# 55G Crypt Riparium



## hydrophyte

Hi All,

I have been lurking for a while, but I am new here and this is my first post. I have a pretty good start on a new display and tonight I managed to get some pictures.

I am setting up a 55 gallon as a riparium with mainly _Cryptocoryne_ in hanging riparium planters. I am not crazy about the dimensions of the standard 55--it's too short front-to-back--but I think that it will work well for this display. I want this tank to create a "botanical" impression with crypts lined up in such a way that their different shapes, colors and sizes are visually contrasted.

I still only have have it set up as a culture tank on a fishroom bench, but here is the aquarium with some of the material that I will use:










There's other stuff in there too, including some ferns and _Anubias_.










The emmersed crypts are going to form the composition background. I have a couple of ideas for midground plants. I intend to plant these onto Nano Trellis Rafts.

This is a little _Pilea_ sp. that I have had half-neglected in with my orchids.










This _Hemigraphis_ (I haven't been able to figure out species) does well growing hydroponically on a Nano Trellis Raft.










I have a number of big robust crypts already in Hanging Planters. This is a _C. wendtii_, maybe 'Bronze'. It has flowered for me several times.










The next plant is a _Lagenandra idontknowwhichoneitis_. I picked it up at a LFS a couple of months ago.










This one has already filled its planter with roots. What a cool plant. I was so happy to finally get my hands on a _Lagenandra_.

This is a _C. ciliata_ in a Large Hanging Planter. I potted up this one a couple of months ago and it is well-established. Most of the leaves it came with melted as these new ones developed.










I have a few things planted onto Epi-Trellis Rafts.










This Java fern is about the best looking that I have on an Epi-Trellis. It might be too big for this display, and its not a crypt, but I will try it out. It is such a nice plant and I don't really have any other ideas for it right now.










I am going to plant crypts also in the underwater foreground. Here is a nice _C. wendtii_ 'Green Gecko'. I wonder how big these get(?). I need to look for smaller stuff for the underwater portion too because the water will only be ~8" deep.










More later!


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## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi hydrophyte,

First of all, welcome to APC! There are lots of friendly, knowledgeable people here to help you if you need it. That is some very nice emerged growth you have going on there, obviously you have some experience at this! When you get a chance tell us something about yourself. BTW, you may want to ask one of the Moderators to move this post to the "Emersed Culture" forum where you would probably get more responses. I'm glad you joined us.


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## hydrophyte

Roy,

Thanks for the welcome. I meant to post on the "Introduction and Greets" forum, but I had these pictures handy and wanted to put something up. This thread might be good for "Emersed Culture", but the project is an aquascape too, so maybe it can also fit here.

I am in the Madison, Wisconsin area and I am primarily interested in emergent plants and ripariums. I also keep livebearers.

I have a blog that I started recently:

http://hydrophytesblog.com/

Thanks again,

Hydrophyte


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## MartialTheory

Wow very nice. I also plan on making a emersed set up one day in a spare 55 gal tank. Im gonn check ur blog for some hygroponics info.


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## hydrophyte

that would be great if you could go look at the blog. please leave a comment or question if anything catches your eye. it is so much work to keep up and i hope that people will find useful stuff there. i need to work on improving the functionality some more. probably the best way to find information there is to view by "Category".

the riparium planters that i am using are from here:

http://www.ripariumsupply.com/

everything else is standard issue aquarium stuff except that i scored a really nice and real cheap single-tube HO T5 hydroponics light that i plan to use. i described that on the blog too. since the plants are mostly going to have their leave up and out of the water, i can get by with relatively less light. i think that that T5 is actually gonna be pretty bright.


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## foofooree

I love this type of thing. I always seem to get mold though because of low airflow in my tanks


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## hydrophyte

foofooree said:


> I love this type of thing. I always seem to get mold though because of low airflow in my tanks


i get mold on my plants from time to time. however, i mostly see it on dead leaves. the planter substrae is realltoo wet for mold.


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## hydrophyte

i just put together the stand for this project last night.


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## orlando

Very nice Kinda reminds me of a Viking's ship.

I like this stand very much.

-Orlando


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## hydrophyte

Orlando,

thanks. it's a good thing it doesn't have to float.


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## hydrophyte

i got the stand, tank and plants moved into the room where i will set up the display. i don't know why, but somehow this took me all day long. here are some pictures.



















i still need to work on hardware, a hardscape and livestock, but this picture gives an idea of how the display will look. i intend to position mostly taller crypt varieties along the rear pane of glass with hanging planter. i hope that most of these plants will grow to at least 2X bigger than they are now, to fill out the composition.










and here with the lights on...i might leave the background un-painted. the light background silouettes the plants in a nice way


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## hydrophyte

i got some water into the display today. i had to adjust the level of the stand a little bit first. i described this in a post over in DIY.

here it is with 10 more gallons of water. at this point i ran out of conditioned water, but it is only short form my desired depth by an inch or so. i need to raise those hanging planters so that they are even with the water surface.










like i mentioned before, i have been using this tank to culture a bunch of crypts and other things. i had to yank some to make room for the actual aquascape. i am using tall, erect crypts for the background, so i removed a number of plants that are too small to be of much use.










it is still a mess, but the next picture gives an idea of what the display will look like.










these lights are provisional. i think that i have a pretty good idea for pendant lighting. i hope to start work on the sand substrate and hardscape tomorrow.


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## fishlover

Hey Hydrophyte! Cool, can't wait!!


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## hydrophyte

spent a little bit more time with the display tonight. i removed a few more plants, then arranged the aquascape plant material.










this gives a general idea of what the emersed plants will look like. there isn't really much rhyme or reason to this arrangement--i just tried to put plants with neighbors that provide good contrast. these plants will need some time to grow in. i hope that the crypts will grow to about 3X of their current sizes.

here is a view down the length of the tank from the inside.










this demonstrates the midground plants, ferns and _Anubias_, somewhat better. you can see that the corners of the Trellis Rafts are still visible. these will get covered up as those epiphytic plants grow. the _Anubias_ are happy and they should fill in within a few more months.

i should be able to post another update tomorrow.


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## hydrophyte

i have a quick update. i'm trying to decide between two different kinds of rocks. i am looking at them right now.

here is one choice, rounded river stones, all light in color.










i also have rounded bricks, also from the river.










which do you like better. i feel it might be easier to use the natural rocks, but the bricks are more novel.


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## hydrophyte

I decided to go with the bricks.










I was attempting a "boulder-strewn" appearance, so the composition doesn't have any single very strong focal point. I think that this conforms to the linear character that i have in mind for the whole composition.

And here it is with an additional substrate layer, pool filter sand.










I did not add laterite or any other substrate amendment. I do intend to use root ferilizer tablets with the underwater crypts. These plants will be partially in the shade, so I hope that their nutrient demands will be moderate and that they can get along with a little bit less.

Here's one more view.


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## mellowvision

nice tank. I've been doing some similar stuff over the last 2 years. environments like this are really great for hachets and cories... 

I know you have a group of products... a suggestion for you...

I have a rather large (12" x 8") hanging island planted with various random plants, mosses, and small trees in a 15 tall with 10 gallons of water. the growth is often 6" out of the tank. The island allows roots to flow right out into the water column, and is very much in the direction of a riparium. It is hung on two acrylic strips that each attach to the glass with 4-5 suction cups. I find that over time, the island slips, and needs to be repositioned. 

I've been thinking that a magnet system would be a lot better... something with standard hooks to incorporate into diy riparium parts. A strong magnetic strip across the back of the tank could support multiple islands and would make it easier to keep a straight waterline.

cheers


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## hydrophyte

*Emersed Cryptocoryne Aquascape: 55G Crypt Riparium*

I have put some more work into the display during the last couple of nights. I added a dark background to the using this plastic-coated material that i found at the LFS.










I've never used this stuff before, but I found it be pretty handy--much quicker than painting. I held it in place with little tabs of tapey.










I trimmed it down and used it to cover only the area behind the underwater portion. This produced the effect that I sought: the planter cups disappeared against the black background.

This is my final substrate layer, light-colored river pebbles. These are approximately 3-8 mm in size.










I have had good success adding coarser gravels like this one on top of finer silica sand. This combination is relatively inexpensive, presents a natural appearance, and apparently has pretty good conditions for root development.

Here is another shot with the gravel layer added.


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## hydrophyte

I recently acquired some very nice _Cryptocoryne cordata_. Unlike many other crypts that I have tried--which generally require an adaptation period before growing as emersed plants, after loosing all of their underwater-adapted leaves--these plants seem to be doing fine with direct transition to emersed culture. This one stood right up out of the water after I potted it up. They have stiffer petioles than most other _Cryptocryne_ and I suppose they also adapt somewhat more readily to this change.


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## ts168

very nice setup.


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## cpark188

Love to see this interesting setup and can't wait to see the finishing.


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## hydrophyte

cpark188 said:


> Love to see this interesting setup and can't wait to see the finishing.


thanks for having a look at it. i am working on the fish stocking list and i also need to add underwatr fish. i might have new updates tomorrow night or the next day.


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## hydrophyte

I wish to start planting the underwater area. For several of my immersed plants I do not have good species determinations, but i want to get a handle on what I have as I start to put stuff in there.

Please offer suggestions if you have ideas about any of these. Here is the first one, *Cryptocoryne--10. 27 January 2009*.










This might be a _C. wendtii_ of some kind, but I don't know.

Thanks a bunch!


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## hydrophyte

Here are several more. Any opinions would be appreciated.

The dates are the accession dates. I repeated my number series every time i got several new crypts, but with the dates they make unique numbers. My fingertips provided for scale .

This first shot is interesting. This is the same variety as in the picture of the previous post, but demonstrating _immersed_ growth , which is very different from the emersed appearance.

*10 Cryptocoryne. 27 January 2009* (_immersed_).









~~~~~

*05 Cryptocoryne. 3 December 2008* (_emersed_)









~~~~~

*01 Cryptocoryne. 19 January 2009* (_immersed_)









~~~~~

*04 Cryptocoryne. 3 December 2008* (_emersed_)









~~~~~

Here are possibilities for *5 Cryptocoryne. 3 December 2008* and for *04 Cryptocoryne. 3 December 2008*.


_Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia-usteriana_
_Cryptocoryne hudoroi_
_Cryptocoryne longicauda_

These are among the things that I ordered, but the vendor didn't label anything.


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## hydrophyte

I added fish to the display last night, four y-yo loaches (_Botia almorhae_), these will eventually grow too big for this system, but when they are too large I can trade them in or trade up to a bigger tank.










I did not QT these fish. Everything in the store was extremely clean and these are the first fish going into the tank.


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## hydrophyte

I got another new spathe today, _C. ciliata_.










I was so happy to see this one.


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## hydrophyte

Is there anybody out there?

I have an update with a couple of new photographs. Last night I planted up the floor of the tank with underwater crypts. Here are a couple of shots.



















I love these bricks. Here is a shot of the whole tank.










It should look pretty good after it's had ninety days or so to grow in.


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## MARIMOBALL

Very nice. You keep coming up with new scapes and set ups. I thinks its great that you share your new ideas.I am very interested in ripariums. Great concept. How would this set up work in a nano tank say 10gallons and under. I would like to do a 1ft cube this way. What is the filtration system and wattage of lights you are running?


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## hydrophyte

Thanks! I think that a setup just like this would not work so well in a nano tank, where it would be difficult to hide the foam and plastic plant supports. The smallest enclosure that I have been able to do this in is a 20 High (24" wide X 12" deep X 16" tall). If you wish to use emergent aquarium plants in that cube, I'm sure that they would do well in a terrarium/paludarium with just some clay gravel substrate (Aquasoil or something comparable) and some rocks and driftwood to grow on and in. This is something that I have been meaning to do with some of my crypts. A display like that could look really nice.

Right now I am using some rather dim Current fixtures. I will be setting up a single HO T5 strip light for this tank. I mentioned it here:

http://hydrophytesblog.com/?p=216

That's just around 1 watt/gallon of tank volume, but it will be plenty for these undemanding plants.

Please let me know with questions here or a PM or blog comments if you wish get any more specs on this system or bounce ideas around.

Regards,


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## Calcimoo

hydrophyte said:


> I added fish to the display last night, four y-yo loaches (_Botia almorhae_), these will eventually grow too big for this system, but when they are too large I can trade them in or trade up to a bigger tank.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I did not QT these fish. Everything in the store was extremely clean and these are the first fish going into the tank.


Oh boy are you talking my language. I love loaches, I had to split up my group of gold dojos because of the trouble they get in together. I've had them a couple of years. I tried having yoyos which are my 2nd favorite twice but they kept digging their way into my powerheads and getting down the lift tubes to the UGF and inside sponges. They only get a few inches long. Why do you think that's too big and considering how much loaches like to dig aren't you afraid of the mess they'll make? They'll dig right down into your subtrate quite a ways. They like caves, even a pc pipe covered with gravel, anything. But even that won't keep them from looking for trouble. That's why the bigger fatter kind are less trouble than yoyos. They will settle down. Yoyos are crazy. I got them from 2 different places, a local store and liveaquaria, same thing both times. Got tired of having to dismantle the tank to get them out from under the UGF, and it was the good Perfecto kind.


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## hydrophyte

Thanks for relating those experiences. I like these loaches very much--they are so active--but they will have to go if they starting digging and uprooting plants. They are still too small to do much damage.

Here is a picture of another one of my midground plants, a _Bolbitis_ fern.










I have this one planted on an Epi-Trellis raft. It took that plants months to adapt to emersed culture, but when it finally did it began to grow really well. It is a pretty plant and adds a pleasing soft ferny texture.


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## hydrophyte

I added more fish, a group of nine gold barbs (_P. semifasciolatus_ var. _schuberti_). When they grow in size this will be too much for this volume of water, but i wanted to add more color.


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## Blah3

How do you keep the leaves from drying out?


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## hydrophyte

Blah3 said:


> How do you keep the leaves from drying out?


this tank is almost totally covered. the relative humidity is always at >95%, which is plenty moist for these plants.


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## andrew__

Very nice. I wasn't sure about those rocks but once I saw the shots with the submersed crypts planted in there they look much better in there. Think I'm going to have to pick up some bolbitis again as well...


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## hydrophyte

thanks! yes, those rocks are brightly-colored, but they softened up substantially after i added the underwater plants. i like the the appearance of the brick orange with the dark green crypts.


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## 954baby

where do you get your crypts at? I am looking to expand my collection.


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## hydrophyte

954baby said:


> where do you get your crypts at? I am looking to expand my collection.


i have accumulated them little-by-little over a long period of time, through a combination of Internet searches among online vendors, offerings at various LFS and trades with other hobbyists. i hope to have a somewhat complete list someday, but i do not have species/variety information for many of them. i do attempt to keep track of what i have with photographs and with labels having dates and unique numbers.


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## 954baby

That's kinda where I am at. I've been collecting for over a year now and i've kinda exhausted every online source you can find. I was trying to possibly find a place that I had not yet aquired any from. Thanks, and goodluck with your collection.


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## hydrophyte

954baby said:


> That's kinda where I am at. I've been collecting for over a year now and i've kinda exhausted every online source you can find. I was trying to possibly find a place that I had not yet aquired any from. Thanks, and goodluck with your collection.


You can also probably acquire new things (and especially high plants) through trades with other hobbyists. Odd things turn up at LFS's too from time to time.

Here is a shot from today, with my new fish.










They (gold barbs and yo-yo loaches) are still rather small and don't show in photographs so well, but they work well as accents. I am still considering the addition of a paradise fish, although it seems like I already have a lot of fish for ~22 gallons water.

While moving stuff around today I just had to get a few shots of this crypt, which is one of my favorites.










I mean to divide this one soon, so I wanted a shot of the nice, full mature specimen.

I don't know what this one is, but it might be _C. undulata_(?). Does anybody recognize it? It is similar to the other plants that i have that I believe to be _C. wendtii_ 'Bronze', but it has a tidier growth habit. This one grows pretty tall, which is good for my purposes. Here it is about 6" tall and still growing bigger.


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## FishandTurtleJunkie

I really like the red rocks. It gives the whole riparium a focal point and draws the viewer in to examine the dry and wet areas. Well done.


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## WhiteDevil

Welcome, very nice plants, VERY NICE.

All I can brag about on mine is root and rhiozome growth, a few news leaves but the roots have taken off faster then the tops have.


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## hydrophyte

Thank you both very much. Cypts do seem to invest a lot in growing roots and rhizomes. I think that this might be why they so readily "melt" when disturbed--perhaps the plants have plenty of energy stored in reserve and so can afford to shed leaves in less than perfect conditions. Other plants might stand to lose a great deal of energy with loss of foliage. Some crypts are very slow to begin growing after transplanting, but I think that these plants just need extra time to build up their root systems.

I have a few more observations to add about using Epi-Trellis Rafts. Here is another picture of that _Bolbitis_ fern that I was also so happy about.










It is growing really well. It just sat there growing slowly for several months, but now it is constantly sending new fronds.

Here's a shot of an _Anubias barteri_ 'Nana' on an Epi-Trellis. This plant will take a few more months to cover the raft. When i planted this one it was just a few small divisions with a couple of leaves each.










...and here is the view from beneath.










Some of these roots are stuck fast to the foam. _Anubias_ are somehow able to adhere to the substrates upon which they grow(?).

The next shot shows detail of the raft.










I attached the plants with 4" plastic zip ties. Note that the tie is holding down a few roots, _not_ the plant's rhizome. For the first few plants that I tried with the Epi-Trellis I did tie around the rhizome, but this caused rot right away and killed the plants.


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## mattutd20

Very nice


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## hydrophyte

hey thanks i hope to have more new updates soon.


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## pminister

what is that brown substrate that you have in those pots ? anything special?


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## chunkylover817

:eyebrows::eyebrows:ill give you five bucks for that Bolbitis you got there:eyebrows::eyebrows:


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## Fishtory

Wow that bolbitis is gorgeous! (I'll bid $7):roll:


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## chunkylover817

:mmph::mmph::mmph: lol


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## hydrophyte

I finally made some time to hang up the Jump Start hydroponics T5 to replace the twin-tube strip lights that I had over this tank.










I think that it matches the stand in a nice way. Here's a shot showing more of the tank. The plants have grown in some more.










This light shines brighter than the aquarium strip lights that it replaces, and those each had two lamps. The Jump Start has a really good reflector. I am lighting up this tank with plenty of light for with just 54 watts, a little less than 1 watt/gallon.


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## a1matt

I just spent 30 min reading this thread form start to finish after finding it via a google search for 'emersed crypts'

It is a very inspiring setup. I will check back here from time to time to see how it develops


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## hydrophyte

thanks very much. i have some more information on my Website and here and there just let me know if any questions come to mind.


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## hydrophyte

I got a bloom from another new crypt today, _Cryptocoryne pontederifolia_.










I was pretty tickled to see that finally open this morning. I have little bit more about it in an entry on my blog.


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## arowanaman

Nice now I want to grow crypts out of the water now I had no Idea that there flowers were so cool looking. Kind of remind me of pitcher plants.


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## hydrophyte

growing emersed crypts is great fun. APC is one of the best places to look for information and ask for help about this fascinating sub-hobby.


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## ZA_Ryan

Wow! This is a really impressive setup.

Have you grown any java fern (normal, windelov or narrow leaf) in this way? If so, did you attach it to a raft like the one you used for the anubias? Do you have any ideas on how you could do this with aquatic mosses?

Kind regards,
Ryan

EDIT: whoops, I just saw your first post again with a picture of some java fern on a raft. It took me so long to read the thread that I forgot.


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## saintly

have you ever tried growing stems in this fashion?


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## hydrophyte

ZA_Ryan said:


> Wow! This is a really impressive setup.
> 
> Have you grown any java fern (normal, windelov or narrow leaf) in this way? If so, did you attach it to a raft like the one you used for the anubias? Do you have any ideas on how you could do this with aquatic mosses?
> 
> Kind regards,
> Ryan
> 
> EDIT: whoops, I just saw your first post again with a picture of some java fern on a raft. It took me so long to read the thread that I forgot.


Java fern works fantastic with the trellis raft planters--a really easy, nice-looking plant. It takes a while to adjust to emersed growth, but once it does it grows substantially faster this way than underwater. I attach the Java fern to the rafts with small plastic zip ties in the same manner as for _Anubias_.



saintly said:


> have you ever tried growing stems in this fashion?


I have tried quite a number of different stems. Many kinds of popular aquarium stem plants grow well this way, but the problem with many of these is that their stems are quite flimsy and without water to hold them up they are easily knocked down. Here is an example of such a plant, _Polygonum_ 'Kawagoneum'.










Thus, when I do use these plants I include just one or two as accents and situate them among sturdier specimens which can help to hold them up.


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## ZA_Ryan

hydrophyte said:


> ... It takes a while to adjust to emersed growth, but once it does it grows substantially faster this way than underwater. ...


How do the different varieties of java fern fare when they are grown emersed? Do they all have different kinds of emersed growth?


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## hydrophyte

ZA_Ryan said:


> How do the different varieties of java fern fare when they are grown emersed? Do they all have different kinds of emersed growth?


Oh sorry I missed this question from before. In general, the Java fern are extremely hardy as emersed plants. It does take a while (>1 month) for them to adjust to emersed conditions, during which time the leaves tend to shrivel up. The rhizomes remain however and grow vigorously once a few emersed-adapted leaves begin to sprout.

Last night I finally had a chance to install the shelf under this tank. I have some more detail in a DIY forum thread...

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/diy-aquarium-projects/61728-stand-build-raw-industrial-style-3.html










Now I will be able to set up the filter and other equipment.


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## hydrophyte

I haven't updated this one in a while, but today I was tidying up this tank and got a few quick pictures. The plants have grown in some more:










I will get some better pictures with better color in a few days when everything has had a chance to straighten up again.


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## HoustonFishFanatic

The crypts are looking lush. What kind of misting system do you use?


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## hydrophyte

I don't use a misting system in there--I just keep the canop mostly closely so that humidity is retained.

I did spritz the plants with RO using a squirty bottle before shooting that picture. I have found that this often makes the colors more vibrant.

I hope to come back in a day or two with some better pictures.


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## hydrophyte

I have done a little more gardening and got some new shots tonight. I think it is looking better. I need to get a few more crypts into the underwater foreground to brighten that area up.


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## hydrophyte

Here is another new picture from tonight, with a blue background:










...just need to get a little more foliage into the underwater area and this setup will be in good shape for more picture taking.

This picture post-processed a little bit.


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## mountaindew

Looking real good!
Somehow I never noticed you didnt have a background on this setup.
md


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## hydrophyte

Thanks very much. This tank is really nice for some bright foliage and active fish, although it is hard to get around that flat shape of the 55-gallon tank. It fits in its space in the room nicely enough though.

Next I'm going to try a few shots with a black background.


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## hydrophyte

Here is another picture showing just the left side of the tank.










This gives an idea of what a setup like this would look like in a 25-gallon High. That Java fern there in the middle is such a nice plant.


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## hydrophyte

Here is the picture with the black background.


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## foofooree

SO much better!


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## Wire Fox Terror

The black background does look a lot better! How many ripariums do you have and where are you keeping them all?  They all look awesome!


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## hydrophyte

Thank you so much. Right now I have four real display tanks set up. Three of these are here at my home office, and the fourth is in a public space. I am working another new one, in a 56-gallon Column tank, that is going to a client's home. I also have a half-dozen or so grow-out tanks.

Sometimes it becomes almost overwhelming to take care of all of these plants.


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## saintly

looking smart.

your probably aware, the image with the black background looks to me like it's about 2 stops over or at least 1. 

under expose and bring the black out a little more.:bolt:


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## hydrophyte

Yep, that picture looks funny because I was just playing around with the RAW file. I found "fill light" to have interesting effects.

Here is the same picture but with the jpeg right out of the camera:










...much better color, but too much glare on the upper leaves.

And here's that other one again for comparison:


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## saintly

What RAW software/conversion are you using?


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## hydrophyte

Photoshop CS4.


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## saintly

I'm not familiar with the outcome of processing RAW in CS4.

i don't tend to use fill light as it looks unnatural IMO. do you have "high light contrast"? or something similar?

When shooting RAW, for me, it allows me to always under expose knowing that you can recover the image without loss of detail later when using RAW software. 

you'll never ever ever catch me shooting JPEG


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## hydrophyte

Is "high light contrast" a camera setting, or something in your software?

The important effect that "fill light" has is that it seems to brighten all of the midtones, so I can turn down exposure and reduce that glare. However, this treatment leaves a weird green wash over everything, that you can see above in that second picture.


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## hydrophyte

...hey I was just goofing around some more and I observed somewhat better results by turning down exposure for the RAW file while increasing contrast.


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## saintly

that's it! 

take control of exposure. i tend to boost contrasts or use the curve facility for better results.

check out the W/B functions. man, you can be real accurate here


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## hydrophyte

Yes I mean to go try to adjust with curves I hadn't gotten to that yet.

Really I am having trouble with white balance. There are two slides in the Photoshop window, but I can never get a very good match with those. There are also preset white balances like "daylight", "auto", "flash" and so on, but those don't work either. The absolute best white balance is with the cameras "auto" setting for the jpeg file, but then I end up with the exposure problems. I wonder if there is any way to get that inside-the-camera white balance to go with the RAW file(?).


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## saintly

as long as your shooting in RAW, you should, technically speaking, be able to take an image with any "in camera" W/B setting then download the file to your computer and change the W/B setting with CS4 or what ever software your using. The W/B is not "fixed" so to speak.

this is the freedom RAW gives. i tend to leave my camera on the "cloudy" setting and then change W/B @ processing stage. That said though if you want to view the image on your camera screen then you can use Kelvin if your camera has that. set it to lets say 8000k in my case, the image on screen should look like what you see in reality.

also, for some folk that use for example Arcadia pod lighting, they give a nasty pink glow. shoot RAW, then manipulate @ process stage altering the W/B to eliminate that pink glow. 

with JPEG, you cant do any of that. maybe some cheap and nasty PS work might rid you of colour cast but the image will show that IMO/E


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## saintly

here, i've just done a quick snap shot of my screen showing, on the left the as shot image. note the sliders all in the middle.

then, on the right my colour correction. not colour temp etc.

zoom in on the image to see the settings. total control!


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## hydrophyte

Thanks so much. I think that the view in CS4 is similar to that. I will try that next time I open it up.


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## saintly

hope it helps.

i'll let you can back to the journal now

:focus:


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## I-Ruehl

Hi, I seen you on Aquaria central, Love your plants


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## noc

Where did you get your stones? Are they lava rocks or actual bricks?


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## rjfurbank

hydrophyte--thanks so much for posting this project! Not sure how I missed it during the actual development but just read through the whole thing and loved it!

Very different--seems like the best of both worlds. . . get to have lush emergent growth as well as some submerged crypts w fish. Very cool--any updates?

One question--what substrate are you using in the pots for the cyrpts? I am planning to set up a small 10g tank after the new year for emersed crypts (my first foray into emersed culture) and am still in the gathering info mode.

Thanks,

-Roy


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## ddavila06

i just spent like 45 mins reading "most" replys and admiring your set up, do you have any updates?


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## kwseiders

Yeah, me too! Just read it all, and when I was reading May 2009, I couldn't wait to see what it looks like now, 10 months later. I was saddened when I didn't see any newer pictures. I never even knew about this type of plant growing (the riparium) but seeing what you have done makes me want to give it a try. I hope you can post a recent picture. By the way, the stand looks great!


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## LordxPickle

I know this post is super old, but i was just wonder how do you cover up the top of your tank to keep it humid? glass? Plastic wrap? Magic forces?!


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