# My emersed tanks 10 gallon and 6 gallon



## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

I tore down all of my tanks and turned them into emersed tanks! yay!  free co2 and cheap substrate and best of all... no algae! woot!
So i set up two styles of emersed tanks.
zachary's "dirt in a box method" (http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals/158939-zachary-908s-40g-emersed-tank-dirt.html)
and zapin style
My 6 gallon rimless was the zapin style and since each species is grown in its own pot I can keep a bunch of species in my collector tank. I have a cheap fogger I bought off ebay and the top is made of some plastic cover sheets. The light is a 23 watt cfl bulb and i think it's 6500K (it's a anonymous brand with no info on the bulb). The soil in the pots is miracle grow potting soil. with the fogger running 24/7 the humidity is 80-90%. I also have a 25 watt heater running.
My 10 gallon was the dirt in a box method. The cover is also made of the plastic sheets and a glass cover from my unused 2.5 gallon tank. The substrate is miracle grow potting soil that i got at hd for around 3 bucks for a huge bag. I mist once a day and my humidity is around 82%. (Fremont's usual humidity is in the 40's)
alright enough talk time for pictures! the plants are a motley assortment: dhg, hc, crypts, anubias variegated, hygro's, and some rarer stems
I just planted most of the stem plants yesterday so they're still wilting a bit, but most of them have started to recover and are rooting! the HC has been in there for 1 or 2 weeks already

with fog

without fog

top view of plants


P. 'Kawagoneum'


B. Lanigera

H. Lorentzianna

10 gallon dirt in a box style

plants are still wilting from shipping but are starting to perk up

left side of the tank. B. Japan is the fastest to recover and is already starting to grow!

HC starting to spread
I'll update with new pictures every now and then! tell me what you think!


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Your plants will need bigger pots - several of the species you've got (the Persicaria, Hyptis, B. lanigera, etc.) will grow huge and spread all over the place once they get established.


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

thanks for the heads up! I'll probably be setting up a 46 gallon emersed tank or a 20 gallon long tank


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Go with the 46 - the 20L won't provide enough vertical room for very many species. If you're just trying to grow foreground/carpet plants, it'll be fine (also many Lindernia, Bacopa, and Rotala spp. prefer to grow out horizontally rather than vertically...) but most species prefer the extra height. 

Keep a particular eye on that purple bamboo, too - once it roots and settles in, it takes off and doesn't look back. Over the course of a couple months, I've seen it fill up a full-size rubbermaid tub, overflow the sides, and creep its way over to and start rooting in adjacent tubs.


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

New updates! I just redid my 6 gallon and cleaned the water and repotted everything into paper pots with black polyethylene shells. I will be getting some coir pots soon because people have said that the paper pots will disintegrate pretty fast. *DON'T LINE YOUR POTS WITH COFFEE FILTER, THEY DISINTEGRATE IN A WEEK!*
I'll be setting up my 46 bowfront to house my emersed collection soon so they won't be crammed in a tiny 6 gallon. I'll post pictures when i get around to doing that.

6 gallon tank (i've set the fogger to run 20 minutes every 2 hours because otherwise the plants are too wet and fungus grows




I have a couple plants converting from submersed to emersed. H. Tiger, Ammania sp. Bonsai, C. nurii 'Pahang', and some C. wendtii



P. Kawagoneum I really like how the red is developing on the new leaves and upper portion closest to the light
btw the light is a 23 watt cfl bulb... nothing fancy




anubias variegated 


Gratiola Brevifolia


C. Nurii converting from submersed to emersed


L. India very robust grower! 


C. Wendtii, It JUST converted from submersed to emersed and is putting out new emersed leaves!


Ammania sp. Bonsai, just planted these submersed stems 2 days ago.


You can see my cheap fogger i got off ebay and the grid that everything is on.
I still need to ID that crypt LOL


Fog on.

*10 gallon dirt in a box tank!*
I'm getting so many flowers in this tank! dirt in a box method is great!


P. 'Kawagoneum' you can see the bud starting to form


E. parvula is starting to spread. My anubias variegated isn't doing so hot though  the leaves are yellowing any suggestions? i think it's the humidity... the humidity in this tank is only 70-75% 
The plants are growing nicely and should start filling in a couple months!


L. India flowers!

*My windowsill foreground plant collection*
I have a whole bunch of these small plastic cans with plastic screw on lids and they're so useful for storing things and growing thing and shipping things!
I currently have e. parvula, HC, and marsilea minuata.
I got some glosso from Nathan today and I will have those planted soon
I'll be getting some UG from Tony soon too thus I will have most of the foregrounds! 




HC started as a small sprout and spread nicely


E. parvula starting to spread


Marsilea planted 2 days ago and will convert to emersed clovers soon.
that's all for now!


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## myjohnson (Jan 16, 2007)

Wow! Nice collection of emerse plants dude.

Ever thought about kokedama?


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

My 46 gallon bowfront
I have three tubs that i lined with screen at the bottom and the bottom has holes and terra cotta pots with screens at the bottom. I have two heaters running (because i don't have a 100+ watt heater) the temp is around 30 C. I also have a 201 powerhead running with a diy filter attachment and my fogger is also funning which is why the pictures are so foggy.
Some new plant additions:
Downoi
Polygonum sp. Sao Paulo
glosso
HC
UG
E. belem
Ludwigia sp. 'hybrid'
Ludwigia Pillosa
Hygro tiger
E. tennelus
and some riparium plant i have in the planter from hydrophyte on TPT
My crypts are starting to grow like crazy! 




;-; you can see how the other two stems of downoi just melted but atleast i have one! 

my poly. sp. Sao Paulo... I planted it near my P. Kawagoeneum and it has a great contrast! The ludwigia hybrid next to it is flowering 


Ludwigia pillosa (pretty darn expensive!) 
Sorry for all the fog... and i just planted plugs of UG and DHG Belem everywhere LOL


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## zachary908 (Sep 24, 2011)

Any updates, Neil?


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

My 46 gallon has been growing nicely and so has my 10 gallon tank. I trimmed most of the stems in my 10 gallon tank because they were almost at the limit! i compiled a list of the plants i'm growing. some of them aren't pictured and are actually in containers on my windowsill 

1.	Anubias var 'variegated'
2.	Bacopa 'Japan'
3.	Bacopa Lanigera
4.	Bacopa Madagascariensis
5.	Bacopa Monnieri
6.	Bacopa Salzmanii
7.	Cryptocoryne Ciliata
8.	Cryptocoryne Lucens
9.	Cryptocoryne Nurii 'Pahang'
10.	Cryptocoryne Pontederiifolia
11.	Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'Green'
12.	Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'Red'
13.	Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'Tropica'
14.	Cryptocoryne Willisii x Lucens
15.	Echinodorous Tenellus
16.	Glossostigma Elatinoides
17.	Gratiola Brevifolia
18.	Hemianthus Callitrichoides
19.	Hygrophila 'Bold'
20.	Hygrophila Lancea
21.	Hygrophila 'Porto Velho'
22.	Hygrophila 'Tiger'
23.	Hyptis Lorentzianna
24.	Lindernia 'India'
25.	Ludwigia cf. Suffruticosa 
26.	Ludwigia Pillosa
27.	Ludwigia sp. 'Red'
28.	Marsiela Minuta
29.	Persicaria Kawagoenum
30.	Pogostemon Helferi
31.	Polygonum. sp. 'Sao Paulo'
32.	Rotala Mexicana
33.	Staurogyne sp. 'Purple'
34.	Staurogyne Stolonifera
35.	Ultricularia Graminifolia
36.	Ranunculus Inundatus
37. Asclepias curassavica
and here are some pictures!


that's the monarch milkweed Asclepias curassavica. grows quite fast! the root system took over the whole planter and is growing out of the planter slits all in 2 weeks! fast grower, can't wait for it to flower.


My Ludwigia pillosa is creeping and throwing off a lot of new leaves. I trimmed my hyptis lorentzianna! the plant has a beautiful leaf underside! the P. 'Sao Paulo' is really taking off and is throwing flowers. Bacopa Madagascariensis is growing pretty fast. G. brevifolia is growing quite fast for me too 


Staurogyne 'Porto Velho', Staurogyne Stolonifera, Staurogyne sp. 'Purple', ludwigia hybrid, Ludwigia cf. Suffruticosa, rotala mexicana, and some ug.


My crypts are growing really well can't wait for the spathes. downoi is growing well and forming many side shoots. HC and glosso is growing like a weed. and my anubias variegated is putting out new leaves! not sure how much variegation is on them but i'll wait for the leaves to mature. fingers crossed!


I plan to stick a portion of my marsiela minuta in the back to start growing. 




the HC is already mostly filled in, the bacopa is struggling though 
that's all for now!


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## niceseol (Mar 7, 2012)

wow that's a lot of plants


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## Klaus07 (Sep 18, 2011)

It looks like you are having lots of fun growing emersed stuff. I know I like to see mine grow and the flowers are something you dont see normally underwater. Keep up the good work.


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

Haven't updated this in a while... but everything has exploded in growth and I've got seeds from my persicaria kawagoenum and hygrophila lancea


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

So how are you liking emersed? Do you miss your tanks? I can see how all the growth would be neat but I would miss the beauty of the submerged growth and color.


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

I do miss the aquascaping and such, but now that i'm almost a junior in high school, I'm super busy. Being able to leave my emersed tanks and have them grow by themselves with everything being automated seems much more of a better choice. Emersed tanks have a beauty in their own with flowering and I'm starting a seed bank! Since most of the time plants are vegetatively propagated, growing from seed is very exciting. The dirt in a box method allows nice emersed scapes though the colors are less vibrant. Overall emersed tanks are a nice subset of our hobby and i enjoy it just as much as submersed. (mainly because there's no algae LOL)


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

I'm not convinced that emersed tanks are less colorful. Sure, some species tend not to display the same reds as they do underwater (Persicaria spp. 'Sao Paolo' and 'Kawagoeanum' are good examples of this), but there are plenty of species that still show vibrant colors in emersed culture... For instance, Nesaea, Rotala, and Lysimachia species all look lovely in my tubs.

Neil, want to swap seeds sometime? I'd love to get my hands on some Hygro lancea. I have plenty of Limnophila rugosa and maybe some Staurogyne sp. 'Bihar' seed pods I can spare. 

...The other wonderful thing about seeds is that they can usually be mailed for the cost of a stamp


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## 954baby (Feb 8, 2008)

> Being able to leave my emersed tanks and have them grow by themselves with everything being automated seems much more of a better choice.


I hear ya man! I work about 60 hours a week sometimes and I can barely spend a few hours with my plants without hearing it from my woman. Emersed is sometimes the way to go. Aquascaping is fun but it can be very time consuming and at least with emersed setups you get to see the plants flower on a regular basis. I'm in the process of trying to upgrade to a big 4x6 foot humidity dome, It will decrease my maintenance time by 10 fold. I'll do a write up on it when I start. Great looking stuff keep it up!


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

954baby said:


> I hear ya man! I work about 60 hours a week sometimes and I can barely spend a few hours with my plants without hearing it from my woman. Emersed is sometimes the way to go. Aquascaping is fun but it can be very time consuming and at least with emersed setups you get to see the plants flower on a regular basis. I'm in the process of trying to upgrade to a big 4x6 foot humidity dome, It will decrease my maintenance time by 10 fold. I'll do a write up on it when I start. Great looking stuff keep it up!


yup. with the school i go to, i'm lucky if i have time to change the water every two months.


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

just found out my lindernia sp. india had a bunch of seeds! but i didn't notice in time and everything sprouted 
that brings seed plants to a total of 3! not much but it's something. i'm hoping my hygrophila araguaia will produce seeds because it's one of my favorite plants


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

just kidding, i harvested about 100+ seeds of lindernia sp. india.
though now i have a ton of sprouted seeds too...


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