[APD] RE: rift algae (potted plants)

["Eric Wahlig" <ewahlig at earthlink_net>]

"I may try planting some plants in pots along the back of the tank and hide 
the pots with rocks. Would you recommend using orchid clay pots with slots
in 
the sides? This would allow water access to the pot. I would cover the
slots 
with very thin filter cloth material to keep the gravel inside."

These pots work well to allow water movement into/out of the pot and you
will also get root growth and plant growth out of these holes. There is one
problem with these pots, however, and that is when you take them out of the
aquarium all the fine particles, silt, and plant nutrients drain out of the
gravel and into your tank water making a cloudy mess. The cloud clears up
relatively quickly by the filter but the real problem is that you now have
a potted plant in coarse gravel without nutrients. This limits the plant
growth. If you are setting up a rift lake tank then you will most likely be
moving things around occasionally. The best way for removing these orchid
pots (or even the regular terra cotta pots with one hole in the bottom) is
to first put them into a plastic bowl like a Tupperware/Rubbermaid
container and then take them out of the aquarium in the bowl so that the
water does not drain out of the pot. Personally I've gone to using pots
that don't have any holes in them; its much easier.
  
---Eric




_______________________________________________
Aquatic-Plants mailing list
Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants