# How should I do an emmerse setup?



## joe faria (Feb 22, 2008)

Hello,
I always had fishtanks and crypts in, but never tried to keep them emmerse. Despite reading loads of information about keeping crypts, i still got a few doubts. 

I will have available a 3ft tank in a week time.
Substrate, which one? I'm gonna try garden soil, peat and lapis sand or gravel. Is it ok?

Should I plant straight away to the substrate or use pots?

Temperature, right now it is about 10ºC or 50ºF, most time in winter it's colder, summertime goes an average 30ºC/86ºF, so it's better if using a heater, this is right?

Lighting, can I use Gro-lux bulbs or any daylight bulb will do? 

Water, should I use any pump to add some movement, or there's no need?

Hope you can help me.

Regards,

Joe Faria.


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## rs79 (Dec 7, 2004)

Depends on the species of crypts you're trying to grow. Which ones are you interested in?

A setup for hardwater crypts won't work for blackwaer crypts very well and vice versa.

But, once attention is paid to that chamistry the rest (light, substrate) don't really matter very much.

CO2 helps a LOT. All things being equal, you want CO2 with crypts.

Crypts are quite cold hardy and are ok down to the 40s F.


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## joe faria (Feb 22, 2008)

Hello,
Co2 in an emmerse situation? 
Right now, I got a tank set up, you can have a look on it Aquascaping forum ( the Crypt's Tank). I got undulata, willisii, moehlmanii, walkeri and just waiting for albida to plant (growing submerse).

I got the same plants in a small cube (1G cube) growing emerse.

Wish list:
C. affinis, C. alba, C. beckettii C. cordata var. cordata,C. crispatula var. balansae, C. dewitii, C. elliptica, C. ferruginea, C. griffithii, C. keei, C. longicauda, C. nevillii, C. parva, C.pontederiifolia, C. pygmaea.


Regards,

Joe Faria.


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## Xema (Mar 24, 2004)

For my soil is the most important thing growing crypts.

For starting in growing emerged crypts you should decide what species you want to keep, black water ones, rain water ones, and alkaline ones.

I think every one of us started with Sri-Lanka types.

Every group of plants are needing an special soil with special ph reaction. But There are plant which are needing soil with larger proportion of organic stuff and other ones which are needing more mineral soil. So fro simply we are using soils which are in the middle between mineral and organic. ADA type soils are running really good with black water ones. But the soil will not work fine if the water around the pot is not at the right pH range.


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## rs79 (Dec 7, 2004)

> Co2 in an emmerse situation?


Brain fart. I was thinking submersed.


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## joe faria (Feb 22, 2008)

Hi,
I took a pic of my small set up.










It has undulata, walkeri, willisii and nevilli.

Substrate it's peat, garden soil and nutrient rich volcanic gravel.

Cheers


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