Molch
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Hi all,
I thought this might be useful...
here's how I plant my bare-bottom tanks. If you want the best of both worlds - soil substrate and dense plant growth AND the convenience of bare bottoms, this method works very well.
I use shallow containers which I fill with a soil/gravel layer according to Diana Walstad's method. The plants grow extremely well.
some advantages of this method:
- you can grow plants that need to be rooted in substrate (e.g, crypts, swords, Vallisneria), which expands your plant repertoire beyond the free-floaters and rootless plants typical for bare bottom tanks
- you get the benefit of the bacterial action of the substrate which helps to process food leftovers and poop etc
- you can move planters between tanks. This is very useful when setting up a new tank for new newts or larvae: simply move an established planter from an old tank which comes complete with growing plants and bacterial colonies. This helps to cut short or even completely avoid any cycling in the new tank
- if you set the planters on small pebbles (see below), the blackworms cannot hide underneath them and the planters double as hideouts for the newts
here goes:
1) planters should be about 2-4 inches deep but not too deep. Shallow dishes with a large surface area are best because they allow better gas exchange between the substrate and the water, which makes anaerobic decay in the substrate less likely.
I like pyrex glass dishes, which can be found in the kitchen section of grocery stores. They look nice and come in different shapes and sizes.
However, plastic dishes or tupperware containers work just as well.
you will also need aquarium silicone and a few small pebbles
2) using aquarium silicone, glue three small pebbles to the bottom of the dishes (3 is most stable; if you glue 4, the planter will invariably wobble like a table with one short leg). This elevates the dishes from the tank bottom and prevents blackworms and debris to "hide" underneath. I make sure the pebbles are just large enough to allow adult newts to crawl under the dishes. That way, the planters act as hide-outs as well.
If you use plastic containers, the silicone will not stick very well. In that case you can simply set the planters onto the pebbles without gluing them. However, that makes moving the planters around more difficult.
3) lay down a layer (1-1.5") of organic potting soil. I use Miracle grow organic potting mix, which is recommended in Diana Walstad's book. I sort it manually to remove the largest pieces and twigs
4) cover the soil layer with 1-1.5" of gravel or coarse sand
5) 1-1.5 inches of soil covered with 1-1.5 inches of gravel is enough. If much deeper, there is a greater possibility for anaerobic decay in the soil
6) plant. For stem plants, clip about 1/2 inch below a leaf node. For rooted plants, trim old roots down to approx. 1/2 to 1 inch. Insert into gravel with pointed tweezers. This will avoid disturbing the soil layer under he gravel.
I have found that I get better plant growth if I plant only 1 or 2 different species per planter.
7) lastly, here a few examples of what the planters look like when in the tanks.
a round planter with Vallisneria and Sagittaria in a 5 ga for T. marmoratus larvae
my C. pyrrhogaster tank
my 40 ga alpine newt tank. The planter on the left has newly planted clippings of Shinnersia rivularis and Bacopa; the one on the right has Elodea and Rotala.
I thought this might be useful...
here's how I plant my bare-bottom tanks. If you want the best of both worlds - soil substrate and dense plant growth AND the convenience of bare bottoms, this method works very well.
I use shallow containers which I fill with a soil/gravel layer according to Diana Walstad's method. The plants grow extremely well.
some advantages of this method:
- you can grow plants that need to be rooted in substrate (e.g, crypts, swords, Vallisneria), which expands your plant repertoire beyond the free-floaters and rootless plants typical for bare bottom tanks
- you get the benefit of the bacterial action of the substrate which helps to process food leftovers and poop etc
- you can move planters between tanks. This is very useful when setting up a new tank for new newts or larvae: simply move an established planter from an old tank which comes complete with growing plants and bacterial colonies. This helps to cut short or even completely avoid any cycling in the new tank
- if you set the planters on small pebbles (see below), the blackworms cannot hide underneath them and the planters double as hideouts for the newts
here goes:
1) planters should be about 2-4 inches deep but not too deep. Shallow dishes with a large surface area are best because they allow better gas exchange between the substrate and the water, which makes anaerobic decay in the substrate less likely.
I like pyrex glass dishes, which can be found in the kitchen section of grocery stores. They look nice and come in different shapes and sizes.
However, plastic dishes or tupperware containers work just as well.
you will also need aquarium silicone and a few small pebbles

2) using aquarium silicone, glue three small pebbles to the bottom of the dishes (3 is most stable; if you glue 4, the planter will invariably wobble like a table with one short leg). This elevates the dishes from the tank bottom and prevents blackworms and debris to "hide" underneath. I make sure the pebbles are just large enough to allow adult newts to crawl under the dishes. That way, the planters act as hide-outs as well.
If you use plastic containers, the silicone will not stick very well. In that case you can simply set the planters onto the pebbles without gluing them. However, that makes moving the planters around more difficult.

3) lay down a layer (1-1.5") of organic potting soil. I use Miracle grow organic potting mix, which is recommended in Diana Walstad's book. I sort it manually to remove the largest pieces and twigs

4) cover the soil layer with 1-1.5" of gravel or coarse sand

5) 1-1.5 inches of soil covered with 1-1.5 inches of gravel is enough. If much deeper, there is a greater possibility for anaerobic decay in the soil

6) plant. For stem plants, clip about 1/2 inch below a leaf node. For rooted plants, trim old roots down to approx. 1/2 to 1 inch. Insert into gravel with pointed tweezers. This will avoid disturbing the soil layer under he gravel.
I have found that I get better plant growth if I plant only 1 or 2 different species per planter.

7) lastly, here a few examples of what the planters look like when in the tanks.
a round planter with Vallisneria and Sagittaria in a 5 ga for T. marmoratus larvae

my C. pyrrhogaster tank

my 40 ga alpine newt tank. The planter on the left has newly planted clippings of Shinnersia rivularis and Bacopa; the one on the right has Elodea and Rotala.

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