I've posted this all over lately:
I've been toying with a few ideas that are I suppose radical to most, but not really when you think about it.
This method allows you to set the tank up flawlessly in the start up phase which is arguably the hardest and toughest phase of planted tank care.
You can grow in many species of plants such as HC, or gloss or most any nay pesky foreground plant without any water other than enough to soak the sediments well for 4-8 weeks first then after it's well grown in, add water and fish. You simply cover the tank with a glass lid or plastic like a terrarium, there's plenty of water in the sediment.
By not adding the water, you can grow the plants flawlessly, no algae, no water changes every 2 to 4 days etc, no NH4, no fish uprooting things etc. The tank is also completely cycled buy the time you add the water to fill things up.
This is the Easiest method to start up a tank without dosing, water changes, any algae, completely cycled tank etc.
The first 2 months are the toughest and this avoids it all.
Just cover the tank, add light and sediment(ADA AS works great BTW and cost about the same most sediments, you can mist the plants if you use flourite black etc with a NPK and trace solution 2x a week otherwise)
You can add the taller stem plants after you fill the tank up and/or other plants that ADAPT FAST.
Pretty darn easy.
I made a nice rug of HC this way using nothing more than a 1" layer of ADA aqua soil, filled the water to about 7/8" depth, added more water about once every 1-2 weeks to keep it moist and after 4 weeks, the tank is entirely grown in.
No dosing, no water changes, no CO2 issues, no uprooting, no nothing. Easy as it gets.
Bacteria will cycle after about 3 weeks or so, about the time frame the rug grows in using the ADA AS. So the NH4 is now been converted to NO3 and has plenty of bacteria to keep it low.
Some will say they wanna add their fish right away, then can do the old way if they want to, but this method makes life much easier and a little patience can make the tank look very nice with virtually no work.
Not many trade offs here.
And the success rate ought to be near 100% without any issues with algae, growth etc.
I do not think there are any other methods that can come even remotely close to that for the general plant hobbyist.
Crypts have long been grown as well as swords, Anubias, hair grass, Gloss, Dwarf clover, Utricularia grammifolia, as matter of fact, most of the plants that Tropica carries are emergent grown.............
I'd wait to add most stem plants later as you add the water. Then a week later, add shrimps, algae eaters and another week, the main fish.
If you dose well, do the water changes etc, good tending of the CO2.......the system should start off and stay looking good from then on.
I think this method can make many folk's life far easier and less labor and far better results than the "water in the tank methods" to start a new tank up.
I've grown Crypts for many many years this way, but given the issues, taking the next step with the start phase of the tanks that submersed seems pretty reasonable.
Don't you think so?
Many want a nice rug of various foreground plants and this is dang easy way to get a massive rug pre rooted.
Regards,
Tom Barr
