# Wallace's Emersed Setup



## WallaceGrover (Jul 28, 2012)

Hi everyone! I just wanted to show the start of my emersed setup. I started it more to tide me over and start growing some plants for the tanks I'm going to start after a remodel, but the more I research and look at pictures the more excited I get.

*Equipment (So Far)*

Big Clear Plastic Box
Small Plastic "Acessory" Boxes
Small Plastic Nursery Pots
2 x 13 Watt CFL's (6700k)

*Plants*

To be added




























Drilling all five sides of the pot for water exchange took quite a long time, but I'm happy with everything so far. I'm not extremely sure what I want to do as far as plants go, but I do want Java moss, wendetti, and nana. If I add a heater I'll have to sacrifice some of the pots; my idea was to take a small pane of glass and put it on the bottom so the heater (even though its suspended by suction cups) is not in direct contact with the plastic. I'm not so sure if I would need to add a heater, or circulation for that matter. I saw some other emersed tanks and I really liked the idea of using a bubble wand and air pump, but I've also thought of using one of the in-tank filters (the kind you see in turtle tanks) that work in shallow water, or just a vanilla circulator pump. I'm really looking for what you guys suggest, both equipment-wise and plant-wise. Please chime in if you have ideas or recommendations!

Oh, I'm also not sure if I should keep the 2x13 watts, or switch to higher wattage CFLs...


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## Tattooedfool83 (Jul 7, 2013)

I'm in the process of setting up an emersed tube myself. I was considering having my pots sit on a raised floor that issue from the egg crate/ light diffuser sheets that u see a lot of aquarists use under substrate. This would allow a heater if needed to be underneath and then I was gonna use the motor/impeller from a tetra hob filter for water circulation. But I'm not sure of the benefits of water movement and a heater? Guess the heater depends on the temperature and humidity in the tub. I look forward to seeig updates on this. I plan on starting a journal myself soon.


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## WallaceGrover (Jul 28, 2012)

Tattooedfool83 said:


> I'm in the process of setting up an emersed tube myself. I was considering having my pots sit on a raised floor that issue from the egg crate/ light diffuser sheets that u see a lot of aquarists use under substrate. This would allow a heater if needed to be underneath and then I was gonna use the motor/impeller from a tetra hob filter for water circulation. But I'm not sure of the benefits of water movement and a heater? Guess the heater depends on the temperature and humidity in the tub. I look forward to seeig updates on this. I plan on starting a journal myself soon.


That's a really good idea, but I would be a little afraid that the loss of height may limit my plant choices. A 3-4 inch false bottom would give the plants around 5-6" of head space. I do think a heater would be really beneficial though. I grew my sundews using a similar tray method with no movement and the water became a little stagnant, it didn't smell but it looked swampy. The plants didn't seem to mind though...


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## Tattooedfool83 (Jul 7, 2013)

Good point about the height, guess the false bottoms would depend on the tub. And is figure a regular water change would help with the stagnant water. Are you planning on dosing ferts?


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## WallaceGrover (Jul 28, 2012)

Yeah, I plan on KNO3, KH2PO4, and CSM+B on EI dosing levels equivalent to a 10 gallon. Maybe iron as well, not sure if they would need it. I'm going later today to shop for substrate, probably pool filter sand mixed with organic miracle grow...


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## Tattooedfool83 (Jul 7, 2013)

What kind of plants? I just got a huge bag of miracle grow organic yesterday at lowes for like $8. Black diamond blasting grit is $8 at tractor supply to.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

For most stems, yes, you'll need more height than you'd think. Unless you trim a lot. For flowering, you really do need the room. I still think you're mostly OK.


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## WallaceGrover (Jul 28, 2012)

Cavan Allen said:


> For most stems, yes, you'll need more height than you'd think. Unless you trim a lot. For flowering, you really do need the room. I still think you're mostly OK.


Ok, cool! I'm thinking of using my 2 foot 48w T5 instead of the clip on shop lights, and using a fuge ray for my other tanks...


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## Tattooedfool83 (Jul 7, 2013)

I bet that will produce enough light and heat for lots of humidity Looking forward to this 


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Cavan Allen said:


> For most stems, yes, you'll need more height than you'd think. Unless you trim a lot. For flowering, you really do need the room. I still think you're mostly OK.


Definitely some good advice. Some of the larger stem plants will push 2 or even 3 feet tall at maturity (some examples: Ludwigia suffruticosa and L. sphaerocarpa, Hyptis lorentziana, Persicaria kawagoeanum, Hygrophila corymbosa). Others like to spread a similar distance horizontally (i.e. Acmella repens, most other Persicaria, larger Bacopa species, etc.) Give your plants as much space as you can and be prepared to trim aggressively with some species.

As to the lighting, give your setup as much light as you can afford to-you can't over-light an indoor emersed setup.


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## WallaceGrover (Jul 28, 2012)

asukawashere said:


> Definitely some good advice. Some of the larger stem plants will push 2 or even 3 feet tall at maturity (some examples: Ludwigia suffruticosa and L. sphaerocarpa, Hyptis lorentziana, Persicaria kawagoeanum, Hygrophila corymbosa). Others like to spread a similar distance horizontally (i.e. Acmella repens, most other Persicaria, larger Bacopa species, etc.) Give your plants as much space as you can and be prepared to trim aggressively with some species.
> 
> As to the lighting, give your setup as much light as you can afford to-you can't over-light an indoor emersed setup.


Good advice for sure.

Can you give recommendations for a shorter stem? So far I think I'll grow rotala rotundifolia, because I have a walstad bowl FULL of it that I need to break down, but I need one or two more that does fairly well in low-tech tanks.

Java moss, wendtti green gecko, needle leaf java fern, and some anubias nana are what I'm thinking of so far other than the rotala. So I have one or two (depending on if I decide to grow the java moss in empty space between the pots or actually emersed) more of the bigger "stem" containers to find something for and three "rosette" containers to fill as well. I'm definitely looking for plants I can use in my future tanks, maybe another crypt?

As far as substrate goes, I'm thinking of doing 1/3 Black Diamond sand, 1/3 peat, and 1/3 MiracleGro OC. Not sure if that's an ideal mix...


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## Tattooedfool83 (Jul 7, 2013)

What about crypt parva or a broadleaf?


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

I often use BD sand to cap the substrate in my pots because it looks nicer; beyond that it doesn't serve much purpose IME. Miracle Gro potting soil actually has a lot of dyed, shredded wood chips in it—frankly, I find it better to just use the cheapest available topsoil and add Miracle Gro fertilizer instead—it's cheaper and ultimately just as effective. Peat would be good for loosening up the soil and all, but I never bother with it myself.

As for shorter, lower-light plants, most small aroids and ferns are good candidates. Helanthium species, Lilaeopsis species, Sagittaria subulata, Bacopa australis, Hygrophila corymbosa 'Kompakt', Micranthemum umbrosum, Ludwigia palustris 'Red', Lindernia rotundifolia and L. grandiflora, and smaller Hydrocotyle species (sibthorpioides, tripartita, 'Japan') are all good candidates to consider. You might get away with a small swordplant like E. parviflorus, too.


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## Tattooedfool83 (Jul 7, 2013)

Bd is inert though, for a cap it works great. Although I have used it with root tabs and has grown stem plants just fine 


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## WallaceGrover (Jul 28, 2012)

Ok, I'll upload pictures tomorrow. I got my plants a week ago and they're doing great! None of the crypt's leaves even melted, and the stem plants are shooting out emersed growth like nobodies business. I didn't know I could only edit after a certain amount of time, but oh well. I got some wendtti green gecko, wendtti red, rotala rotundifolia, ludwigia acurta x repens (absolutely crazy growth out of these), needle leaf java fern, nana, nana petite, and some java moss+christmas moss growing in the water.

The soil smells terrible, and the air in the container has a... carbonated quality (that's the best way I can describe it). I added a Tetra Whisper 10i filter to prevent stagnation and it's working great along with my jaeger heater. They keep the humidity really high, so high that the plants aren't losing any emersed growth...


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## WallaceGrover (Jul 28, 2012)

*One week of growth:*

Rotala rotundifolia









Ludwigia repens x acurta









Bacopa carolinia









Wendtti 'green gecko'









Wendtti red









Needle leaf Java Fern









Anubias nana 'petite'









Anubias nana









FTS


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Lookin' good! Just wanted to mention that your "Rotala rotundifolia" is actually a Ludwigia... likely L. brevipes or L. x lacustris.


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## Tattooedfool83 (Jul 7, 2013)

Awesome growth. I love how crypts look all flimsy and near death when u get them and then when in the set up they turn towards the light and perk up


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## WallaceGrover (Jul 28, 2012)

asukawashere said:


> Lookin' good! Just wanted to mention that your "Rotala rotundifolia" is actually a Ludwigia... likely L. brevipes or L. x lacustris.


Really? This is what it looked like submersed. I guess now that you mentioned it, it did look different from online photos. I just attributed that to lack of CO2. It does look awfully similar to the Ludwigia repens x acurta it's sitting by, it wouldn't be surprising if they were close family. Maybe it will flower, I'm not sure if Ludwigia species are easily differentiated by their flowers though...


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## Tattooedfool83 (Jul 7, 2013)

Nice bowl, I was rescaping my bowl earlier and it broke it my hand as I had picked it up my its rim. No water in it figured it would hold. You er that from michaels?


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## WallaceGrover (Jul 28, 2012)

Tattooedfool83 said:


> Nice bowl, I was rescaping my bowl earlier and it broke it my hand as I had picked it up my its rim. No water in it figured it would hold. You er that from michaels?


I think I got it from a Marshalls...


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