Avoid Disturbing Substrate

[max1]

Hi all. I plan on creating a low-tech set up in the next few weeks and will therefore use a nutrient rich substrate. I'll probably use some soil, peat and maybe leonardite. But from here I can foresee one possible problem.

How do you avoid disturbing the substrate when uprooting a plant, especially if it has a well developed root system like swords do.

All advice is appreciated.

 

[aaronnorth]

you cant, you could try pulling it slowly, i just oulll them out, it doesnt kick that much substrate up.

 

[Themuleous]

Unless you are keeping the plant just cut the plant off at the substrate level and leave the roots in the substrate, they rot down and provide nutrients.

Sam

 

[lljdma06]

Unless you are keeping the plant just cut the plant off at the substrate level and leave the roots in the substrate, they rot down and provide nutrients.

Sam

Better have the plant load to cope with that extra waste, though, or you'll get a lovely ammonia spike.

 

[Renate]

Substrate in my tank is dirt with root starter, vege ferts, and kitty litter mixed in. Topped it with fingers width of sand. Then put 1 to 2 inches of flourite on it.

I had to pull 2 big apongeton plants out. Fearful of ammonia spike, for there is ammonia in the vege. fert, I took the fish out and placed them in another tank with some water from the established tank. Checked the tank after pulling the plants out and found no ammonia spike. It was a bit cloudy so I did a water change put and put a HOB filter on. It cleared up within a few hours.

 

[max1]

Ok thanks for the info. I think my tank will be pretty well planted. I have a 10G tank, but I kind of forgot that when I went to buy plants. I now have a lot of plants on my hands.

Another thing. My dad was at a gardening store he'd never been to before and found out that the store has an fish section. Apparently they had alot of really healthy looking plants so he thought he'd bring me back a couple. He brought back two plants that he was told were Crypt. wendtii. There's just one problem. I've never owned a wendtii before so I've only seen pics on the net. But these don't exactly look like crypts because they have stems.

Are crypts known to form stems under certain conditions (insufficient light,...) or is it another plant?

 

[ted28]

Ok thanks for the info. I think my tank will be pretty well planted. I have a 10G tank, but I kind of forgot that when I went to buy plants. I now have a lot of plants on my hands.

Another thing. My dad was at a gardening store he'd never been to before and found out that the store has an fish section. Apparently they had alot of really healthy looking plants so he thought he'd bring me back a couple. He brought back two plants that he was told were Crypt. wendtii. There's just one problem. I've never owned a wendtii before so I've only seen pics on the net. But these don't exactly look like crypts because they have stems.

Are crypts known to form stems under certain conditions (insufficient light,...) or is it another plant?

No Crypts don't have stems. Crypts are rosette plants. That plant looks like some type of Hygrophilia Sp. And if it is, it's aquatic and very easy to grow as a background plant.