Plantman

hey, what is in your trace element? like to know formula that works!

the small sword goes with the runner that spread throught the gravel. this one grow out of the water. i had mine growig about 70 cm long. i though it is going to touch my celing. i think the shoot is call rizon (can someone correct my spelling?) at some point, you will need to sort of twirl it back into the water. there the node will flowered and plantlet will grow. made sure you give it a little more juice for the plantlet (water fertliser). if the shoot or stalk is still stiff, if you push it a little for a while, it begin to loosen. wait for 12 hours and slowly twirl it back under the water. be sure to show us the flower in your picture and save one plantlet for me to buy. All the best.

brother it looks like you have cut it from the mother plant. you should not have done that. Pitty, Orisis is a beautiful plant. (any picture of the main plant). the plantlet stalk should be left attached the the main plant until the leafs and roots are well develop. if this is cut, i do not think anything can happened now. i do not think there is any seed for you to geminate. Sorry, not a good news from me.

i have managed to catch some fresh water shrimps before. i was selling them for 50 cents each and was told later by trademe that it is illegal to sell. i have stop that ever since. i have given the shrimps away to those who is interested to buy my plants and quarium equipments. now i have very little left. i will let you guys know when i got more fresh water shrimps and package it with my stuff for sale. Cheers

Hi Steves, just keep that CO2 coming and maintain the position. look forward to hearing from you.

if you can do some close up. that will be clearer. or wait till it get bigger. Cheers

1) no sure what plant this is? is there two of a kind as there seems to be two stalks (red and green). 2) i bought this plant from Hollywood (north shore) who told me that its nick name is "Elephant Ear". let me know when you find out from them. 3) Definately Hygrophilia Polysperma as the leafs are almost green. if it goes reddish when it is near the light, then it is Hygrophilia polysperma "Rosanervig". easy plant to grow. 4) is definately Nymphaea Lotus "Green" commmonly known as Lotus with red spot. if you got one to sell, please let me know. i am interested. 5) Star Grass, commonly found in the LFS. Happy research.

HI All these are a lot of plants and you may get it at a low price. http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/auct ... d=35330257 i am doing this just once. all trading will be done through Trademe. thank you for looking.

Hi Jude i agree with Caryl would not worry too much unless it is excessive like the whole plant is breaking apart. made sure you use your netting to collect all the debri so that lights can get to the plant. cheers

Hi Chikybabe white light for plant growth is fine. at 6,500 Kevin, it is enough to stimulate growth and very close to the same spetram as the sun light. what you need to fine out is the wattage of the light you have. the ratio of wattage of light to the volume of water should be 2(or 2.5) to 4. this also depend on a lot of factor such as: is the tank full or full full of plant, how long you have the light on, fertiliser, etc. any of this either upset the growth or it promote algae boom. how this helps. Cheers

what sort of trouble are you refering to? are the turtle eating it or pushing it a round? is your plant growing? i found that many people is not really helping the plant to grow and thus it will be rotting. the leaves will turn soft and will be easy meal to the turtle or other fishes. and people blame the fishes. on the other hand there are fish that never get enough food to eat and so they though, lets give this greens a try. if the fish are playing around with the plant, it may be a good idea to tie a weight at the root level. once the roots are firmly establish, cut loose the cords that holds the weight. hope this suggestion is helpful. Cheers

OK guys i guess i am one of those who like to try out new approach. may be the adhesiveness may not be strong between two different elements. thanks for the comments. i will cut the glass instead.

Hi All thanks for the input. i am getting may 6 to 10 tank. i have heaps of perspex (6to 8 mm thick) whic i have access to machine cut. i do not want to spend more money as i already have. that is the reason for using perspex to patch the hole from the inside of the tank. i do not think the perspex will crack or anything. the temp of the water should be quite constant. what sort of silicon or adhesive should i use. any recommendation? thanks

HI All i need some feedback as i think it should work. i have a small tank 2x1x1 feet. it has a hole at the bottom which is 3 cm in diameter. question: i should cut a piece of perspex (instead of glass), square shape (4X4 or 5X5 depending on space available) to cover the hole at the bottom glass. i will be very surprise if it crack and is there some thing else i may have over look. thank you for your though.

it require PL Light fitting and not the normal fluro one. some LFS will sell the whole fitting. 55 watt tube for the top and 36 watt tube for the bottom both have 6,500 K (day light) to simulate sunlight. the four pin are similar to the fluro who has two pin on both end. they have different fitting.

Basically, your tank is not suited for regular plant other than low light demanding plant. it cannot hold too many plants too. unless you lose the hood. some lfs sell lights that is using PL light which has a distinct U-shape tube. FL light is the normal typical straight tube. the good thing about PL light is that it offer high watt using little space. it come with a fitting for 2 feet tank. the tube is running 36 watt and the tube itself is about 18 inches long. with the fitting, it is about 2 feet long. it normally comes with a stand (2pcs, one on each end). tube replacement various from lighting shops to lighting shops. some sell as high as $40 and others $28. if you take out the hood and replace it with this PL light fitting, your plant will do well. as your tank are about 18 inches, it not exact fitting for the two feet pl light but it will look nice. dosing fertiliser (or ball fertiliser) will encourage your algae to thrive as the plants are not healthy enought to compete for the food source. if you want to know more about PL light, PM me. i will let you know who supply them locally. i import my PL light as i use a lot of them (high elec. bills, here i come ).

yes, every node will be a plantlet (baby). cut the cord only when you the roots are establish. keep the light under the plantlet, may be that will help. i don't think the fish is nibbling at the root, give it some more time. cheers

Well done Jude, if you have 6 to 7 leaflet and the root is about 2 - 3 inches long, you can cut the connecting stem. plant root with your root fertilizer and it will do well. cut off the rest of the stem if you have clear all the node or it will dissolve in time. you probably have a few nodes. each node may have some flowers and each nodes may produce one or two bunches. All the best.

Hi Jude if you have slimy algae in your tank it is best to do a through overhaul of your tank. 1 take a 10 litre (or bigger) pail and fill it half with tank water and water from the tap. put in a heater and allow it to get to the right temp. place a air bubble maker in your pale. 2 catch your fishes and place them in the pail. 3 take out your plant, stone and driftwood and give them a good scrap. wash your gravel throughly and take it out to sun it for a day or two. take out your filter and wash the filter or media. 4 put then back together again and set the temperature right. 5 place your fish back into the tank. you would have got rid of 80% algae. but you must also think back how did that algae got there in the first place. was it no enough water change, too long under the sun, feed too much food for the fish, too long on the lighting, too much fertiliser, etc. that cause the algae to grow. hope you get that christmas moss going, it will be beautiful in any tank. Cheers

you may want to do a reserch on the Website: http://www.aquabotanic.com/DIYCO2.htm (and many more). to have a healthy growing planted tank, it is essential to have CO2. accessive CO2 can harm your fish but the $70 thingy will not harm your fish as it is design to take care of 2 feet tank. Some hobbyist are happy without using CO2 but i can assure that there will be great satisfaction as you watch the photosynthesis of the plant take place. CO2 is also good to control your algea growth. it can get pretty complicated from here on. if you plan to landscape your tank with lawn and different plant (green and red), you will need a careful balance of CO2, nutrient and lighting. I hope i did not confuse you. but i encourage all hoobyist with planted tank to have at least the DIY from nutrafin. Currently, i have ten bottles of DIY CO2 going on in all my tank. that is why i need a better solution, like pressure CO2. (i still have excess of NUTRAFIN DIY CO2 (brand new) going for $50. let me know if you are interested). Cheers

i saw this plant in Holywood at Frosty road, auckland. it is a red species. very beautiful. i will try to go there one of these days to take a picture if nobody could do that. sorry, i am busy with exams and assignments. i will be flying (free) after 24 june. cheers

Hi Steve i do not know why no member response to you and they have not response to my thread too. metal head light as you know is commonly use in the reef aquarium. it is powerful and of course expensive. you can use MH light for planted tank but it may be an over kill. planted tank needs a good balance of nutrients, Co2 and light. if you have a strong light, weak co2 and good nutrients, you are inviting algae to grow in your planted tank. if you do not have co2 in your tank, i would strongly suggest not to get MH light. get one with 6,500 kelvin and have about 2.5 or more watts per gallon (depending on the numbers of plants {types of plants}). MH light also keep the heat up, so in the summer you may have problems as most plant would like cold water temperature. all the best.

Hi All i just want to share that you can hold any moss onto the driftwood and see nature takes it course. you can see the nylon string going around the DW. as it grow more, no one can see the line. Give it a desirable position and maintain that position or not shift it too much. you can use a suction cup or string to hold it in position. after tying the line, the moss soften and melt to the surface of the DW. do not be fool, it is not dying but growing to take a new shape. when it is grown, it will cover the fishing line. i enjoy watch the plant grow. it looks like miniture pine on top of the mountain it took about 2-3 months and it grow too dense. so i cut away the nylon string. pull out the string and throw the string away. after that much growth in the moss, i notice around 1% of the moss stick to the surface of the DW. if i wanted to, i can retie the moss onto the DW again as it does through another cycle. Share your experience and let me know what you think. Cheers

Good on you, Brother if there is anything needed to be done, do it right. bear in mind there is not perfect system. they may be good for certain reaction but will also in most case a bad effect as well. i feel the key to successful aquarium is the right formular and consistence balance for the plants and fishes. hope you get what you wanted and keep us updated. cheers

caryl is right, it is not a true aquatic plant but if you want to give it a go since you already have it. look out for rotting leaves than plant it in a pot. be sure to share with us the outcome. i have read from the forum that it is grown emersed. a submerge one will continue to grow from the water until it hit the ceiling. cheers