# My turn, a more thorough thread on my emersed setup.



## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Most of the plants in there, with the exception of those in the Middle-right tank are about one month old (for me). I'm pretty pleased so far that I've not lost any of them yet, though the purpurea has come close. 

I originally kept the water level right at the surface of the soil in the tallest pots, which meant some were submerged up to two inches above the soil. This was ok while the new plants were tall, but as soon as they started adapting I didn't feel comfortable trying to grow sensitive and expensive plants in a nutrient rich, stagnant water. So I dropped the water to ~1cm and with daily misting everything's stayed moist. Since then the new plants have sprung to life and have all put out at least one new leaf.

The wendtii complex plants in the middle-right tank have been in my care since the middle of January and were grown from misc. bits of rhizome, some with roots and some without.

Care amounts to daily misting with water from my discus tank and three direct squirts to the rhizome/crown area with a dilute PMDD mixture 1/week. In another few months, once the plants have settled down and have really started growing I'm going to increase the Phosphate in the fertilizer to see if I can induce flowering.

The whole thing:









The Crypt Tanks:









Middle-left tank:









Bottom-left tank:









Middle-right tank:









Bottom-right tank:









Bronze Wendtii:









Lutea/Red/Green Wendtii (?)









affinis









albida









cordata









gasseri









griffithi









lingua









nurii









petchii









purpurea









pygmaea









tonkinensis









More to come....


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## Steve Pituch (Jan 25, 2004)

Hey Phil,

Awesome. I am taking your lead. I currently have a 20 long with the becketii on a homemade stand. I have found down here it is very difficult to propagate in mini greenhouses outside because of the heat here. I will put a 15 gallon tank under the 20 in the stand and make it an inside greenhouse for crypts. 

I will be studying your photographs above for quite some time.

Steve


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Steve,

Thanks! One thing I'm going to do as soon as I have the money is to get some small under tank heating pads. While the ambient temps are ok in my basement ~70*F they tend to fluctuate with the seasons and the whims of the HVAC system. I figure a small heater will help keep the in-tank temps a bit more stable as well as increase the humidity. 

Best,
Phil


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## david lim (Mar 30, 2004)

you got some nice looking crypts there, phil!


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## Justin Fournier (Jan 27, 2004)

Looks good Phil!! Get some light in there and things will start happening really fast!


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## Steve Pituch (Jan 25, 2004)

Hey Phil,

1) How often, and how do you change the water?

2) Any water circulation?

3) How are you presently fertilizing?

Thanks,
Steve


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Steve,

1) I change the water every week. Since the levels are so low I generally have to add an inch or so of water and then suck it back down to the level I want it. I'm not sure if this constitutes a 100% WC or not. 

2) There is no water circulation.

3) I added fertilization and other details to the original post, check it out there. 


Best,
Phil


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## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

That is a nice collection of crypts you have going there, Phil. 

Get someone to drill holes on the bottom of the tank and centralize it to a sump tank. 
Easier to change, fertilize, heat, and circulate the water. :mrgreen: [-o<

I have always wonder about the humidity requirement. My L. inclinata is growing out of the water in my indoor experiment. It is an open system. The lighting is low at 2x 15 watt over 22 by 22 by 5 tub.

Have you ever try growing the crypts with part of the lid open or no lid at all?


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## Sir_BlackhOle (Jan 25, 2004)

THANK YOU PHIL! Excellent post! I cant wait to get started!


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Edge,

Yes, in fact I am growing some crypts in an "open" and partially open tank. The plants are growing, but the foliage doesn't look as healthy. I've set this rack up with the intent of keeping as many species as I can and trying to get them to flower. With that in mind I'm trying to maintain as optimal an environment as I can. 

As far as drilling and plumbing, that will come at a later date. I got these tanks at PetSmart and who knows if they're annealed or tempered. Also, with the tanks isolated like this I feel a lot more confident that any pests and diseases will be isolated to a single tank rather than have a good chance of spreading to all the tanks. You're looking at close to $300.00 worth of plants in those four tanks and I'm not interested in losing a single penny of that investment. 

Best,
Phil


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## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

This is one of those What IF question.

Could the humidity be simulated by a spray bottle misting every few hours?

Would that give the similar effect as a close system?

At least you have access to the rare plants. We hardly see the rare plants in Canada even when the restrictions are not as severe.


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

EDGE,

Yes, your plants would grow just fine "free" if they were misted regularly. I've had some growing in a greenhouse under a misting system that runs for 2 sec every 15 min or so. We use it for propegating cuttings and the like and it's worked well for the crypts. A fogger should work as well, as long as it keeps the leaves moist and the soil is moist you should be all set. 

Best,
Phil


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## MrPCB (Mar 4, 2004)

Hiya Phill.

Apart from that globe thinggy I'm trying I also have one soda bottle system and another similar to yours. Why do you want a heating pad? wouldn't a simple aquarium heater horizontally submerged do the trick?
I also have a small pump for water circulation and thus level the heat within all of the water column.

Cheers,
Pedro


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Pedro,

I want to use heating pads because I keep the water level too low for a heater. Also, heaters and powerheads are more expensive than heating pads and take up room that I could use to grow plants. Also, bits of sand soil tend to settle to the bottom of the tank which would get caught up in the powerhead and would wreck the internal components. In this system all I really want/need is something to keep the temperature stable and increase the humidity a little bit. 

If I had them growing in one large tank and was using a different substrate I would definately use a aquarium heater and powerhead. 

Best,
Phil


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Picture of an inflorescence:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=15003#15003


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## Xema (Mar 24, 2004)

Hey Phill, when a update of your emersed set up?


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