# Johnson18's Emersed Tanks



## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

*Johnson18's 20L Emersed Tank. Help!*

So I made my own substrate mixture, Miracle Grow top soil, black onyx sand & some riparium planter gravel with some Osmocote plus mixed in. I figured the mixture would allow for a little more aeration/water flow.

I used a variety or clay/terra cotta pots as well as plastic containers that I drilled 1/4" holes in.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

*Johnson18's 20L Emersed Tank. Help!*

So I've added some stem plants and such, now it's time to start looking for some sweet crypts! Here are some pics!








Bacopa Caroliniana
























Crypt lucens
























Alt. Reineckii, B. colorata, Rotala Indica rotundifolia-added about a week ago, just starting to show growth, was previously submerged








You can kind of see the Vietnamese Coriander on the left also just added.








Cardamine








Glosso!


If anyone has suggestions based on my set up & pics on how to better grow any of these plants in this set up PLEASE share them with me! This is my first attempt at an emersed set up! I would love some feedback on this! Thanks!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

So I started this project back in March, I'm really enjoying growing plants emersed. I've become extremely interested in different cryptocoryne species! I've done a ton of reading online. While I've not started getting any of the less common crypts yet, I've been picking up supplies here and there. I think I'm going to switch most of the plants in this 20L into a spare 55 I've got. I've still gotta pick up some small pots of a uniform size so that I can maximize the number of plants I will be able to fit into the 55. Here are a few pictures of the 20L in its current set up. I've recently started misting it with RO water once every other day or so. 








Bacopa Caroliniana


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

So I've got a few more crypt species and an anubias barteri nana true petite on the way for this tank & hopefully a few Bucephalandra species! 
I have yet to find the square pots in the size I want(& not 100 or 200 qty) but I did pick up a few 3" round pots. I will probably pick up a few more of these pots.

I do have a 50L bag of hydroton & about 40 3" net pots on the way as well!! These are mostly going to be used for an aquaponics system I am gathering items for. I will document this build here as well. I do plan to use the hydroton as a substrate for any emersed anubias or buce too!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)




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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

You have a serious addiction issue 

via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

OVT said:


> You have a serious addiction issue
> 
> via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2


Hmmm.... Idk about that one.... Guess I'm still in denial


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## gt turbo (Sep 13, 2012)

I'd like to start a project like this too but I'm kinda unsure as to the transition of submersed to immersed and back again.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

gt turbo said:


> I'd like to start a project like this too but I'm kinda unsure as to the transition of submersed to immersed and back again.


I've transitioned most of my crypts from submersed. They look pretty pitiful for a while but the growth seems to have sped up. 
I've mostly transitioned plants from emersed to submersed when purchasing plants. These also have a ton of stress from shipping most of the time added into the mix too. I know some plants suffer from the transition more then others. I recently planted emersed Bacopa caroliniana into my 2.5 gallon vase. It made the transition to submersed smoothly with no issues at all.
I'm expanding my set up with the hopes of keeping a large variety of Cryptocoryne species. The real goal for me is to get the plants to flower!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Last night I added several Cryptocoryne species: spiralis, parva, wendtii 'Florida Sunset', lingua, becketii, lutea. A few I moved from my 20L pfr tank & most were new. I also added two true Anubias barteri var nana petite that were imported from Singapore. This came from Gordon as did the parva for the 20L. 

I finally set up the 55 last night as well! Which can of course be seen in the picture. Lol. I've got a few more crypt species arriving this week: C. nurii, C. hudoroi & C. griffithii! Along with three unknown species of Bucephalandra! I think that's it for the moment. Although I'm also looking to add several other Cryptocoryne species over the next few weeks. I'm talking to a guy on apc about six or seven other species.

OVT ~ WHAT ADDICTION?!?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

The C. nurii & three Buce species arrived today! My mail man has realized that if I get a package, it's probably live plants so he dropped them off first! I've gotta run pick up more pots still! I opened the package & checked out the plants. I then repacked them until I've got the pots in a bit. 










Well, the C. nurii is amazing! First time I've seen it in person! Three Buce species showed up with a fourth extra!  










Well, time to head to the store to get some pots!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Just a few pics!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

So, for my own sanity or perhaps due to my insanity, I'm going to create a master list of the plants I'm growing emersed. I will keep the list in this post updated when I receive new plants. Since I'm planning on keeping some species that are considered by some to be difficult to cultivate, I will also include plants I've not been able to successfully grow. 

Currently keeping:
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Florida Sunset', 'green gecko', green, red/brown, other random "hybrids"
Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balansae
Cryptocoryne beckettii
Cryptocoryne walkeri 'lutea'
Cryptocoryne x willisii 'lucens'
Cryptocoryne lingua
Cryptocoryne parva
Cryptocoryne nurii
Cryptocoryne Nurii 'Pahang Mutated' 
Cryptocoryne spiralis
Cryptocoryne griffithi
Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia 
Cryptocoryne albida
Cryptocoryne ciliata
Cryptocoryne undulata version 2, its from a big crypt guy in the US and its not very common. slender waxy green leaves with red underside.
Cryptocoryne usteriana x walkeri
Cryptocoryne sp. 'Flamingo'
Cryptocoryne noritoi "Wongso" 
Cryptocoryne affinis 'Metallic Red'
Cryptocoryne affinis "Metallic Red" 'Pahang Barat' 
Cryptocoryne cordata var. cordata 'Blassii' (super red variant)
Cryptocoryne longicauda 'Seri Aman'"Rosanervig" 
Cryptocoryne ideii

Failed:
Cryptocoryne hudoroi-slowly faded away, my guess is that it's a hardwater species which didn't like life in my soft, acidic tank.
Cryptocoryne moehlmanii- Never recovered after shipping.

Crypts on the way as of:


Bucephalandra unknown species 1
Bucephalandra unknown species 2
Bucephalandra unknown species 3
Bucephalandra unknown species 4 

Anubias barteri var coffeefolia
Anubias barteri var nana
Anubias barteri var nana true petite

Radican Mable Queen Sword- Echinodorus cordifolius 'Tropica Marble Queen'
Red Rubin Sword - Echinodorus "Rubin"


Bacopa caroliniana
Bacopa colorata
Bacopa salzmannii 
Glosso
DHG
Alternanthera Reineckii
Rotala Indica rotundifolia
Cardamine
Riccia fluitans
Hygro. sp. 'Brown'
Hygro. pinnatifida
Hygro. sp. 'Araguaia'
S. repens
Hydrocotyle sp. 'japan'
Ludwigia sp. 'Rubin'


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Here are a few pics of the tanks today. It'll be interesting to see how it fills in. I hope the crypts adjust well with out tons of melting, though I doubt I'll be that lucky. I've still gotta find a heater for the 55. I dug out an old air pump and set up an air stone in the 55. 



































There are still two more packages of crypts on the way. One is all C. nurii about half of which will go into my 20L the rest will grow here. The second package is the hudoroi & griffithii. 

The plan is to also add the following plants in the next week or so but they've not been ordered yet. 
C. pontenderiifolia
C. moehlmanii
C. albida
C. ciliata
C. undulata
C. usteriana x walkeri

Suggestions, thoughts or comments are welcome! I'm just getting started trying to grow crypts emersed. I know there are many people on here with tons of experience, I hope to learn from y'all!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Here are a few better pics from today. I added two more pots of C. nurii.

























Tapatalk doesn't wanna load pics so I will edit later & finish!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I'm receiving my 50L bag of hydroton today!  This means that the Anubias and Bucephalandra will be getting a thin layer of hydroton on the top of their pots. I will be leaving the soil mixture under the top layer so that the plants roots will reach down into the nutrient rich mixture! I'm also going to be moving a few more Anubias species into this system from two different submerged tanks.

The last two crypts I've got on the way are shipping out tomorrow! I will have them Monday! Hopefully by then the next batch of plants will have been ordered!

While there is a little bit of melting occurring with the recently planted crypts, it doesn't seem like it is going to be as bad as I was expecting. Hopefully, I've not jinxed myself by saying that.  A couple of plants even look like they're perking up!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

The Crypt. hudoroi & griffithii arrived today. They both look pretty good! 

















Overall the plants are looking decent. There is some melting here and there but not too bad. I added a 50w heater today, hopefully that'll help increase the humidity. Here are a couple shots from today, sadly I forgot to take them prior to resealing the top.  whoops!


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

See any difference between the hydroton and soil? 

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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I just added the hydroton. It's just a single layer on top of the substrate mixture to allow the roots to reach the nutrients. I've only added it to the Bucephalandra & one pot with Anubias barteri nana petite.


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Nice. You have a nice set up and an ever growing collection. 

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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

You have some beautiful plants growing in there.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

tattooedfool83 said:


> Nice. You have a nice set up and an ever growing collection.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


Thanks!! I think the collection has slowed in growth for now. Although I will be keeping an eye out for other plants to add as time goes on.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

GMYukonon24s said:


> You have some beautiful plants growing in there.


Thank you! I hope I can provide them with the correct environment so they will flower!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Well, the plants I was looking at last week will be on the way Saturday. The seller hooked me up with a really good deal. I'm pretty excited to add these plants to the mix. 

Here is the list of what I'm getting.

C. pontenderiifolia
C. moehlmanii
C. albida
C. ciliata
C. undulata version 2, its from a big crypt guy in the US and its not very common. slender waxy green leaves with red underside. <---seller's description.
C. usteriana x walkeri

This will round out the collection for now. I'm sure as time goes on I will be adding more species, but it certainly won't be as frequent as it has been for the last few weeks.


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## Barkington (Jan 15, 2013)

Great collection. Started a much more modest setup myself not too long ago. Look forward to watching your progress. Especially on those buces and anubias in the hydroton. I'm having a hard time deciding if I should give some a try or not. 

What do you think the benefits of hydroton are over say...just a rock? I'd assume the roots would be easier to free from the hydroton than a rock but thats the only real difference as far as my unexperienced self goes.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Barkington said:


> Great collection. Started a much more modest setup myself not too long ago. Look forward to watching your progress. Especially on those buces and anubias in the hydroton. I'm having a hard time deciding if I should give some a try or not.
> 
> What do you think the benefits of hydroton are over say...just a rock? I'd assume the roots would be easier to free from the hydroton than a rock but thats the only real difference as far as my unexperienced self goes.


You've got a nice little collection started too. I thought about using the plastic totes like that but didn't have any that were quite the right shape for the area. I went for these two tanks mostly because that's what I had sitting around. Heck, the 55 I got for free just by posting an ad on CL asking about larger tanks(55-150 gallon) for free or cheap. I had to sort through many emails from people who thought they were offering their empty tanks for "cheap".... lol... I don't know how many offers I got for a 55 gallon tank by itself for $100-$250. 

As far as hydroton goes, this is really my first time using it. It is very light and porous, it actually floats when first placed in water. I could see where this could be nice, as it might retain a little moisture. I've got no experience removing attached roots from it, I don't expect this to be a problem though. The main reason I am using it in this set up is because I was purchasing some for my aquaponics set up, keeping me from having to buy two substrates. I think you could easily achieve the same growth with plain old lava rock. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any locally that had not been dyed/colored that I didn't have to have the bed of my truck filled by front loader to purchase.  Actually the Anubias in my 20L is in a substrate mixture rather then rock. It's currently putting out new leaves from three place at a rate of maybe one every few weeks.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Most of the plants seem to have adjusted to their new environment. Many are already putting out a new leaf or maybe two. The last order of crypts will be here tomorrow!  

































I swapped out the heater between the 20 & 55, putting the adjustable heater in the 55. It's already more humid in the 55. I will monitor the humidity level in the 20L over the next day or so to see where it ends up with the new heater.


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Is the heater due to the amount of space between the light and plants?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

tattooedfool83 said:


> Is the heater due to the amount of space between the light and plants?


I put the adjustable heater into the 55 so I could crank it up which will create more humidity. The non-adjustable heater wasn't keeping the temp up high enough to create the humidity I want in this tank. 
I think the non adjustable heater will be fine in the 20 as there might only be 3-4 gallons of water max. From what I've read about the non adjustable Tetra heater is that in under five gallons it keeps the water too warm, mid to high 80's, for a normal tank. That should be just fine to keep the humidity up in the smaller tank. 

How is your set up coming along? I see you used those same cheap green pots from lowes.


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

I did. And after looking at this thread again it appears I copied u. Hahaha. Considering using 3" mesh pots with coco tek liners and soil would cost me around $20 for 20 pots and I could fit more in my 10 gallon. I'm gonna get a piece of glass cut for the top of the tank to so I can set a 10" dome light set on it and not worry about warping. This is the plan though so ill but what I need this week and set it up when I get back from my trip. I'm pretty psyched


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Well I've got my first spathe!! It is on one of my Cryptocoryne nurii plants! There is a small discussion with lots of pictures here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=391041

I will post more pictures as it continues to develop!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

So I was wrong!! .........I've got not one but two Crypt. nurii spathes! Two separate plants have a spathe! The one I found last night seems to be farther along then the one I found today, but I'm not 100% on that. 

Here are both plants! The bottom plant is the one I found the spathe on first.










Here is more of the first plant!


































Plant #2!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

The rest of my emersed plants have been doing very well too!! The last batch of crypts I received have been doing well! I did lose one plant. They weren't labeled and some looked very similar so I'm not 100% sure which plant I lost! :/ oh well... Hahaha...

C. griffithii has been doing very well! I don't know if this plant just has a quick growth rate, if it just rebounded from shipping really well, or if it didn't have to transition from submersed to emersed like some of my other crypts. Could be all three...  


























Here are a few of the other crypts & buce in the 55!









The four Buce varieties I've got almost all lost their leaves while transitioning from submersed to emersed growth. They were also replanted once I got the hydroton. I'm guessing most Bucephalandra do better submerged, thoughts?


















































The 20L is growing like crazy!!

































The Bacopa caroliniana is obviously doing insanely well! It has been blooming like crazy! I did a large trim and totally replanted my no-tech vase! More on that later though!

















B. colorata has seen a steady increase in growth rate! Finally had some to share with another member, also replanted some in this tank! You can also see the Rotala rotundifolia has been growing a little better too. The A. reineckii doesn't seem to like the lower light level as much as the high light it was originally under.









This thing is growing leaves from several areas of the rhizome. 


Here is my vase that I just replanted today. It's a little cloudy. I accidentally dosed way too much Flourish yesterday morning, which lead to what I guess is the start of an algae bloom. This vase is a no-tech tank! It only gets natural sunlight, diffused by a closed set of white blinds. So I replanted the whole vase, adding a ton more Bacopa caroliniana, some rotala rotundifolia, some glosso. The vase already had some small java fern plants: a large crinkled leaf version, a crypt willisii x lucens & a bit of dwarf hairgrass too! 

Here are a couple pictures! These don't look to awesome, I think this vase needs a week or so to grow. This will allow all the Bacopa stems to straighten up some. What do you think? I will eventually dig up the journal for this vase, from when I first started it!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I also added containers of Subwassertang and Christmas Moss! The sub is in a small Tupperware container. Xmas moss is in a wine glass/goblet, both are behind my 55!


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im totally envious of your tanks. They look phenomenal


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

So I'm going to try to start this coversation here, but if I don't get much of a response I will ask this same question in either the Crypt Club thread or Plants forum. 

What steps can I take to encourage these C. nurii plants to make seeds? I've really not thought much about this process prior to today, so I've not done much research yet. I also don't mind being directed to a specific page or a link, if you know where this process has been detailed. I have already found a couple posts about the subject on Ghazanfar Ghori's blog, just haven't had much of a chance to read them thoroughly. I've got a massive Biology test today that I've been trying to focus on! 

I feel like part of owning and keeping these plants is to learn as much about them as possible. It just seems like this information and process should be an important aspect of that!


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

I just looked up that guy, I had never heard of him but man did that open up a world of questions and reading I must do. 


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

tattooedfool83 said:


> I just looked up that guy, I had never heard of him but man did that open up a world of questions and reading I must do.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


There are several pretty good Cryptocoryne blogs out there! Lots of info to read! 

Have you checked out the crypt section over at apc?


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

I have checked it out. That's actually a site I visit frequently as well 


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

tattooedfool83 said:


> I have checked it out. That's actually a site I visit frequently as well
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


I don't use apc nearly as often as I do PT. I will share some of my favorite crypt blogs on here today!


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Ok awesome. I use tapatalk so it's easy to browse both forums. Only thing is it seems not a lot of people use apc regularly 


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

tattooedfool83 said:


> Ok awesome. I use tapatalk so it's easy to browse both forums. Only thing is it seems not a lot of people use apc regularly
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


I use Tapatalk for all my pics & almost all of the time on my phone. I usually prefer the web version if I'm on my iPad unless I'm posting pics. Haha... I use apc for reading, but rarely post just because it isn't as active. 


Here are some of the crypt pages I've enjoyed reading or browsing through pictures. 
Side note: None of these are my websites. I've tried to list the author, if it is site kept by a single person & easily found.  

The Cryptocoryne section of Aquaria.net
http://crypts.aquaria.net/

The Crypt Pages by Jan D. Bastmeijer
http://crypts.home.xs4all.nl/Cryptocoryne/index.html

Cryptocoryne Blog - Ghazanfar Ghori
http://kryptokoryne.aquaticscape.com/

It's All About Aquaspaing! - has some info about collecting crypts
http://www.fhurzan.blogspot.com/

On Crypts
http://oncrypts.wordpress.com/

Crypts Addiction (I wasn't able to open this site this morning, but maybe it's just me!)
http://crypts.keydoc.net/

North American Cryptocoryne Society
http://forum.aquatic-gardeners.org/viewforum.php?f=30&sid=d9905787aadb12ed0f873e8855b801ca

illumabomb's Cryptocoryne Blog
http://illumbomb.blogspot.com/

Natureye
http://natureye.com/

Claus Kettner's Website
http://www.aquaristikszene.ch/Zuechter_Pflanzen/Kettner/kettner.html


Not crypt specific but might be sites of interest!

International Aroid Society
http://www.aroid.org/


If I think, or find, more as I continue reading more about Crypts. I will add them to this list! Maybe having easy access to a list like this will help inspire more people to keep Crypts! I know several of these pages, along with many threads here on PT were instrumental in fueling my passion for crypts.


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Awesome. Thanks for those 


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I've been checking to see if either spathe has opened but it's not happened yet. I definitely want to catch it if it happens! I threw my back out last Monday so I've been pretty limited in my mobility & heavily medicated since then but super busy with school. It was nice to get a little break, which means I have spent a ton of time reading about crypts over the weekend! I would like to start watching out for some of the "rare" crypts, maybe less common would be a better term. I'm thinking about some of the C. cordata variations such as 'rosanervig', KR01, 'flamingo' as well as some of the affinis var. & perhaps some C. "Kota tinggi." Although, I really would add almost any crypt to the collection! I see no reason to limit my options!  lol. 

I think that I'm going to chop up some Xmas moss and spread it out on the substrate surrounding most of my crypts. I noticed how nice it looks to have moss in the pot in some other folks pictures. Haha...


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

I was watching YouTube videos earlier with crypts with moss on the substrate In the pots. Looks awesome!!! And apparently moss acts as a natural insecticide 


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

I meant anti fungal. 


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I noticed this morning when I flipped on the lights that one of the spathes appeared to be open toward the top. I didn't have a chance to get a closer look, as I've got a my last bio test today(before my finals mon & tues). I will take a closer look this evenings nice I've finished up! I can't wait to be done with this summer semester! So much stress will be gone soon!!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

tattooedfool83 said:


> I meant anti fungal.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2



Hmm... I think I've seen some discussion on this topic but I don't remember where.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Well, neither spathe has opened. They a both larger then the last time I really checked on them. I will keep checking! Late last night(wide awake about 4am) was really the first chance I've had to sit down and check out the new growth on my emersed tanks in at least a week or two! I am really pleased with how things are looking! Lots of new crypt growth! 

Earlier in the week I noticed the Anubias nana in the 20L was beginning to produce a bloom! 

Now, time for tons of pictures!


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

That Anubias is huge. I'm looking to add some different Anubias varieties to my set up as well


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

tattooedfool83 said:


> That Anubias is huge. I'm looking to add some different Anubias varieties to my set up as well


Damn! I totally meant to send you a couple rhizome trimmings! This was a piece that broke off the large one in my 55 last time I rearranged it. The parent plant is massive yet can't be seen unless you start digging through all the java fern! I just realized that I listed this plant incorrectly this morning, it's not a nana but an A. barteri var. barteri. I originally purchased this at my lfs as a coffeefolia but figured out it wasn't. I've gotta pull some java fern for a trade in a bit, I'll try to snap a couple pictures of the big one!


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Great healthy looking plant. I'd love to see a pic of it if u can


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

This plant runs directly across the back of my 55, covering almost the entire right half!


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Wow, that's huge. How did it transition from submerged to emersed?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

It transitioned well. The piece I tossed in the emersed tank only had a few small leaves at the time!


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Wow man. Absolutely awesome.


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## jmeister (Sep 3, 2009)

How is the cardamine doing emersed?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

jmeister said:


> How is the cardamine doing emersed?


It's done alright, I don't think it likes the times when the tank's humidity level drops between mistings.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

The A. barteri var. barteri inflorescence has finally opened fully! 


























There are also a ton of flowers on the Bacopa caroliniana.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I've also got this blooming! Not aquatic, although it loves water enough it should be...haha... But most definitely an Aroid!


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

You're a flowering machine. Looks awesome man


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Here is a better shot of the outdoor Aroids!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I found my oldest dog laying in the light next to my 55 gallon crypt tank this morning! The blinds on the windows above this tank have been adjusted so it receives a small bit of filtered sunlight daily. The light moves from one side of the tank to the other as the afternoon goes on, south facing window. The plants actually seem to be responding well to it. Several are filling in, growing taller, it is nice to see! I hope to add several more crypt species during the month if October! I've been doing a lot of reading and research on different crypts and their growing habits. I've already got a list going of the plants I want & who had had them for sale recently or in some cases who is growing them.  Over the next few weeks I will try to discuss and share my research on the plants I'm interested in. I would love to get input from some of the more experienced crypt keepers on their experiences with certain species. This might help other newbies from making some of the same mistakes that others have already learned from.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I found another Crypt. nurii spathe last night! It is still really small, so I will keep an eye on it. The plant it is on has been growing well lately, so maybe this one will actually open!! I will try to get some pictures soon, of the set up in general as there has been a lot of growth lately! I've just been crazy busy with school, which is not a surprise as all of my classes are pretty intense this semester!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Here are several pictures of my 55!


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Man everything looks great! So healthy and green. Lots and lots of growth.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

tattooedfool83 said:


> Man everything looks great! So healthy and green. Lots and lots of growth.


Thanks man! Some things have done much better then other species. I think I have only lost one species so far, C. hudoroi. This was my mistake by even ordering this plant as my tank is not suited for its hard water demands. 

I've tossed a few different moss types into the pots. I'm still adding more if I find I've got extra, same thing with small bits of foreground plants. 

I really enjoy seeing what different plants of the same species are doing in different parts of the tank. C. nurii is one of these that I'm particularly fascinated by! I have six different pots of C. nurii that were originally from two different sources each split into three pots. The number of plants from each source was different but I've given some away, so I think its even now. The plants were all pretty small to start. Some have stayed small but produced a decent qty of small leaves. A couple are much larger plants about the size of medium/large wendtii with leaves from med. greenish brown to a much darker brownish color. The split between large and small is not evenly divided between the two sources. I find it cool to watch and note these differences.


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

johnson18 said:


> Thanks man! Some things have done much better then other species. I think I have only lost one species so far, C. hudoroi. This was my mistake by even ordering this plant as my tank is not suited for its hard water demands.
> 
> I've tossed a few different moss types into the pots. I'm still adding more if I find I've got extra, same thing with small bits of foreground plants.
> 
> I really enjoy seeing what different plants of the same species are doing in different parts of the tank. C. nurii is one of these that I'm particularly fascinated by! I have six different pots of C. nurii that were originally from two different sources each split into three pots. The number of plants from each source was different but I've given some away, so I think its even now. The plants were all pretty small to start. Some have stayed small but produced a decent qty of small leaves. A couple are much larger plants about the size of medium/large wendtii with leaves from med. greenish brown to a much darker brownish color. The split between large and small is not evenly divided between the two sources. I find it cool to watch and note these differences.


The one I got from u flourished then I moved it about 4" to a different spot in the same tank and it melted and never came back


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

*Johnson18's Emersed 55 & 20L! Two C. nurii Spathe 7/24!!!!*

Yeah weird little plants. I will get a picture of the differences soon. I just had to pull all of my tropical plants in from outside as the weather is getting colder.
















Plus there are a few other smaller ones around, a couple hanging baskets. 

One of the plants that I've been playing with all summer is a small Schefflera arboricola. It was something that came from a local nursery that they got in as a bonsai "starter" tree. This looked like it hadn't been touched in a couple years and while it seemed to have a nice few main branches there were all sorts of random stragglers. While it had been growing nicely, it look like sh*t as far as passing as a tree. Another season of growth it could've been a crummy shrub. Hahahaha. 
When I got it this spring I sat on my front porch for a couple hours, trimming it down to a semi decent shape. I really spent close to a month before I finally was happy with how it was pruned & poised for future growth! I then let the tree grow all summer long!

























I've got absolutely zero bonsai experience, so I'm really just playing with this. I've done some reading online as well as watching videos. I'm kinda learning as I go. I feel like this tree has a lot of potential looking down the road a few years at least. I'm hoping for the nice Banyan tree look. Being as such I think this is going to go into the 55 emersed for the winter. I'll probably toss a brick or scrape block of 2x4 into the tank to keep the pot out of the water. This should encourage the tree to produce the air roots! I'm pretty excited about this! 
Anyone have any experience when it comes to these things?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

*Johnson18's Emersed 55 & 20L! Two C. nurii Spathe 7/24!!!!*

Here are some shots of the different Crypt. nurii in my 55! 










































With the exception of the Anubias bar. nana petites that have recently been tossed in with some of the smaller plants pretty much all of these are C. nurii!

I also repotted the Schefflera and placed it in one corner of the tank. 










I've decided to try and start my own little plant bank. Haha... I'm basically gonna try to make sure that any species I've got in any of my tanks that I've also got some growing emersed!


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Looks amazing man


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

So I found a C. nurii seed pod! It's already a little old. 

I also did a huge trim in the 20L and added several different stem plants.

I'll have pics today.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Note to self(& everyone else!!): Check your plants often!! If you don't you could miss awesome things.... Like I almost did here.

Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

So I took a bunch of pictures last night(early this morning?) of these two tanks. I found that the Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia that I found the dying spathe(see last post^^^) on not long ago has another developing. Many of the other crypts have been growing like crazy, some have spectacular colors and patterns on their leaves. The over all look of the tank is quite different then the last set of full tank shots I took in November. I will sort through the photos and post the better ones today.

I've not really added any new crypts, although I did add two more small pots of C. parva. I have added several new species of stem plants. Most of the went into the 20L but a few pots went into the 55. 

I am planning on setting up a new grow tank that is more of a terrarium, but not in the sense that it will be a layout that is scaped in a natural way. I want to set up a tank to grow some of the different bromeliads, maybe some orchids. I may end up with two systems, on for lower humidity levels and on for higher. 

I will also be expanding my collection of Aroids/Arums. 

I will probably document these systems and plants in this thread out of pure convenience.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

C. pontederiifolia 

















55









The C. griffithii in the center of this image is an awesome plant so far! In person, the lighter patches within the green are almost a metallic silver! When you shift the plant or your head ...haha... The silver patches change color. It's super cool! 






















































20L


















As you can see the Anubias barteri nana is about to bloom again! The 



























If anyone has question on what a specific plant may be or anything feel free to ask!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Here are a few updated shots of the C. pontederiifolia.














































The plant growth has been pretty impressive lately. Check out the size of the smallest plantlet in the photos a few days ago versus today. I will try to get shots of this developing spathe every few days over the course of its life span. I will be checking it daily so I don't miss out on anything.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

C. pontederiifolia 






































This plant came to me with a group of C. nurii, it didn't look quite the same but quite similar. I asked the seller who said it was part of the same group of nurii. As some of the other nurii have really started growing well in their emersed state they look very similar to this plant. I guess we'll know for sure soon as I spotted the start of a spathe, maybe two. Still hard to get a good picture of the small spathe in the middle of this clump... 





































You can see the small spathe in the last photo just above the tiny leaf in the middle of the picture. Compared to the whole clump it is tiny, maybe a couple inches max.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

So, I'm adding a new 55 next to my emersed set ups. I've gotta find a cheap shelving unit I can stack my 55s onto. It's not like their super heavy & full of water. So anyway, if you haven't seen my post over in the Rip/viv/terrarium forum, I have almost 30 different Tillandsia species/varieties being delivered tomorrow or Saturday! If you're interested in following along... check it out!
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=514745


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Well my original thoughts about this plant have been shown to be correct, it's a wendtii. This is actually the first C. wendtii spathe I've had. 



















While wet...


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

C. pontederiifolia is at it again!

I've been dealing with no running water at home for a few days now, which is hopefully fixed now(waiting for glue to dry before testing again.) I'm hoping I'll have time to go through the tank soon to see if anything else might have a spathe or be blooming.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Well, I finally got around to checking out what's up in this tank tonight. The pontederiifolia & the green wendtii are both at it again. I didn't take the time to take pictures of those two plants as the spathes are not fully developed yet. 

I've got a different species with a spathe too! Looking at when this came in, this plant came in with about 6-8 species all together unlabeled. This particular plant is either C. usteriana x walkeri or a version of C. undulata that was described to have slender waxy green leaves w/ a red underside. 














































As you can see the spathe isn't open yet. The leaves of this plant are the largest of all the crypts I've got at this point.

I've got a pretty good idea which of the two plants it is but I'm going to wait until I can confirm the identity though the open spathe. 

Anyone with more experience than myself wanna take a guess at which of the two plants this is?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Well the spathe is open! I'll take it out later today to get some better pictures! But here's a teaser!


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Cool collection!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Chrisinator said:


> Cool collection!


Thanks! I've really enjoyed watching everything growing!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

The C. usteriana x walkeri has a spathe that just started opening yesterday evening. I still haven't been able to get a detailed picture of this spathe while open. The yellow just over power the fine details. I've got a older digital camera I might bust out to see if I can get a clearer picture than the iphone will get. I can at least adjust light levels and such on the older camera. 

The C. pontederiifolia has had probably 3 maybe 4 more spathes since the last one I photographed. The most recent one was mostly melted yesterday. I expect this plant to slow down for a while as I just pulled one of the larger plantlets out to plant in my flooded 55.

The pot of C. wendtii started producing spathes and hasn't quit. Since the first spathe, there hasn't been a time it didn't have at least one open, often there are at least 2 at a time. I know it's a basic crypt but it's still pretty cool to see! The these plants are in is getting super full. I guess it'll soon be time to do some repotting. I'll probably keep a small group and maybe raok a few to people interested in starting an emersed crypt tank or something....

The (six?) pots of C. nurii are also starting to explode with growth. lots of baby plants starting to pop up everywhere. No recent spathes.

I take some new photos this evening and get them posted.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Here is an iPhone pic of the C. usteriana x walkeri spathe. As you can see it's not fully open.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I'm really starting to think about expanding my emersed systems. One of the local thrift stores has a huge stack of 20 longs for like $5 ea. I was thinking about maybe slapping a layer of silicon on the empty(and leaky) 55 I've got. Although I can set up a couple 20 longs for the price of the silicon. haha... I'd need a couple more cheap clamp on domes either route... already have some extra bulbs. I think I've got a heater or two that would do the trick for a 20L too. I was looking at a couple different 120s and 125s on craigslist, but I don't wanna have to deal with that size tank yet. I think I will have more control of the environment in the smaller tanks too. 

I'd like more room to have labeled pots of stems and to be able to play around with plant propagation. Don't be fooled by the previous sentence too much, I want more crypts too. I'd like to have space to really expand the collection of Cryptocorynes to include some of the less common species. At the same time I don't want to get rid of the common species just yet.

I think it would also be nice to set up a tank that is specifically for the hard water Crypts. My current systems are both geared more toward the black water species.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Well, that didn't take long. Just picked up two 20L and a 10g for $10! Hahaha Wooo.... There were two or three more 20L and a 10 still there.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Well I just added a small submersed grown Crypt. sp. 'Flamingo' from AaronT into this tank! Hopefully it'll adjust well! I'll be keeping a close eye on the plant for the next week or so! 










The actual little plant!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

So I've been looking at the equipment needed to expand my emersed collection. This post is pretty much all planning a bigger, better system that I would like to work towards building/setting up this year. Somewhere to put down all the brainstorming and random [censored][censored][censored][censored] that has been going through my head. Got an opinion, idea, thought, suggestion, criticism, "hey dumbass, you're f'n up!" or anything else, let me know! I would love to make this an open discussion with several of the crypt addicts and resident experts chiming in! 

If you don't already know, I'm in the process of transferring to the University of Arizona as a plant sciences major. I'll be moving in May & would like to have much of this enlarged system already in my possession, ready to be built and the plans for the rest in place. This larger expanded system will be built at my older sister's (she's 35, I'm 29) house, where I'll be living for a few years. She knows the plans and is cool with me setting it up. I'll also have the access to any tools I need, plus my dad (also a Tucson resident) is really good with building things! With any luck this system will provide me with the room and proper set up to play with for a couple years and continually increase my plant collection. I'd like to end up with somewhere between 5-8 tanks total, I think a nice goal would be 6 dedicated emersed tanks in the system. 

I think I'd be better off ditching the 20 long tanks, that I've recently purchased. They're just too short. I like the overall dimensions of the 40 gallon breeder tank much more. The larger footprint allows for more pots than the 55 and the additional height provided by the 40b is a huge advantage over the 20L. Since I plan on building a rack type stand once I've made the move to az, I can build to suit the tanks I'm using. I'll probably switch things so all tanks to the same size.

My other concern about using a bunch of 20 longs is availability of 30" lights. I was trying to find high quality replacement bulbs for the 30" t5ho over my 20L riparium, not an easy task. 36" is a far more common size. Hell, if I really wanted to go big I could run 3 40b side by side and hang a couple(or 3) 48" lights above them. I'd like to get some LEDs running on part of this over time too. I may explore building some of my own led fixtures once I'm moved and settled in. I'd like some of these tanks to be fairly high light.

For things like heaters, the same small adjustable heater that will heat a 20l will easily do the same job in a 40b. It's less than 10 gallons of water in these tanks at the very most, even when you mess up and put way(WAY!!) too much during a top off! Haha... My 55 probably averages 5g or less! Even if I plumb several tanks together, I think every tank will need a heater to maintain the necessary humidity, especially in the super dry climate in Tucson. 

I've also been thinking about adding plumbing to a portion of the system, so that the water would be recirculated and filtered between a number of tanks in the system. This would allow all of the tanks that need a slightly acidic pH to be connected. Just a guess on which of the tanks would be connected as there seem to be way more plants that fit those requirements versus the hard water or super acidic species. A hard water and an super acidic black water tank would be kept separate. The water could then drain into a sump or a full tank with one end turned into a filter/pump(such as in Dogfish's aquaponics system!) This might also provide a space that some of the species that don't do well emersed to be grown out! I would imagine that if you plumbed everything correctly you wouldn't even need to run the circulation system nonstop. 

Well those are the basic plans and the ideas I've got! Like I said, I would love this to be an open discussion with input from my fellow Cryptocoryne/Aroid fanatics and the experts that have been keeping these plant way longer than many of us! Help me put together the best system I can!


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## rajah_22 (Dec 12, 2013)

I'm no crypt expert, but here's a couple quick thoughts on your plans:

1) Have you considered a small greenhouse? Kits for a 6 x 6 or 6 x 8 are actually not that expensive. Overall it would mean no expenses for lighting, you could maintain humidty within the entire greenhouse with some serious humidifiers (perhaps a challenge in AZ, but people certainly do it), and all of your plants could be easily accessible without being inside an aquarium. Just a thought.

2) 20 gal longs are actually pretty well lit with 24 in T5 bulbs. I did this on a reef tank for years and 3 inches of low light coverage on either end isn't a huge deal breaker in my opinion. You could potentially have species acclimated to high light in the middle and newer plants on the sides. 

3) The idea of adding flow through the bottom of the tanks sounds like a really good one. It might be a bit complicated in terms of plumbing and added expense, but from some pics I've seen, crypts are very often growing in relatively high flow streams rather than stagnant waters. Adding flow could help with root growth, etc.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I think using a greenhouse for this would be more complicated than it's worth. They live on the edge of town with property basically backing up to Saguaro National Park. Lots of wildlife around the house, all of which I'm sure would love a drink/new home. Rattlesnakes require removal and relocation almost weekly during much of the year-often enough my sister got the appropriate snake handling gear and does it herself instead of calling the fire dept every time. A greenhouse would require a proper base, would have to be sealed extremely well, along with having its own heat and cooling/ventilation. I think a greenhouse would be great but I don't think I would be able to effectively use one of the inexpensive versions in the desert. I will certainly be an advocate of building a nice greenhouse on the property while I'm there, but I doubt it will be a huge priority. 

20L's are great tanks, don't get me wrong. I will probably keep several of the ones I currently own. I'd actually like to set up a few 20L & 10s on the upper shelves of this system for other things. Like, maybe, actually have some fish or shrimp?!? Hahaha.... I have actually been using a 24" t5ho on my emersed 20L for some time now. I just figure if I'm going to take the time to plan and build a nice set up I should plan to give it the best possible components I can. ****  Edit: Not necessarily the "best" as I may not buy the fanciest lights I can find for all tanks. I just want to try to be thorough in each aspect of the project and not try to cut corners on easy things like light length. lol...**** The biggest problem for this setup is the height of the tank. I've always got stems hitting(and rotting) on the top of my 20L. It's just easier to switch the 20Ls out for something more functional at this point rather than waiting. 

I will have to look more into the plumbing aspect of things, although I've been spending a lot of time lately reading about sumps, sump plumbing, overflows and such. I would think if I do plumb several tanks together I would want to build some sort of overflow for each and drill the tanks to plumb the system. At the same time I think I would like to have the option to flood the tank, even if it was temporary such as over night. I fully understand that once drilled for the low water levels required for this project these tanks will probably never function as fully flooded tanks. I would probably put the sump/filter tank on the bottom shelf and have the other tanks on one of the higher shelves. This is definitely the most complicated part of the build. It is also probably the biggest expense other than adding more lights to the ones I've already got.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

So I've got some new plants on the way. 

Cryptocoryne Noritoi "Wongso" 
Cryptocoryne Nurii 'Pahang Mutated' 
Anubias 'snow white' 
Anubias 'stardust' 

There are several more Cryptocoryne species that I am currently talking with other hobbyists about acquiring. I think we have decided to wait until after the cold weather of this weekend/next week. Currently looking at 6 other species all of them on the less common side of things.  

I also got a few Anubias cogenisis?? This is what they were labelled, but I think one is probably a barteri and I picked it up with this is mind. These aren't an Anubias species I know much about but I figured a few more plants never hurt. That's part of the fun. I'm definitely enjoying collecting new plants. 

There are a few other Aroids I would like to add to my emersed collection once I've moved. 

I've also ordered new bulbs for the t5ho fixtures over all of my tanks. I am hoping they will be here Monday!  Other than the 30" fixture that is currently hanging on my riparium which is getting 2 coralife 6700k bulbs, all of my t5ho fixtures are getting the same bulb combo. I'm going with a Geisemann Midday & Aquaflora bulb combo on these fixtures. I can't wait to have all my lights back at full strength.


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## rajah_22 (Dec 12, 2013)

Post some pics of the new plants when you get them! 

I'm curious what the C. noritoi looks like.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Rajah, I will definitely post some pictures of all the new plants as I get them! 



The first part of my Drs. F&S order arrived this morning. It was the 24" Geisemann bulbs. I've already got them installed over the 20L. I really like the look but I'm very interested to see what they look like over a filled tank! 

If anyone has been reading my 20L riparium journal recently, you've probably seen the info about the BuildMyLED light I'm getting for my riparium. I'm going to talk to BML again today to see how they think the same light spectrum will work for emersed crypts. It is very likely that I will order two BML lights & install one over an emersed tank.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Got the rest of the Geisemann bulbs installed this morning. Definitely adds a lot of pink to the visual light on these tank, which doesn't bother me as they aren't display tanks. The pink isn't nearly as noticeable on the full tanks. I also knew that Aquaflora was pink when I ordered it! 

I've got three different crypts that have spathes developing & a few Anubias inflorescences forming too! 

Here are a few full tank shots of the 55! A couple of these look way more pink than they really are. My red duct tape holding the plastic wrap on certainly doesn't help.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Added C. nurii Pahang mutated and C. noritoi "Wongso" from Han today. They look a little rough from shipping but I am hoping they will bounce back. The Anubias nana 'Snow White' for my 55 didn't make it, very mushy!  The 'Stardust' was in a little bit better shape than the white but not much.  

C. nurii 'Pahang mutated'










C. noritoi 'Wongso'










I'll add pictures of them planted over the next few days as they aren't much to look at right now.


The C. 'Flamingo' is doing well, it has put out two leaves since it was planted. Not pink but they seem to get a little lighter with each new leaf.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

The plants are loving their new lights! I've had spathes from C. wendtii(3), usteriana x walkeri(2), nurii(1) & pontederiifolia(3) as well as several different Anubais sp. inflorescences(6 total) since installing the new bulbs! Unfortunately I had surgery to removed kidney stones last Monday 3/10 and spent all of last week either asleep or highly intoxicated. Just when I was finally starting to feel better I started experiencing a new pain from what's most likely some sort of kidney infection. No worries, I live, but it's made digging around in tanks and pulling plants to take pictures a little more difficult than usual.

The stem plants seem to like the new lights. Hygro sp. 'Brown' has started going crazy in the 55. I added several nice rooted stems of Hygrophila sp. 'araguaia' in two pots to the 20L, looks like it's adjusting well. 

I've not seen anything from the two crypts added 3/5. They both totally melted and have shown no sign of returning. 

Here is the Cryptocoryne usteriana x walkeri spathe that opened today, took this just before lights out. This is the second spathe in two weeks. 










H. 'Brown'. You can also see two of the three pots of C. parva I recently added after pulling close to 30 individual plants out of my 20L Riparium.










My A. barteri has seen an increase in the size of it's most recent new leaves. It currently has two inflorescences at the same time, actually the second opened today. 










Here is a mostly fts of the 20L.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

So I've been looking at some of my plants and I need to thin out a few pots pretty badly. Most of the crypts are pretty basic: a couple wendtii variants: Green gecko, FL Sunset, lutea, pontederiifolia & probably a few nurii, though that may not be all of them. I'm thinking about maybe putting together a few emersed crypt starter packs as a RAOK. I always pack different species separately & labeled as I personally cannot stand ordering several different species of plants and getting them all tossed in a bag or rolled in a papertowel/newspaper together with no way to fully ID half the plants species. I was also considering putting together a simple How To/Care sheet with maybe a few basic pointers, substrate suggestions/idea, misting tips, etc... Maybe some moss or riccia for you to chop up and top your substrate with. I'm hoping to have it aimed towards the folks that may have just started an emersed tank or are interested in crypts but have been holding off on the emersed growth. I just know how much I love growing Crypts and seeing spathes pop up! I would really like to help some others who want to get into emersed crypts too!

I would like to try and get some input on this idea! 

If you are an experienced Crypt keeper, what were some essential things that helped you when starting out? Got any recommendations or thoughts? 

If you are part of the target group, what would you think you'd like to see or get in a pack like that? Just plants? Maybe some root tabs that could be used whole or opened and mixed with substrate? Also would a How To/Care Sheet actually be of use or just a waste of my time as you can find all the same info either here, the Crypt Club or any number of great emersed crypt journals on here or APC/BarrReport/HydraForum/etc....

Anyone wish to chime in on this?



As a side note, I've got two Affinis 'Metallic Red' that have yet to be planted. They will be split between emersed and submersed.


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## rajah_22 (Dec 12, 2013)

Sounds like great idea. I would post the care sheets around online as well, so lots of people can find them.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Just waiting to pay for the following plants that should hopefully be here next week.

Cryptocoryne Cordata var. Cordata 'Blassii' (super red variant) 
Cryptocoryne Longicauda 'Seri Aman'"Rosanervig" 
Cryptocoryne Ideii


I also noticed when I put in the pot with the C. Affinis 'Metallic Red' that I'm gonna have a hard time fitting many more pots into either of these tanks. I may have to go ahead and take out the Schefflera pre-bonsai that has been living in the 55 to encourage the growth of areal roots. That plant is sitting on a piece of wood to keep it out of the water, once removed it should provide room for 3-6 more pots.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Several new spathes all from the same plants that have been active. 

Got the following plants on the way:
Cryptocoryne cordata var. cordata 'Blassii' (super red variant)
Cryptocoryne longicauda 'Seri Aman'"Rosanervig" 
Cryptocoryne affinis "Metallic Red" 'Pahang Barat' 
Cryptocoryne ideii

I've also inquired about a few more species.

Recently got the ok to start figuring out the required supplies that I'll need for an IBC tote aquaponics set up. Not sure yet if it'll be one or two containers. Super stoked about this. I've been slowly hoarding supplies, reading and watching youtube videos about aquaponics for the last year to build a small indoor set up for myself. Now that I'll be living with several people, we are going to scrap the small system for a more usable size to provide for all of us.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

New plants have arrived! I'm super impressed by the sellers packaging. 

Just went to grab some pots to plant these and realized I only have a couple 2" net pots. Whoops! Guess I'm off to the local nursery a couple miles from the house!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I've figured out that I've got enough room to build a rack that is 10-12ft long and 6 to 8ft tall. I'd like to make it 2ft deep, with an added support 18-20" in from the front, on at least the first two levels, in order to fully support the back of the 40 breeders. Although I don't plan of having them full of water. This will allow me plenty of room for my emersed plant collection to grow over the next few years as well as room for any smaller tanks that I want to add for shrimp or small cichlids etc. I also plan to use this for some of my other plant collections, such as my Tillandsias.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Since I'm sure most everyone loves pictures, here are a couple quick shots I just snapped of the 55. 

Please let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions on my rack build discussed in the post before this! 



















Most of the newer plants are all in this end. Been getting some new leaves already. 










There are a bunch of spathes throughout the tank.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow, those crypts are beautiful.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Thanks Devin! So far I have found that they are surprisingly simple, if you put them in the correct substrate mixture. The few hard water species I have tried at the beginning just slowly faded away in here, but I'm using a substrate that has an acidic pH. So that's really no surprise. I'm looking forward to expanding the number of emersed tanks I've got! The expansion will allow me to keep hard water crypts in a separate tank set up specifically for them. Same thing goes for the super acidic loving black water species! 

There is already at least one species, C. longicauda "Rosanervig" 'Seri Amen', that I will separate into multiple pots, leaving one in my normal tank and moving the other to the blackwater tank. I've been told that when it is in water with a pH down close to 5.0, the plant shows it's true colors that the "Rosanervig" varieties are know for! 

There are several species that I have avoided so far due to there pH requirements. I'm looking forward to being able to add pretty much any species I want! Well, that is if I can locate and afford them!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Dug around in the 20L a few minutes ago & it looks like C x willisii 'lucens' has a spathe developing. First time I've had this species do so! I'll definitely keep an eye on it and take some pictures!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

*Johnson18's Emersed tanks! New plans for expanded rack system! Input Welcome!*



johnson18 said:


> I've figured out that I've got enough room to build a rack that is 10-12ft long and 6 to 8ft tall. I'd like to make it 2ft deep, with an added support 18-20" in from the front, on at least the first two levels, in order to fully support the back of the 40 breeders. Although I don't plan of having them full of water. This will allow me plenty of room for my emersed plant collection to grow over the next few years as well as room for any smaller tanks that I want to add for shrimp or small cichlids etc. I also plan to use this for some of my other plant collections, such as my Tillandsias.



I'm surprised not a single person had anything to say about a tank rack of this size! ;p Hahahaha! 

C. x willisii 'Lucens' spathe I just photographed.
No flash









The flash shows the true colors of the spathe!









Looking through the tanks I've found the following:

There are a couple of the C. wendtii variants with spathes, which is no real surprise! The last few months it's been a rare occurrence when I can't find a wendtii spathe!

C. pontederiifolia seems to have gone back to growing vegetation instead of sending up spathes nonstop! Lots of new daughter plants.

C. usteriana x walkeri is still nonstop spathes. The old one is about half melted, the new one probably has two days left before it opens. 

C. griffithii has been growing well, several new daughter plants have popped up in the last few months! Even more exciting is the mother plant looks like it has a spathe developing! Really excited about this as griffithii was one of the first "rare" crypts I added to my collection. 

Crypt. sp. 'Flamingo' has been doing well. The leaves seem to be getting lighter in color with each new leaf. The first ones once it adjusted to emersed were almost a grayish brown.

All of the recently added species are doing well. Most have a new leaf or two already. I'd get some close up shots but I'd like to disturb them as little as possible before the big move.


Plenty of stem plants blooming too. These got a bit of a trim on Monday.










If there is anything in particular anyone wants a picture of let me know, I'll do my best to get you one!


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## kisanjong (Oct 16, 2013)

Thats some collection you have  very nice :clap:


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

kisanjong said:


> Thats some collection you have  very nice :clap:


Thank you! I hope I can expand it while continuing to successfully grow most everything.


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## denske (Feb 20, 2013)

Looks great bud, any pics of the Griffithii?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Thanks! 
Sure, here is the C. griffithii. EDIT: This is actually C. pontederfolia, check out a few posts after this...


















































































Along with a couple in tank shots of the C. usteriana x walkeri spathe that is open tonight. 



















I'll try to pull the pot out of the tank tomorrow and get a full shot of it.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Those emersed crypts would make an awesome high-humidity riparium, too.

A 55G is a nice shape for a high-humidity riparium. So is a 29G.

I've wondered why I've seen almost nobody do a setup like that with crypts. A high-humidity riparium is a great way to keep an emersed crypt collection in a habitat display with fish.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

hydrophyte said:


> Those emersed crypts would make an awesome high-humidity riparium, too.
> 
> A 55G is a nice shape for a high-humidity riparium. So is a 29G.
> 
> I've wondered why I've seen almost nobody do a setup like that with crypts. A high-humidity riparium is a great way to keep an emersed crypt collection in a habitat display with fish.


I actually think it would be super cool to do a high humidity riparium using a lot of crypts. I think Method and Wheaties current builds are a cool style. I really like some of the more natural looking tanks like the one Method linked to here(pic at the bottom): http://www.aqua-rebell.com/aquascaping/andreas-ruppert-aquascaping.html
I've seen several other similar tanks that are just awesome. Most seem to come from Europe. I've been wondering if I have enough room to try my own in the 45g "cube"(not really a cube- 24l x 18d x 25h) that I have had sitting around a few years. 

If I were going to use a 55, I'd probably have to buy a new one. I've got several but most I got for free or super cheap. My problem with 55's is the depth front to back is just so narrow. They can be quite difficult to scape.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

It turns out that the largest plant in a pot of assorted crypts appears to be a C. undulata as it's got a spathe that just opened. This isn't a huge surprise as the particular order of crypts was supposed to have a C. undulata but it arrived with like 7 or 8 species all wrapped in a sheet of newspaper together. I was only able to distinguish 4 of the different species other got mixed. I've slowly pulled a couple species out as they've been identified. 

It's the largest plant in these two pics. 



















Those are both older picturs. I'll get a shot of the spathe later tonight!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Still waiting for the C. griffithii spathe to open! I really hope it opens before I move this weekend! 

This Sunday is the big day when I load all my stuff into the moving truck and take off! I've decided that I will be moving my emersed plants in their current tanks, loaded into the bed of my tacoma. I've got a campershell which will allow them to get a bit of natural indirect sunlight and let me open windows as needed to control the temperature. Unlike the box truck which is gonna be dark and hot. The full tanks will be torn down completely Saturday afternoon and most plants will be put into a rubbermaid tote with just an inch or two of water. I will be separating some of species and packaging them like I would for shipping. These plants will pretty much be crypts, buce and a few stems. Can't lose track of things like nurii, affinis "Metallic Red" & C. sp. "Flamingo" plus my bucephalandra species! I think the riparium planters will get moved into one of the emersed tanks.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Well good news and bad news.
Good-the spathe opened.

Bad- it's not C. griffithii! That's a huge bummer! It's a little annoying knowing what I paid for the plant. It's worse that it's a well known seller on here, not that it was done intentionally but that who knows how many other have the same plant thinking it's C. griffithii.


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## Duck5003 (Oct 1, 2012)

These plants are so cool. I wish i knew more about the different varieties of crypts to fully appreciate some of these rarer ones, but either way they look great! 

So kind of a random question as i'm curious (apologies if this was asked or answered already), but what made you get into keeping emersed setups? Just personal choice, larger variety of plants, easier maintenance, looking for something new? All of the above? lol 

I'm always curious what drives people into new avenues of a hobby, especially the ones i havent explored myself!


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## denske (Feb 20, 2013)

Same thing happened to me Johnson, and probably got it from the same person. Thats why i was asking you for pics, but it was hard to tell if yours was different. It is a cool spathe though.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Duck5003 said:


> These plants are so cool. I wish i knew more about the different varieties of crypts to fully appreciate some of these rarer ones, but either way they look great!
> 
> So kind of a random question as i'm curious (apologies if this was asked or answered already), but what made you get into keeping emersed setups? Just personal choice, larger variety of plants, easier maintenance, looking for something new? All of the above? lol
> 
> I'm always curious what drives people into new avenues of a hobby, especially the ones i havent explored myself!


I've always enjoyed tropical flowering plants, hell really just plants in general. I found the Crypt Club thread and the read entire thing one night! 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=158684

From there a google search lead me to Jan's Crypt Pages. 
http://crypts.home.xs4all.nl/Cryptocoryne/index.html

From there it was all downhill...the addiction had begun. Haha... It probably didn't help that I had recently decided to major in a plant related biology field. Which has now been narrowed down to Plant Sciences at U of A. The easy maintenance certainly is a huge appeal. I'm really enjoying the variety as well. I have always really liked Aroids without really knowing what they were. Through my research on Crypts I learned a ton about other aroids and have started adding some of the terrestrial & epiphytic species to my collection of plants. 

I've listed a bunch of other useful Cryptocoryne related sites in post 43 if you're wanting more information. As far as info on emersed set up, they're pretty simple. If you have any questions let me know.


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## Tihsho (Oct 10, 2007)

I had started an emersed Crypt collection 6 years ago, but it was mainly for grow out purposes. This has inspired me to start it again!


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## Duck5003 (Oct 1, 2012)

johnson18 said:


> I've always enjoyed tropical flowering plants, hell really just plants in general. I found the Crypt Club thread and the read entire thing one night!
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=158684
> 
> From there a google search lead me to Jan's Crypt Pages.
> ...


Thanks for the great info  i've always been very interested in trying to combine emersed and submersed. Not quite riparium style, but more of a paludarium type tank. Although without having any first hand experience with the emersed side of things, ive restrained from designating a tank to this. I have some spare plants and a ten that has the slightest leak on one of the edges, but would definitely work for an emersed setup. All the motivation i need to give it a try! 

Thats a very interesting/cool major!! Have you decided what your going to focus on/specialize in? I majored in wetland ecology, but specialized in mitigated vs natural wetland habitats in regards to waterfowl and aquatic inverts rather than the plant side of things. 

Anywho, thanks again! Now i have some reading to do


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## allabouttheplants (May 3, 2014)

i am thinking of starting an emersed tank of my own. i do have some questions i hope someone can answer. can blub plants like apongenton species, nymphaea zenkeri, and crinum thaianum be grow or at least started this way?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

It's awesome to hear this has helped inspire people to start/restart emersed tanks! 

My tanks were moved into the bed of my truck yesterday evening! We are now almost to Shreveport, LA, where we'll stop for the night and visit with a couple friends! Everything seems to be staying within a reasonable temperature with one side window of the camper shell opened about 2-3". I'm gonna crawl in and mist the tanks well when we get to the hotel. Thought I'm not sure how much they'll need it with all the bouncing & sloshing of water in the tanks.


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## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

Crypts are some of my favorite plants. I hope you're moving, otherwise traveling with your crypts in your truck is taking the addiction to a whole new level...:hihi:


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## austin.b (Feb 9, 2012)

exv152 said:


> Crypts are some of my favorite plants. I hope you're moving, otherwise traveling with your crypts in your truck is taking the addiction to a whole new level...:hihi:


lmao! haha Nice one! :hihi:


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Drive careful and avoid accident causing morons on the road! There are a LOT of them.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

exv152 said:


> Crypts are some of my favorite plants. I hope you're moving, otherwise traveling with your crypts in your truck is taking the addiction to a whole new level...:hihi:



Hey man, we've all got our own addictions.... Hahahahaha!!! Lmfao! 


We made it safely! Plants all look good. Some of the plants that went into net pots will need to be repotted as they got sloshed around pretty good. While I was unloading them out of my truck yesterday I glanced in a noticed that the C. affinis "metallic red" 'pahang barat' has put out a spathe during the trip! Pretty cool!


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## kisanjong (Oct 16, 2013)

That's great news and a nice bonus with the spathe  :clap:


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

kisanjong said:


> That's great news and a nice bonus with the spathe  :clap:



Thanks! Unfortunately I went to take a picture of the affinis spathe today & it had already melted.


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## kisanjong (Oct 16, 2013)

Such a shame and the other plants are still ok?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

kisanjong said:


> the other plants are still ok?


I think so. Still haven't gotten them moved into my room and running heaters/lights. That will happen early in the day today, though my main focus is getting my 55 restarted with its new MG substrate and looking decent prior to a bunch of people coming over here for a graduation party for a friend of the family's that just got his masters. Once I have time to really check things out in these tanks I will do a proper update.


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## kisanjong (Oct 16, 2013)

Thanks for the reply. Looking forward to the updates


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I ended up losing a couple species during the move. Mostly due to the use of net pots with water sloshing around. Ended up with substrate mixture spread all over the bottom of the tank. Everything else has pretty much stabilized. 

I'm planning on picking up 2 or 3 40 breeders today at the $1/gal sale, if I can find some decent looking ones. Not as many as I would like to get but there's too much other stuff going on right now for me to spend much $ on tanks. Mainly being that I got t-boned & flipped my truck(other persons fault-they failed to stop @ a stop sign) while driving this last week. So until I know how much I will be getting for my totaled vehicle I won't be spending much. I'm really hoping I don't have to come out of pocket for a new ride. Besides, I'm way to sore to be messing around in any of my tanks right now. My goal with these few tanks is to repot and expand the number of pots I have for each species. 

No surprise that the stem plants have recovered much faster than he crypts. My 20L is going absolutely crazy!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Picked up two 40Bs this evening. I need about four more to really do what I wanna do. There's way too much other sh*t going on to deal with them right now. I'm in no condition to build a rack. Ah, nothing better than doped up carpentry. Hahaha. Maybe I can have it all built by the time the next sale rolls around. For now if I need more tank space I do have a few spare tanks: 55, 20L x 3, 10 x 3 & a 45cube(ish).... Haha... Well, plus the existing 55 & 20L that are in use.


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## agro (Nov 29, 2013)

What lights do you prefer? Might've missed it somewhere, looking to do exactly this with a few 75gs just collecting dust. Any advice would be appreciated.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

agro said:


> What lights do you prefer? Might've missed it somewhere, looking to do exactly this with a few 75gs just collecting dust. Any advice would be appreciated.


Not sure how I miss this when you posted it, whoops!

I'm running dual bulb t5ho fixtures with a Giesemann Aquaflora/Midday bulb combo. I have been really impressed with the bulbs, they've made a ton of difference. I've actually got the same set ups on my low tech 55 & Tillandsia tank! I would definitely have no problem recommending that combo to almost anyone!

With that said, I just(no more then 20 minutes ago) emailed Cara at Build My LED to reorder the same custom spectrum fixture that I am currently running on my 20L riparium. I have been very pleased with the growth both above and below the water line on that system! The figure will go onto one of the 40 breeders that I bought about a month ago?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I really hate to admit and post this....... BUT...here it goes... Over the last month, since being in a car wreck(you can read more on that topic & see pics in my riparium journal) my emersed 55 has completely crashed. I've gotta tear into it tomorrow, if I'm feeling up to it, and see what's salvageable. I will probably not throw anything away but clear out all the dead growth & hope some plants return. I'm not holding my breath though. It's a huge bummer, I just haven't been able to keep up with things due to a messed up back and neck. I've been having to take multiple pain killers & muscle relaxers on a daily basis just to semi function. That's life though, and it goes on.

Once the weather has cooled off a little later in the year I will start rebuilding my collection & working on my rack. I'm going to go ahead and set up one of the 40b's that I got during the $1/ga sale over the next month. As I mentioned above I am ordering a new custom spectrum XB series BML fixture for this new tank! It's the same spectrum that's over my riparium & I'm really pleased with it. Below I've attached the spectrum report from the BML website. If you have any thoughts on this feel free to let me know!

http://www.bmlcustom.com/custom-report-details/?partNo=PS1290S101AAAATAAAAAATAAA

Once I go through this tank I'll give an update on what's still alive & what's kicked the bucket.  Oh well, it could be a lot worse than a few hundred bucks worth of dead plants... Like me or my dog or both!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

BML has been ordered! 

I need to figure out how I want to handle heating and air pumps for the addition of the 40b. I'm thinking I will add another large air pump like the one I purchased for the sponge filters in the riparium recently. I may consider getting a larger pump in order to accommodate more tanks as I add them, while working toward my 6-8 tank emersed rack. 

Crypt willisii 'lucens' has a spathe in the 20L. The Anubias barteri var barteri has two inflorescences open at the moment as well. 

I will be tearing into the 55 this afternoon...


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

55 is up and running again. I cleared out most of the dead organic matter but left the plant bases intact. Doubt anything will grow back at this point but it doesn't cost me anything to try. 

I added the following crypts:
bangkanensis MST 02-52 

cordata 'Thailand' Kulok CTSK 

longicauda "Bangka: Pudingbesar (Waser 01)

minima BAST 1094

x purpurea GG-01
zukalii

Knowing everything I lost due to not being able to do much after the accident this summer, Aaron also hooked me up with a couple stems and a semi-aquatic orchid. He has always been great to work with as a seller & a knowledgeable hobbyist too! 

Right now I've got the new BML fixture over this tank. One of the ballast died in the t5ho fixture so I have to get that fixed.


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## rodahl (Dec 1, 2014)

*Welcome to Tucson*

"Any thoughts, suggestions, ideas or even "hey dummy, you're doin' it wrong" would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!"

How about a simple welcome!
I am planning on doing some emergent growing in the back patio when the weather warms up a little. (above 50º) Like your idea for the tupperware making holes should be no problem. Frosted sheet plastic should make good lids after the saran wrap.There are some pictures of my FluvalspecV with my present emergent starts in it on my *Spec V drystart project* thread. Check it out.
once again, welcome!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

These two tanks have been left to grow for the last year. I've pretty much just added water from time to time. Everything is growing everywhere. I will be tearing into them to replant, sort and clean as soon as this semester is over in a week. I think it's been long enough since I lost all my crypts that I'm ready to get back to growing plants. I will also be cleaning up the other tanks and adding some of the plants from these two into them. 

I've honestly got no idea what is still alive in these as far as crypts go. I've still got a decent variety of crypts and buce in the filled tanks. Once they are cleaned up, I will probably move some of the crypts over to emersed.


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## vision (Sep 29, 2015)

i can't believe i just read through this entire thread, plus your tillandsia grow haha!

looking forward to seeing some picture updates, thanks for all the info.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

vision said:


> i can't believe i just read through this entire thread, plus your tillandsia grow haha!
> 
> looking forward to seeing some picture updates, thanks for all the info.


Awesome! I hope it was helpful! I don't know how many different threads I have binge read, but it's a lot. haha.


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