# Made some changes to my emersed setup, a labor of love



## Sean W. (Feb 2, 2014)

Hey guys,

I setup my first emersed tank about a month ago, If youd like to see what i did when i first started it, also showing how i did it, i invite you to watch my video documenting this. That first try was really an effort to grow a Tropica 1-2 Grow alternanthera reineckii mini culture.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=agrPZ7wIRh4

The other day i took a long hard look at what my emersed setup had become and knew i could do it better. This is what it looked like

NOTE: This is an old picture from the day i set it up, things had grown quiet a bit









All in all, a great setup and i was getting fantastic results, but there were a few problems with the way i had it set up.

1. It was difficult to see how high the water level was. You want the water level to be around 1/2" - 1" below the top of the soil

2. It was difficult to maximize the space. I was having a hard time estimating how much space each plant would need, and would over compensate, and gave each plant more room than it needed.

3. It was difficult to move plants around, especially if i saw a plant that was struggling, i couldnt easily move it to a spot that got better light for example.

4. It was difficult to keep track of individual plants

5. It was difficult to trim and propagate plants, especially AR mini. AR mini you gotta get the plant at eye level to trace the daughter stem to trim it, very difficult to do from above.

So, over the last few days ive been thinking of a way to address all of those issues. and im pretty sure i got it figured out.

I took all the plants out and put them in a bucket, went to my local landscaping yard, where i was pleased to find very small clay pots, i got one size up from the smallest they had, if you can believe it!










I cleaned and squeezed out all water from the dirt, which i haven't mentioned is Miracle Grow Potting soil.

and filled all the pots with soil, compacting it slightly into the pot



















Then make a hole in the middle



















then place the specimen in the pot and compact the soil around it










And repeat.... 50 times.... haha

Before:









After


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Both setups look good, though the pots are nice because you can easily transfer them to other places, or sell them.

Keep us updated on how they grow!


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Pots are convenient, I agree on that point,, but I'd have gotten something bigger. I use 4" square plastic pots for most of my emersed specimens, and they're constsantly overtaking them. A pot that small will get rootbound very quickly.

You do have some lovely, healthy emersed plants, though!


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