From: "Steve at ExoticRainforest " <Steve at exoticrainforest.com> on 2009.09.24 at 02:55:53(20064)
Marek, sorry for the delay in responding. We've been at the IAS show in
Miami. Next year we need to get a jet filled with all you aroiders from
Europe to join us!
If you check the link I gave you'll see that Devin has created some
really neat planting devices that allow you to suction cup the pots to
the back of the aquarium. If the plants will tolerate the water you can
plant them lower and if not just place them higher on the back wall. He
suggests using sand or gravel to create the bottom of river and you just
keep the larger rocks turned to keep the algae down. Rocks and
driftwood are used to hide the planters which are neatly devised. Devin
displayed these at the IAS show and I think he has a hit on his hands.
I'm about to set up a 55 gallon aquarium using his products and since he
is on Aroid l I'm sure he'll answer any of your questions.
His design allows us to simulate a river's edge with aroids appearing to
grow terrestrially along the river bank but plants such as
/Spathiphyllum/ can be grown in the water or at least partially wet. In
my case I'm going to plant small /Philodendron/ and other aroids on the
"river bank" using Devin's pots and the put large rocks and gravel in
the bottom. I plan to use a larger rocks and rocks along with
driftwood to hide the pots. I'll use the driftwood for the plants to
climb on and a large Amazon sword which can be bought at almost any
aquarium store as the underwater centerpiece. For fish I'm going to
stick with around 12 neon tetras. The plants will be the actual display
and the fish are only to allow movement and life. If the bio load is low
the build up of nitrates is minimal and algae stays low.
Anyone that tries this needs to keep the bio load low or you'll have a
build up of nitrates. However, in this case those nitrates will be used
by any plant with roots in the water. Having kept living coral reefs
for many years I've learned that if you simply put an undergravel filter
beneath the rocks and gravel you'll create an anoxic zone which also
helps to lower the nitrate build up. Just don't hook the undergravel
filter up! The tank will also need a filter but external filters work
fine for this purpose.
For light I'm having a hi intensity aquarium light hung from the ceiling
which will keep the plants healthy.
Here's the link again:
http://hydrophytesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/10-ix-09-tank-i-b.jpg
I'd suggest you go through all Devin's links and look at this photos and
read his explanation. The concept is really simple and neat. Having
kept large aquariums for 50 years I think this one will be spectacular.
I plan to talk to Tom and see what aroids might tolerate the water so I
can have a larger choice of plants for the background. Many philos are
rooted in water so should do well and some Anthurium species may do well
if not drowned.
Forgive me if this is full of typos! My desktop is in the shop for a
tuneup and I'm trying to type on a laptop with tiny keys!!!
Here's another photo Devin sent today of a tank of /Spathiphyllum/. Tom
told me a few months ago these plants are "water hogs".
Steve
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