How to anchor plants in sand

[zain611]

Hey everyone,
I bought some vallinseria on Saturday and placed them in my sand substrate. On the same day one of them got out the sand and was floating to the top. Today woke up and saw another plant floating. The good thing I'd say with seeing plants going out of the substrate is that it made me look at the roots. Good thing I can say is the roots did grow a little fast after 6 days of trimming them and planting.

Im just wondering on how I can stop them from coming out the sand. It just gives me some inconvenience.

 

[fluttermoth]

Best, probably easiest, method is just to put a few pebbles or small stones around the base until they've rooted.

 

[Sarah73]

How much sand did you put in? Depending on how deep the sand is, is how far you can put plants in. I use sand and gravel for my tanks as it keeps the plants down easily

 

[zain611]

The sand in the mid to back is about 1.5 to 2 inches deep. The roots have grown a little quickly in a few days of planting which hopefully will help in them anchoring down.

 

[Sarah73]

The sand in the mid to back is about 1.5 to 2 inches deep. The roots have grown a little quickly in a few days of planting which hopefully will help in them anchoring down.

You can always add a light layer of gravel and that should keep all of the plants down.

 

[Alliesten]

The sand in the mid to back is about 1.5 to 2 inches deep. The roots have grown a little quickly in a few days of planting which hopefully will help in them anchoring down.

You may not have enough substrate. You usually want 2” minimum. They do sell plant weights you can use too, to anchor the plants down.

I have a couple fish that like to uproot plants. It is a pain for sure.

 

[Sarah73]

You may not have enough substrate. You usually want 2” minimum. They do sell plant weights you can use too, to anchor the plants down.

I have a couple fish that like to uproot plants. It is a pain for sure.

Depends on the type of plants.

 

[zain611]

I just get a little worried about that build up of harmful gasses in the sand if I put a deep layer in. The thing with vallinseria is you can't plant it too deep. You want the bottom of the stem to not be too buried in the substrate. Just in the morning I saw 2 floating on the top. Good news is their roots have grown a bit and one of them looks to be sprouting a runner

 

[Alliesten]

I just get a little worried about that build up of harmful gasses in the sand if I put a deep layer in. The thing with vallinseria is you can't plant it too deep. You want the bottom of the stem to not be too buried in the substrate. Just in the morning I saw 2 floating on the top. Good news is their roots have grown a bit and one of them looks to be sprouting a runner

The roots of the plants, will prevent any gas pockets. So having a deeper substrate isn’t an issue, when it is planted.

 

[Colin_T]

Lead plant weights. Thin strips of lead you loosely tie around the base of plants to hold them down. Once the plants have established you remove the weights. You can buy them from any pet shop or online.

Vallis doesn't normally get trimmed and should have at least 2 inches of substrate. You can cover all the roots and a couple of mm of stem and they should be fine. Alternatively grow them in pots of gravel and put a rock or wood in front of the pot.