Dustin’s fish tank for submerged plants

[JamieB]

I ordered aquarium plants from them for my mini indoor pond and aquariums. Ups couldn’t figure out my street address so I won’t get them till tomorrow, but the folks shipping them have been great, even called me back to update me on the situation. I’ll order from them again, even if the plants don’t arrive in the best shape due to delay beyond their control.

 

[JamieB]

Plants arrived! I’m still trying to figure out what’s what, but the giant vallisneria ( I think) has cold damage to the longer leaves, and “ monnieri bacopa “ ? If that’s what it is, had a few stems broken right at the roots, but otherwise I’m very happy with the health of the plants. Only thing I can criticize is not saying what is what, just a nicely printed paper with pictures and names of the plants that could be in the package. I can identify dwarf sagittaria subulata but I’m not too sure on the rest except what I posted above. I’ll be doing research to find out what’s what, what they need, etc.

 

[JamieB]

I’ve roughly identified the plants. Variegated alternanthera reineckii, 1 bunch. Monnieri bacopa, 1bunch. Dwarf sagittaria subulata, 1 bunch with a handful of extra runners. water sprite, 1 bunch. Regular java fern, 2 plants. And two plants of vallisneria, not sure just what kind yet. One looks pretty damaged from the cold, the other just a bit, but for sure going into the guppy pond along with the bacopa, and reineckii. These folks took the info I gave them, little substrate, ph in the low 8s, hard water, and size of tanks they are intended for, and provided a great selection. I’ll order again when I know ups can’t mess them up. I saw a few other plants I’m interested in, along with they carry some substrate I might try.

 

[JRS]

Always neat to try new stuff. When I was receiving wholesale shipments at the pet store, the val often had bad tips on the longer leaves. The Bacopa monneri will usually put out new roots easily from any submerged leaf node. I see you have similar water conditions to my area-high pH and hard water. The best results I had with the Bacopa was when it was on the surface or in a covered tank half filled with water where it can grow out of the water. I also move it out to my pond in the summer to grow between the edge rocks.

 

[JamieB]

So looking at the paperwork, I have a clue. He wrote on there “ free alternanthera and mayaca “. Looking at the pictures, what I thought was watersprite is vandelli mayaca. And I found I have a 10th plant, not sure just which variety, leaves look like maybe a cryptocoryne mioya or wendtii green? Thank you for the info on the bacopa, I might trim a sprig to put in the bog.
I have them all planted now, most in containers with a mix of yard soil from the pond dig and pure clay kitty litter that failed as substrate. The vallisneria is in its own planter in the guppy pond, and just barely reaches the surface, meaning it’s almost 2 ft tall! Then I put three bacopa, and dwarf sag spaced out around it in my turtle planter, then hid the substrate with small pea gravel so the guppies hopefully done mess it up. Then hubbies betta got a tank rearranging, and he got a sprig of the sag, a java fern, and my last remaining water lilly root. My betta has more plants, mostly because I still have about 5 guppy fry hiding in there, and he was super excited to explore the plants. He got the reineckii, a sprig of bacopa, a java fern, and the mayaca. Have to let water clear now it’s stirred up, and clean the glass, so I can get better pictures.

guppy pond, the turtle planter, and my shark wanna bes, and then a picture of the whole mini pond. Then a picture of my betta tank pre fill up, then the tea cup of hubbies tanks plants and the water lilly.

 

[JamieB]

I’m still impressed, very little leaf “ melt” from trauma of shipping and the cold. The red plant has lost a few leaves, a few others have some small leaf loss from change of water conditions, nothing big

 

[JamieB]

The betta tanks. The bettas like the plants, I’ve still got to figure out how to make the guppy pond warmer, the heaters aren’t strong enough for that, I might need more outlets for more aquarium heaters.
Then a pic of the guppy pond planters.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Is that your guppy pond (shown in your last post) with the mini-bog? If so, you might consider an in-line heater. Let me know if that is an option and I will share my lessons learned.

 

[JamieB]

Is that your guppy pond (shown in your last post) with the mini-bog? If so, you might consider an in-line heater. Let me know if that is an option and I will share my lessons learned.

I’m not familiar with in line heaters. Water is pushed up a length of garden hose to the bog and then it falls back in. I’ve got an 100 gallon aquarium heater in there for now, it’s not sufficient as water is still cool almost cold to the touch as that room isn’t kept very warm.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Here is what I have in mind: https://www.amazon.com/Hydor-Line-External-Aquarium-Heater/dp/B0002Z7VQE
I have used the 200 and 300 watt versions for many years. But they have some specific requirements such as hose size and absolute guarantee that the water flow will not stop while the heater is plugged in. They are designed to be used on a canister filter. I have no experience hooking one to a garden hose so in-line might not be an option. I would contact the manufacturer and ask them before purchasing one. My 90 gallon Archerfish tank used to have one when he lived in the basement but now he lives in a 'palatial suite' in our heated sunroom so a small heater does the job. My avatar is the Archerfish. The biggest advantages of in-line heating are elimination of hot/cold spots in the water (consistency), the elimination of 'burning' a hole through a plastic pond from a hot heater and often, one larger in-line will usually outperform a couple of smaller submersible heaters (consistency and drawing less overall electricity) if it is properly sized.
Actually, I used to have a similar situation that you are dealing with for two indoor ponds and 15 aquariums in my basement fish room. Here is how I solved the problem: Calculate the approximate gallons of your pond. Determine the coldest temperature the room will fall to during the winter. Take the lowest number and compare it to your desired pond temperature for the guppies. The delta is what you have raise the water temperature above ambient. So if your room temp is say, 64 degrees and you desire 79 degree water then you have to heat the water 15 degrees above ambient. Keep in mind, the pond is uncovered unlike an aquarium so heat will escape and that has to be factored into your heater calculation. I will be glad to help you.
How many gallons is your pond? How cold does it get in the winter?
Sorry for the long answer.

 

[JamieB]

When full, it’s 112 gallons, but I keep it under that so kitty paws can’t reach fish so well. So maybe 90 gallons.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Oh yeah, the kitties love to go fishing!
I'm not sure how heat resistant your liner is so I recommend 'caged' heater(s). I am attaching two options;
The one on the left is a Fluval 300Watt the one on the right is a Marineland 300Watt. The Marineland heater is placed in a section of PVC and zip tied into place to cage the heater. Both options work well especially if they are placed near the pump. Placement next to the pump will ensure sufficient water flow for the heaters to properly function and excellent heat distribution. 300 Watts might be way more than you need depending on how many degrees difference will there be (in the dead of winter) between your room temperature and your desired water temperature. Hum...for some reason the images will not post. They are massive files. I'll retake them at a lower resolution and post.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Here we go.