Planting

so, got sand substrate now
and got plants...
then i thought how do i plant them?
dumb question really?
just stick them in?
leave them in their bunches with foam and weight wraped round them?
some other method?

all help greatly recieved

Depends on the plants really. For bunches of stems I would remove the lead/sponge etc, trim off any lower leaves, and then group them in 3-4 stems. Push the bottom of these groups into the substrate and if need be use a small stone/pebble to hold them down. Most stems plants will root after a while so you can try removing the pebble. I would space each group of stems 2-3 inches apart.

For rooted plants, trim the roots slightly, then do the same as above: you may not need the pebble for this type of plant. Trimming the roots encourages new root growth.

Is your substrate JUST sand then?

if your new plants don't have decent roots on them then you can just leave them floating for a week or so, then when they have grown roots they will plant much better.



if they just won't stay down i remove the foam, wrap the lead around very gently and leaev them like that for a few weeks

Miss Wiggle said:

if your new plants don't have decent roots on them then you can just leave them floating for a week or so, then when they have grown roots they will plant much better.



if they just won't stay down i remove the foam, wrap the lead around very gently and leaev them like that for a few weeks

Click to expand...

thanks everyone, i got a start kit from greenline, some of them do have a decent root growth, others were more like cut stalks, i have only got sand, and had hoped it would hold plants better than the old gravel did.
without removing water & fish i decided i couldnt easily add any eco complete or similar.

i have a bag of fertiliser - a freebie from greenline which hopefully will help feed them.

some of the plants do seem stable in the sand, some however have already floated free.. i think like miss wiggle suggests i shall let them float to see if they develop more root growth before planting again.

some though just kept floating up so i did rewrap with sponge & lead - didnt want to risk crushing the stem with just lead wrapped around it.

greenline was such good value that even if they all die or float away i can afford to replace them in a few months

tank is looking so much better, despite the fact some fish have already had a nibble!

If your fish are eating the plants it generally means they arent getting enough veg matter in their diet. Lettuce or Cucumber is always a winner in my tank

Hey good luck with that then mate.

Piccies would be nice.... B)

before here

after

Cool.

BTW, for me, the 'before' link does not work

Andy,
Thanks.
Andy.

BTW, hell of a difference!