# Best practices for keeping crypts



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Recently I ended up with quite a bit of a single species of C. wendtii. I now have them in a tank with 7 year old inert gravel. Been in it for 10 days now. They sprout new leaves but that maybe just using the stored food they have. The plants came from a tank that grows Crypts like there is no tomorrow with minimal CO2 addition, inert gravel (but 5 years old), never adding fertilizers, and very low light. The plants in that tank must be trimmed every week.

The light over the tank in which I planted the C. wendtii is the best money can buy. Completely adjustable - wattage, spectrums etc. Some morning sun hits the tank for 30 min from the side too.

I can add CO2, no problem.

My question is:
*What are the best practices for growing Crypts submersed? Substrate, acidity, anything else?*


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

Depends on the species, some like more acidic soil, some do well in high light, some prefer low light. Which ones are you wondering about.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

I am new to crypts and ended up with some by accident. Have no idea where to start.

In the early 80's I had some C. affinnis and it did great in a tank with very low light, shallow water, zero CO2 and zero fertilizers added in the water or in the substrate. Gravel was inert, tank was less than 1 year old.

The tank that I mentioned in the first post that grows crypts like crazy was setup with a layer of peat + activated carbon mixed in + inert gravel cap. Peat stops doing anything within 10 days or less so I don't think the substrate acidity was low for a long time. That thank has been running absolutely perfect for 5 years now. Strange thing is the thickness of the substrate is barely 3/4 inch but the crypts grow extremely well.

I was under the impression that all crypts like acidic substrate. Is that so or it depends on the species too?


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

I grow C.wendtii in my tap water which has a ph ~7.5. I use potting soil and sand. I use spiral cpf. I feed them a bit of ferts. I don’t use co2. They do great! I find with less light they tend to stay green, with more light they color up better.


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## MissileBear (Feb 28, 2013)

Some species (Hudoroi, Affinis, Balansae, Aponogetifolia, Walkeri, and Keei, to name a few that come to mind) are found in areas high in Limestone and as such live in a much higher pH. I've had Wendtii sp. do very well in very hard water with a pH of roughly 8.2.

Some species are more tolerant and others can acclimate to different conditions over time.


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## Dejlig (Jan 20, 2013)

For crypts found in limestone areas, therefore requiring lots of calcium, is it possible to put some calcium chloride in a pill capsule and insert into the substrate by the roots. Would this help them survive in a more acidic environment?


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## MissileBear (Feb 28, 2013)

Calcium chloride will dissolve way too quickly. Some guys mix crushed limestone in with their substrate to raise the pH. I have crushed coral mixed with Amazonia, but it has not yielded great results.

When I bought the plants, they were in a custom soil mix with a significantly higher pH and did very well. I think the AS is simply too acidic.


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