In celebration of our upcoming radio show on setting up a vivarium with plants and frogs:
Aqua Botanic Radio- Vivarium set up for plants and frogs
Sat, October 13, 2012 10:00 AM PST
Here are some photos:
Aqua Botanic Feed
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Category Archives: Aquarium Plants
Making the Change with Ranunculus inundatus
by Robert Paul Hudson
I recently obtained some Ranunculus inundatus, one of my favorite foreground plants, from a hobbyist online. This unique looking creeping stem plant is native to Australia, and cultivated in plant farms in Asia. Although it has been available through Asia for several years now, it has not been found in the mainstream market of either the USA or Europe.
I first saw this plant when I imported a number of different plants direct from Oriental Aquarium of Singapore back in 2008. Not all of the plant survived the ordeal of shipping across the world and waiting to clear customs, but enough of it survived that I could sell it to a few people, including someone local to me who has been successful in growing it ever since and has shared it with several people online.
The bunch I got recently to my surprise was grown emersed by the hobbyist. When grown above water, the main stems send out leaf stems growing quite tall, with a single leaf on top: like a tall umbrella or mushroom!
This is not the look I wanted in using this plant. I left the entire bunch of stems just floating in the aquarium until I figured out what to do with it. About a week later I noticed all the floating stems had thick clusters of new leaf growth growing at the base of the tall leaf stems! This is what I wanted! Low growing leaves on horizontal stems laying across the substrate, so I then planted the whole thing.
The underwater growth of this plant has stems with rows of leaves or “nodes”. Each leaf node has roots growing from it, which is why the stems may be laid across the substrate. The stem that supports each leaf from the horizontal stem is very short. Above water, each of those leaf stems, (petiole) can be 6 to 10 inches tall.
This is exactly how most Hydrocotyle species, (Pennywort) grow as well. When ever I would buy Pennywort commercially, it would have very long stems with a single leaf on top. Only the base of that leaf stem with a horizontal stem attached would grow more leaves.
This stem with leaf nodes may be cut at any point where the node has roots to be propogated or re-arranged to form tighter groupings of the plant.
In this photo you can see clearly the stem of each leaf growing upward from the horizontal stem and and roots starting at each node.
Whether you have the notes widely spaced or grouped closely together, the unique shape of the leaves will add a very distinctive look to your foreground.
Cryptocoryne Flamingo
by Robert Paul Hudson
Cryptocoryne sp. ‘flamingo’ is not a natural specie, but a mutation of cordata developed by a German nursery, Dennerle, well known throughout Europe who not only produces plants, but manufactures a whole line of aquarium products.
They have reproduced the accidental mutation through tissue culture and are marketing the plant in its tissue culture form still in a culture container.
It is now sold throughout Europe by retailers who buy from Dennerle. One such company is the online retailer, Aquarium Gardening in Wales, United Kingdom. Some here in the USA may remember the Owner of this business: Dr. John Shawn Prescott, who a few years ago had a business based in Baltimore Maryland called Aquarium Landscapes and FishVet. After operating here in the USA for several years, he sold the American business and went back to the UK.
Dr. Prescott has spent his life in the hobby, most notably as a high level executive for Red Sea and developing medications for fish disease. In the late 90s he made a bid to become an American distributor for Amano, but lost out to Art Giacosa who later founded the forum Aquatic Plant Central. At that point Dr Prescott founded Aquarium Landscapes with his own version of Amano type products, and imported plants including several rare Cryptocorynes.
A few months ago some American hobbyists got together to make a group buy of Cryptocoryne flamingo from Aquarium Gardening in Wales. Reports have been mixed from those who participated. Most people lost the plants through melt, some have gotten the beginning of new growth from the rhizomes.
Information about the plant is limited. One German web site that sells the plant describes the following:
- Growth rate: VERY slow
- height 4 to 8 inches, compact growth
- Light: high to very high
- Temperature: 22 to 28 C
- Hardness: very soft to hard
- pH: 5.5 to 8
The leaves in its tissue culture form often have the edges rolled up. This attribute does not show up in either its emersed form or submersed form.
Some German hobbyists report that when the plant grows out, some leaves remain pink while others are brown. Some vein coloration shows through.
The limited number of photos on the internet have some variation in coloring, most likely due to photo touch ups. Here is one example of the same photo on different web sites:
Actual coloration is probably closer to this:
Adapting a plant from tissue culture growth to either emmersed or submersed is a bit tricky. The real test will be when American hobbyists are able to grow one of these plants to the point of runner propagation and have the parent plant survive for more than a year and flower.
It is interesting that Dennerle has chosen to sell the plant in tissue culture form. The marketing hype about tissue culture plants has always been that they are sterile, free of algae, disease, and parasites, however by the time they convert to either subsmersed or emersed, they are far from sterile and may not easily make the transition that well without melting. Importing/exporting tissue culture plants is much easier with less stringent government regulation.
If and when the plant goes into mass hydroponic production, it will then be much more readily available, and much cheaper. The plant first started to show up in Europe around 07, and seems to be gaining in popularity there now.
Echinodorus Paul Kloecker
Echinodorus Paul Kloecker
by Robert Paul Hudson
This is yet another German hybrid Sword plant that is now hitting the USA through Florida Aquatic Nurseries. It has similar markings as the Ozelot sword, however the leaves are more robust and compact making them less overpowering in stature and more suitable for smaller aquariums than other similar sword plants. Red coloring is more intense in younger leaves while more mature leaves have a red and brown flecked pattern.
Echinodorus ‘Pinwheel’
Echinodorus ‘pinwheel’
By Robert Paul Hudson
The new Pinwheel sword plant is a mutation of Osiris developed by Florida Aquatic Nurseries. The narrow leaves have a slight twist as new leaves grow straight up. Coloring is green and some red if light is intense. The plant generally reaches a maximum height of ten inches, making it suitable for smaller aquariums.
Elatine hydropiper
Elatine hydropiper
by Robert Paul Hudson
Elantine hydropiper is a very small leaf stem plant for the foreground of the aquarium. Little has been written about this plant. It is native to cold regions of Europe, Siberia, China, and north eastern Canada in very shallow pools, along river banks, and in marshy areas. It grows both as a fully aquatic and in terrestrial mud.
Anubias of Italy , a commercial grower specializing in rare plants to the hobby, has introduced this plant to the hobby in Europe and as a result it has found its way to some collectors in the USA. It creates a dense, low growing carpet and reminds some hobbyists of a dwarf size Glossostigma.
E triandra is much more common and is considered a fast growing and potentially invasive species, while hydropiper grows very slowly. It is also unknown how well this plant will tolerate the higher temperatures often kept in aquariums, but those originating from Italy have not had any reports of temperature issues. It is a very attractive plant that I have recently been able to obtain and I look forward to experimenting with it.
New Enriched Humus Substrate
Enriched Humus Substrate: The Why and How
by Chris Brown
Inspiration
The idea of a humus based substrate came to me about five years ago after I had started two mineralized topsoil tanks. At that time, it seemed like the zenith of aquatic horticulture to me, and it would be fair to say I was very pleased with the results at the time. It was very well understood how to make it and why it worked the way it did. The only thing that bothered me about it was the preparation. Making MTS, (mineralized top soil) is an admittedly laborious process but the pay off is well worth it: A cheap, long lasting reserve of plant nutrients.
Sometime after putting MTS into practice, I remember getting ready to start a third MTS tank which meant securing more certified organic topsoil and the other additives to stabilize and enrich it. But, before I could get around to that, I needed to re-pot some houseplants that were starting to get badly root bound and I had procrastinated long enough on that front.
Personally, I have a specific potting soil recipe that I think gets me the best results for my chosen plants and it involves a generous portion of humus. As I was mixing up this new batch of soil, and then later beginning the long, Zen like ritual of re-potting several houseplants, a thought struck me; Humus is essentially as decomposed as anything can get on this planet and is essentially mature compost. The composting process and the way in which humus is created naturally are nearly the same as how topsoil is mineralized. In fact, the end result is identical; Creating a matrix of stable, though still bioavailable, plant nutrients.
But there is one problem with that, humus is only a collection of inorganic acids and ammonium waiting to be reduced into nitrate. Not that nutritious on its own. So I thought to myself, “Well, what else does it need to be nutritious?” The answer to that is a lot. Plants can’t survive on nitrogen and humic acids alone.
Not surprisingly, I shelved the idea when I realized there is a rather substantial cost to enriching humus at the hobbyist level and went about my business using MTS. Sometime later, I finally got around to that third MTS tank and my local hardware store was out of the usual certified organic topsoil that I normally use. I later found what I normally use at a different hardware store and after securing it, began the long process of mineralizing it.
The big day came and went. After set up, the tank developed many problems that just haven’t bothered me for a very long time – let alone since I had been using MTS. There were many different alga blooming at once, ammonia and nitrite would spike unexpectedly, basic water chemistry was unstable when it came to pH, GH and KH, and some plants seem to thrive while other plants just melted away. I had never experienced something so chaotic before.
I did some searching, researching, reading and interviewing and came to accept as reasonable that quality control in the soil business is spotty at best. Sometimes you get a bad batch. Sometimes the organic stuff absorbs a little of the not-organic-at-all fertilizers and pesticides that are being bagged up right next to it. Or, some bags of certified organic soil get a little too back to nature and get some manure or other rich components in them which can play havoc with our tanks. It’s something that happens but infrequently enough to be tolerated well. I can forgive this and move on.
What I did have a problem coming to terms with when I sat back and thought about it, is that I essentially have no control over this process. Even in the post production process of MTS itself, when you think about it. Ultimately, whatever nutrients are in that bag, whether correctly accounted for or not, are what that manufacturer decided I should get at the moment that particular lot was bagged up and sent to various wholesalers and distributors. It was time to revisit my enriched humus idea, cost be damned.
Deep Thinking
Having an idea of what humus was missing was easy. It lacked everything but nitrogen. That is easy enough to fix with various amendments and supplements, but how in the world would it perform submerged in water for long periods of time? The answer to that was unexpected.
It is quite abundant in aquatic environments, both in the earth that makes up any lake bottom, or the shores of a river. Two products of humus, fulvates and humates, are found very frequently in the water columns of fresh, brackish and marine environments. What they do exactly is still hard to say but they do seem to have some influence over redox potential and both chemical and biological oxygen demand. They definitely affect KH and pH, lowering both. In fact, it is the presence of humates and fulvates that are chiefly responsible for blackwater conditions. Tannins, which are similar, don’t play as much of a major role in those conditions as previously thought. This information is not new, though many aquarists may find the statement controversial. But when we take a moment to cast off our cherished biases and think critically, it makes sense.
If an area is flooded regularly, like around the Amazon, how do those blackwater conditions occur every Spring if it weren’t for the tannins? That tint to the water is there because of fulvates and humates mostly from the now inundated earth. Humus readily yields up those acids to stain, soften and acidify water. Please note it has almost no meaningful effect on GH.
I came across this information searching for terms like “aquatic humus” and a treasure trove of information bubbled up immediately. The best source I ran into is and will continue to be “Wetland Soils: Genesis, Hydrology, Landscapes, and Classification” edited by J. L. Richardson and M. J. Vepraskas, 2001 CRC Press LLC, ISBN# 1-56670-484-7. I strongly recommend it and it is definitely worth the $120 some odd price tag if you really want to understand wetland soil ecosystems and how they very strongly relate to our glass boxes full of water and weeds. Couple it with Diana Walstad’s “Ecology of the Planted Aquarium” and you have a recipe for very nearly complete enlightenment on the subject.
Naturally, reading this important and dare I say seminal tome only lead to other questions, like, “How are we already doing something like this either intentionally or unintentionally?” and “Should it be fully replicated?” and especially, “What actual analogues already exist in it in the hobby either homebrewed or offered commercially?” The answers to those questions were clear when I stopped to think and ask questions. The best thoughts and answers came like parables from an extraordinary individual whom many may know already. An irascible Socratic by the name of Nikolay Kraltchev or more commonly known as Niko to the hobby.
For years Niko had used the Socratic method to help folks think a little better on the subject of husbanding aquatic plants and animals. Leading discussions that questioned what we think of as cannon, and thus casting out dogma and advancing the hobby scientifically. Niko is what I call a gentle revolutionary.
One of his favorite exercises would be to offer up a beautiful picture of some aquatic scape taken directly from nature with crystal clear waters and lush plant growth, both emergent and submerged. He’d ask how this was possible, while we tend to struggle in the hobby with algae, boom and bust cycles of growth and unstable water parameters. Paraphrasing Niko, “How is it that nature does this so effortlessly, while our tanks constantly teeter on the brink of eutrophic pollution (like EI) or apocalyptic famine (like PPS/Sears & Conlin)?” Needless to say, there is no need to read between the lines with Niko, though his points can be very subtle indeed.
After much exploration, the discourse would indicate that the plants are all rooted in the earth where all the nutrients are, even taking some of their carbon from it (a very tiny amount) and quickly stripping what little enters the water column from run off and decomposition. Staring us in the face was the idea of a lean if not completely depleted water column and absolutely everything our plants need in the substrate and leaving it at that until such time as the tank substrate depletes, which they all do eventually without some kind of intervention. From here, it was a quick hop, skip and a jump to planning and execution, but I was still bothered by the question of whether there was an existing modality for this in the hobby. The answer should have been obvious. Amano Takashi and his ADA line were it, despite what you may feel about him and his practice.
In Theory and Practice
Niko’s line of questioning helped me realized the point of what is Amano-san’s component substrate system, and why there was the appearance of dosing only the minimums. He seems to use lower than usual light, the fertilizing regime seems very light, but the substrate system is very rich though it exhausts itself at a slow rate. The reason for all of it is to create a balanced, whole ecological system that is recharged through water column dosing.
How is his system put together? You have a thin, nutrient rich layer seeded with soil microbes, the Bacter and Penac additives that contain some soil particulates, then a large area of exchange with voids that invites rooting, cation exchange/adsorption and oxygenation known as Power Sand. And finally, you top it with Aqua Soil which is another layer that contains nutrients, can do cation exchange and conditions the water. The idea being to invite natural ecological cycles like the iron and sulfur cycles, aerobic and some anaerobic cycles to create a truly whole integrated system that grows plants indefinitely as long as certain basic inputs are met.
It does exhaust itself, and if you follow his documentation you’ll notice that you are advised not to begin dosing the water column immediately but to wait until it reaches a certain age when you begin more or less adding what is being removed on a regular basis. This is how it works. This is the best practice. But what if you want to go a step further? What if your curiosity and the desire to tinker gets the better of you? What if your requirements demand a degree of granularity beyond what ADA can offer you? That’s what I want to talk about.
With the help of various resources, I found some original high level work that essentially deconstructed ADA Aqua Soil by a group of Russian hobbyists and compared it to other substrates. I don’t know their names and sadly, their work is only on Google Cache these days and it needs to be translated. Google Translate came through for the most part and the authors were amazing in giving us their references. Please bookmark and read the translations of http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://amania.110mb.com/Chapters/Tech/sub-aquasoil.html and http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://amania.110mb.com/Chapters/Tech/sub-profile.html.
To summarize their findings, the base layer and Power Sand layer are well know in the gardening world, these correspond to separate layers of manure, mulch, charcoal and limestone and have been used for a long time as a means of keeping the soil in raised beds aerated as well as a store for nutrients. Simple enough and it makes sense.
The Aqua Soil itself is key. It is essentially a soft clay with humus and other nutrients baked into it and a touch of iron hydroxide which not only softens water but makes the transport of phosphorous more efficient while keeping it sequestered in the soil instead of the water column. Bingo!
Exploding the Enigma
Eventually I began experimenting, that was between two and three years ago. I did so with different recipes and in pots of arguably robust plants namely Barclaya longifolia, Cryptocoryne cordata, Hygrophila corymbosa and Poaceae sp. ‘Purple Bamboo’. Their vessels were solid clay pots that were layered from bottom to top with a humus mixture, a fluffy layer of either carbon, sphagnum moss or lava rock and finally a cap of some inert, high CEC clay like Seachem Flourite, Eco Complete, Turface or Arcillite. The results were good, growth was strong and measured, and the plants could handle low tech and high tech conditions with no transitional issues. Light level even seemed to not matter as long as their basic needs were met and there was adequate flow in the tank. The growth of the Hygrophila and Barclaya was especially aggressive.
This is the point, last year namely, where I began to publicly solicit feedback and finalized today’s production recipe with the help of the community. My home forum, Aquatic Plant Enthusiasts at http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com has been especially helpful and supportive of me. This is the point where I would like to take you on a journey and explain the rest in the form of a time line so everyone can appreciate its evolution without being too long winded. I want the work to speak for itself.
To date, it is still highly experimental and should be approached with caution and no expectations. It also needs to be carefully budgeted for, as it is not cheap to start, but nor does that aspect trouble me. The recipe and practices around it continue to evolve and what you see now may be obsolete in the future. A full pictorial guide of the recipe itself can be found at http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-27.html#post31443.
A Journey Through Time and Space
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized.html
This is the initial post on APC where I took what I knew at that time and offered up my work and some conjectures to entice participation. This also illustrates what methods and additives I was working with in September of last year. The additive Azomite is first suggested as a way of introducing various micronutrients in abundance. Here the theme of using certified organic fertilizers just barely begins to germinate.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized.html#post605059
Here is where the first additives are suggested and I must offer my first justifications and the thoughts on the early components.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized.html#post605504
Version one of the production recipe suddenly appears from the primordial depths. My early experiments had already been terminated for a few months prior to this.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized.html#post605526
In as little as four hours a new mutation appears in the wild.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-2.html#post605612
A day later and new selective pressures have spawned another change in ratios.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-4.html#post606279
A week later, 17/09/11 and the first inkling of the quality of the materials appears. Namely, the humus itself.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-5.html#post607180
25/09/11 and the first major revision happens when I realize how calcium and magnesium poor the mix is and in the same breath as I try to fix that oversight, the recipe changes twice and muriate of potash is abandoned and the first organic additive takes hold, Sul-Po-Mag. A mineral that is a rich source of sulfur, magnesium and potassium.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-5.html#post607266
26/09/11 I respond to Niko and the first argument about the need for a dolomitic substance briefly flares up and sputters out. The idea of aragonite as an additive appears.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil.html#post26464
9th October, 2011 I unleash the idea on my home forum, APE. Interest and discussion is immediate.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-5.html#post612155
After a brief hiatus, on 6th November, I make a major restatement of the project and offer up some sources for some of the materials.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-5.html#post612157
Eleven minutes later, humates are introduced and we become aware of OMRI or the Organic Materials Review Institute. Cross pollination between APE and APC occurs.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-6.html#post612159
A substitute for Sul-Po-Mag is named.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-6.html#post612296
A reformulation is made with viable substitutes named.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-7.html#post614317
On 23/11/11 I believe I have found the final production recipe. This was of course not the end. Ideas from APE start to show up more and more on APC. For completeness sake, I will finish the APC time line. It is unfortunately short and the bulk of development began continuing on APE with a bigger head of steam.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-8.html#post619873
People are now directed to APE.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-8.html#post619875
This leg of the thread begins a small controversy about the nature of wetland soils, misunderstandings of my goals and remediating the shortcomings of natural wetland soils for our purposes. An in depth discussion of various elemental cycles begins.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/substrates/80412-soliciting-input-new-way-make-mineralized-9.html#post620030
Ideological contentions appear briefly and are civilly resolved.
And now the APE highlights where the bulk of the progress was made with the help of the community.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-3.html#post26864
The first major restatement regarding the ingredients themselves and a justification for it.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-3.html#post26874
The first blurb about the natural ratios of certain nutrients to each other and why some of the choices I suggest tend to fit into that when mixed together.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-4.html#post27734
The user Madness make some major contributions by identifying some holes and offering great substitutions for some of the ingredients.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-4.html#post27930
A distillation of Madness’ thoughts.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-5.html
Two new reformulations occur within the same fortnight in early November based on discussions and the help of Madness.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-6.html#post28838
The suggestion of red clay instead of laterite appears. A highly viable substitute. The first volunteers begin to appear.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-10.html#post29476
Volunteer Zero, a fellow by the name of Joe tries an early production recipe and photographs the early components for us on 13/12/11.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-10.html#post29497
In the middle of the thread, Joe begins a journal. This is encouraged and we all hold our collective breath.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-12.html#post29636
Joe starts production and begins planting on 17/12/11 and documents it beautifully.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-12.html#post29639
Joe starts taking regular readings for us. It looks good so far and Joe is enjoying himself.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-15.html#post29729
More photographs from Joe, he does a water change the next day. This is only 18/12/11.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-16.html#post29816
The name enriched humus substrate or EHS takes hold.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-17.html#post29829
Joe experiences a lot of good growth only a few days in.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-20.html#post29990
Joe starts to become a bit of a phenomenon by 21/12/12. We are all rooting for him. His cycle seems to complete very early on.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-23.html#post30359
Joe’s first several days charted out with particular attention paid to water chemistry.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-24.html#post30420
Joe has fully cycled in only sixteen days.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-24.html#post30838
Finally, on 11th January, 2012 a major upsets happens when I make a massive change to the production recipe. Glauconite and soft rock phosphorous are added to the final production recipe to address deficiencies of potassium and phosphorous.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-25.html#post30957
The final production recipe done volumetrically. This is what is in use today.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-27.html#post31442
A friendly, pictorial guide is produced demonstrating the recipe on 22/01/12.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-27.html#post31443
I fully divulge a list of suppliers. It turns out none of it is as rare as we thought it was but quality seems to be all over the place with regards to the humus itself. The best I’ve worked with so far is Ancient Forest brand from Alaska. The only reasonable source I’ve found is at http://www.repotme.com/orchid-potting-media/Ancient-Forest-Humus.html. It contains enough ammonium to do a fishless cycle without giving the plants a bad fertilizer burn.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/substrate/4256-new-recipe-procedure-mineralized-topsoil-27.html#post31801
Jerry the Planter appears and immediately comes up with all manner of helpful substitutes and immediately offers up his expertise.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/tank-journals-photos-aquascapes/4566-journal-twin-20-gallon-tall-mts-ehs-case-study.html
A case study is begun by Plant Keeper comparing MTS and EHS but must be abandoned when something contaminates both tanks making them toxic. This still remains a mystery. By this point, Joe hasn’t updated any either. We are all troubled by this.
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/tank-journals-photos-aquascapes/4593-south-american-delights-ehs-journey.html#post31708
I finally begin my own journal which is still going strong with lots of readings, photos, notes and argumentation. A recent video of the tank can be seen here, http://vimeo.com/37044642.
Thoughts So Far
This substrate system is not kind to plants who don’t have roots, like newly acquired cuttings, or plants that root too slowly after being cut. Only plants with roots or who are capable of rooting quickly will realize the full benefit of it.
Flow and high amounts of dissolved oxygen appear to be crucial to this set-up if you expect the filter bacteria to thrive in such a soft acidifying environment.
The system does leak a little into the water column. It can send the GH rather high until it fully settles, which happened for me after 36 days and seemed to coincide with the completion of the cycle and the addition of fish.
You need to be comfortable with deeply tea stained water.
Phosphorous tests are about as useful as iron tests which is to say not at all.
There was some green spot algae early on but once it hit its stride, it receded quickly along with some red algae. A short eight hour photoperiod also helps a lot. Otherwise, the water column has virtually nothing in it and all sustenance is coming from the substrate itself. I predict a useful lifespan between one year and eighteen months. We shall see.
I am still trying to wrap my head around the appearance of some physiological leaf rolling I’m seeing. I’m thinking it is because of the very powerful light I have available, the only practical solution for the ten gallon test tank is an old power compact fixture with eighty Watts of 6,700° K lighting.
Overall, I believe there is something here. There is still a lot of testing to be done and the proper gathering of empirical evidence and there will come a point where regression testing will need to be done. I’m already seeing that not a lot of plants take to it readily but the ones that do, especially creeping stems and rosettes take to it almost immediately.
I would encourage as many people as possible to try experimenting with it and contribute to it with their time and resources because I think it will be a paradigm shift in keeping with the concepts of balance, elegance and robustness.
EHS will become strong evolving from a community of passionate hobbyists, rather than a committee of a few or from a single authoritative source. A Darwinian approach will help it succeed and ultimately provide a new way for us to forge ahead more rationally and consistently and create something that belongs to all of us; A few basic principles that operate soundly that are consistently reproducible but still customizable to the individual aquarist’s needs.
Bacopa salzmanii
by Robert Paul Hudson
Bacopa salzmanii is found growing from Mexico to Brazil along the edges of ponds and slow moving streams, usually in muddy loam. It was first known in the hobby as Bacopa lilacina. It looks very much like the more common Bacopa caroliniana of North America, except the leaves and stems are much smaller. Sometimes the leaves show a bit of red along the center vein of the leaf, but it is mostly green. It is not too light demanding and is suitable for low tech set ups. Side shoots grow profusely and are easy to propagate.
This plant is also easy to grow out of the water in wet soil. Some hobbyists are growing it this way in order to create available stock for them to sell and trade on the internet. It is also occasionally imported from Asian plant farms. Bacopa salzmanii is not particularly sensitive to grow or ship and can be easily enjoyed by hobbyists in any planted aquarium.
Ludwigia sedoides: Mosaic Floater
by Robert Paul Hudson
Ludwigia sedioides is a branching floating stem plant whose leaves grow in a circular pattern with shades of red and green looking like a mosaic tile. It is found growing in slow moving and standing waters of Brazil and Venezuela. It is typically used as a ornamental plant in ponds and the long floating stems can cover a large surface area. One stem in the aquarium can quickly cover the surface of the water and the roots grow quite long, but some hobbyists have found a use for it in open top aquariums. It will not survive cold winters outside.
Light should be fairly bright to encourage red coloring and fertilizer should be added to the water regularly. It produces two inch solid yellow flowers that are striking against the foliage and bloom in late summer and early fall. In ponds it should be placed under full sun or partial shade.
Phyllanthus fluitans, Red Rooter
by Robert Paul Hudson
Phyllanthus fluitans. known as Red Rooter, is a beautiful small floating plant. The leaves range in different shades of red and green while the dangling roots are deep dark red. It is native to parts of South America, Central America, and Mexico. Like most floating plants, it spreads fairly quickly on the surface of still or slow moving water. It usually grows under direct sunlight where older leaves become dark red. Under lower levels of light the leaves are more green with pinkish hues. The leaves are a little smaller than a dime and produce small white star shaped flowers with yellow centers.
In the aquarium the dark red roots add some color to the underwater surface and a hiding place for fish and fry. In ponds they leaves are highly decorative but will not survive the winter temperatures. Light should be moderate to bright, but being close to the light source makes it less critical. All floating plants if allowed to cover the surface will block light to plants below. They will need to be occasionally thinned out or the use of a power head will push the plants to the back edges of the aquarium.
In 2010 the plant was discovered growing in several colonies along a river in Florida. The state has already declared it an invasive plant and taken steps to eradicate it and sent out warning notices to nurseries in the state. This is a bit perplexing because no commercial grower, nursery, or retailer in the state sells , grows, or imports this plant, so the blame is directed to the hobbyist. The plant is traded and sold between a small group of hobbyists nationwide and occasionally put up for sale by hobbyists on the internet. It has not been discovered growing anywhere else in the United States.
Some hobbyists have reported this as a difficult plant to grow, but as long as you fertilize the water regularly and give it fairly bright light, it stays healthy without any issues.
