get established.

Dave Millman wrote in message ...
linda mar wrote:

Hi all,

as I was planting the aquarium, I have become aware that the gravel I have
is probably a bit too coarse for the plants. like, I can't seem to keep
blubs from dislodging itself, every time I try to plant near one (4in away)
that's already in the gravel, ones nearby gets dislodged etc...

will this become a problem once the roots are allowed to settle? the gravel
is pea-sized standard aquarium gravel...

It is probably too coarse. Recommended size is 2-3mm, while peas are more like
4-10mm. What you are experiencing now will continue to happen, only slightly
less so if the roots can get established.

I use gravel that is 1/2" - 1" in size, more like small rocks. New
plants without roots are a little bit of a headache but you can use
weights to keep them down (LFS). Now that my plants are established
they dont move, regardless of what I do in the tank. I've pulled up
some plants and found whole rocks wraped in roots.

Hi!

thanks all for replying. I guess i will try the way it is for a while and
see how it goes..

I think for the short term, I'm going to get a shot glass or some small
container and put sand in those for the stem plants.. as I don't think i'll
be able to hold them in the gravel I have in the tank unless I weigh each
stem down (too much work!)

thanks!
linda

"C.S." wrote in message
om...
Dave Millman wrote in message
...
linda mar wrote:

Hi all,

as I was planting the aquarium, I have become aware that the gravel I
have
is probably a bit too coarse for the plants. like, I can't seem to
keep
blubs from dislodging itself, every time I try to plant near one (4in
away)
that's already in the gravel, ones nearby gets dislodged etc...

will this become a problem once the roots are allowed to settle? the
gravel
is pea-sized standard aquarium gravel...

It is probably too coarse. Recommended size is 2-3mm, while peas are
more like
4-10mm. What you are experiencing now will continue to happen, only
slightly
less so if the roots can get established.

I use gravel that is 1/2" - 1" in size, more like small rocks. New
plants without roots are a little bit of a headache but you can use
weights to keep them down (LFS). Now that my plants are established
they dont move, regardless of what I do in the tank. I've pulled up
some plants and found whole rocks wraped in roots.

"linda mar" wrote in message
...
I think for the short term, I'm going to get a shot glass or some small
container and put sand in those for the stem plants.. as I don't think
i'll
be able to hold them in the gravel I have in the tank unless I weigh each
stem down (too much work!)

I read a post from someone, somewhere who suggested knocking the bottom out
of a small red clay fired pot and using it as a "containment ring". If you
were really handy, you could cut it down to the appropriate depth. I don't
know what kind of saw that would require.

chet

On 2 Feb 2003 05:52:10 -0800, (C.S.) wrote:

Dave Millman wrote in message ...
linda mar wrote:

Hi all,

as I was planting the aquarium, I have become aware that the gravel I have
is probably a bit too coarse for the plants. like, I can't seem to keep
blubs from dislodging itself, every time I try to plant near one (4in away)
that's already in the gravel, ones nearby gets dislodged etc...

will this become a problem once the roots are allowed to settle? the gravel
is pea-sized standard aquarium gravel...

It is probably too coarse. Recommended size is 2-3mm, while peas are more like
4-10mm. What you are experiencing now will continue to happen, only slightly
less so if the roots can get established.

I use gravel that is 1/2" - 1" in size, more like small rocks. New
plants without roots are a little bit of a headache but you can use
weights to keep them down (LFS). Now that my plants are established
they dont move, regardless of what I do in the tank. I've pulled up
some plants and found whole rocks wraped in roots.

I have to concur, my gravel is larger sized natural stone and once the
plants get rooted you have to take up rocks and all to get them out.
They work fine for me, but to each his own as to what they like. Most
old hands with plants recommend smaller, therefore lighter substrate to
make the rooting easier, but all the types of plants I have tried so far
have not found my top layer of larger stone to be a major problem

I use sugar sized play sand in all aquariums. plants root better and fish are
able to interact in a more natural way with sand than they are with gravel.
Don't worry about build up of gasses under the sand. it's not as big a problem
as they hype would lead you to believe.
remove nospam from e-mail to send to me, I grow trees in aquariums like bonsai.
I breed dwarf crayfish, great for planted community tanks. If you can get me a
shovelnose sturgeon fingerling (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) no wild caught
please, contact me