# Growing anubias emersed?



## Gatekeeper

Covered container that will allow light in. Spare fish tanks are great for this, put some soil on the bottom, little water and a heater. Add a light and voila.


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## Nue

Or send to me  But they do grow faster out of water, its a fun project.


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## Gatekeeper

Have a look at one of my older emersed setups. Thing was killer. Was growing anubias like a madman.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/g...scussion/76132-my-ebb-flow-emersed-setup.html


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## kevmo911

Gatekeeper said:


> Have a look at one of my older emersed setups. Thing was killer. Was growing anubias like a madman.


Not really sure, but from the pics it looks like the anubias rhizomes were buried?


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## Gatekeeper

kevmo911 said:


> Not really sure, but from the pics it looks like the anubias rhizomes were buried?


No. They were right on the substrate though and the roots just dug in. When I would pull them out, they would be a huge heap. 

This system is a bit on the "techy" side. I had a fogger system, a flooging pump and all kinds of jazz. Worked really well, but you can simplify it alot. If you look further into the journal, there are pics of some of my more simplified setups with other types of plants I had at the time.

I am down to just a 20 gallon emersed tank right now with just a bunch of overflow plants from another club member who didn't want them.

I will say this, emersed is an excellent, efficient way to store plants that you aren't using. Very "set it and forget it" mentality. 

If you have never done it and have a little bit of room, I highly recommend giving it a go.


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## jcgd

I want to set up a few emmersed setups myself. I was thinking of a few domes with soil planted up, and a large tupperware with a bunch of pots with clay pellets with a pump that would spray water into the top of all the pots, like a typical hydroponics setup.

Any thoughts gatekeeper? You seem to be a pro. I'm mostly trying to grow anubias, crypts and foreground plants such as HC, HG, glosso and hairgrass.

It seems to be really difficult to get information on these setups.


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## legomaniac89

The thing with _Anubias_ is they need really high humidity all the time. If that's provided, they're not too picky about anything else.

Justin - Emersed setups are easy. Just grab yourself a bunch of those cheap plastic pots and a bag of good soil, put all the pots in an aquarium of whatever with a lid to keep humidity in and put a couple inches of water in the bottom to keep the soil wet. Once the plants convert over to emersed life, you can lower the humidity and moisture level a bit, but make sure you do it slowly or the plants will wilt.


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## jcgd

I'm going to have to try this. How fast do the anubias grow? Is the growth finally noticeable on a daily basis?


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## Gatekeeper

justincgdick said:


> I'm going to have to try this. How fast do the anubias grow? Is the growth finally noticeable on a daily basis?


I wouldn't get that crazy. Maybe noticeable over a week if you don't look. And I am no pro. LOL.

I have tried emersed setups in many differing variable conditions, high temps high humidity, room temp, low humdity, etc. etc. They all have pros and cons.


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## jcgd

Gatekeeper said:


> I wouldn't get that crazy. Maybe noticeable over a week if you don't look. And I am no pro. LOL.
> 
> I have tried emersed setups in many differing variable conditions, high temps high humidity, room temp, low humdity, etc. etc. They all have pros and cons.


Ha, ha. I didn't mean growing crazy fast, like a stem plant, but not the sitting there for monthslike my anubias in my tank do. I need to grow some anubias out for a new 77 gallon and I don't want it to take a full year.

Would anubias need soil, or would a layer of water in the bottom of a tray work? I was thinking of clay pellets or plain soil for all my setups. Or soil-less if that will work.


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## naturelady

I will second the request for more details on substrate. Can regular topsoil work, or do you need a more traditional aquarium substrate?


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## kevmo911

I saw a thread from i think APC where somebody grew crypt wendtii in 8 or 10 different substrates and took pics over time. There was no noticeable difference between growth. I *think* everything was emmersed. People often definitely place too much emphasis on how a certain substrate will allow plants to grow. In my experience, the biggest difference between substrates are appearance and ease of original planting. If it's inert, throw in some root tabs and pat yourself for saving big bucks for the same general result.


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## PinoyBoy

This guy, is the lord of anubias:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/photography/69991-my-collection-anubias.html
Check it out.



kevmo911 said:


> I saw a thread from i think APC where somebody grew crypt wendtii in 8 or 10 different substrates and took pics over time. There was no noticeable difference between growth. I *think* everything was emmersed. People often definitely place too much emphasis on how a certain substrate will allow plants to grow. In my experience, the biggest difference between substrates are appearance and ease of original planting. If it's inert, throw in some root tabs and pat yourself for saving big bucks for the same general result.


This is the guy KevMo911 is talking about I think:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/cryptocorynes/76369-substrate-experiment-commercial.html


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## jcgd

PinoyBoy said:


> This guy, is the lord of anubias:
> http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/photography/69991-my-collection-anubias.html
> Check it out.
> 
> 
> 
> This is the guy KevMo911 is talking about I think:
> http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/cryptocorynes/76369-substrate-experiment-commercial.html



Epic. I'm so glad you posted this. I find emmersed topics are not nearly abundant enough. I'm having a heck of a time finding and good write-ups or information, so things like this are a jewel for me. Mr. Barr has touched on the topic but not enough to satisfy my taste for information.

I'm going to have to set something up. After seeing it is possible to artificially pollinate and get seeds I'm even more excited.


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