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do you leave the lead/wool holders with them or plant them without them? how do u get htem to stay down

i find that if i use it wihtout the lead holders after a few days the plant works itself loose...

You don't leave the lead + sponge/wool. You undo the bundle and plant a few (2-3) branches in the gravel. Make a little pile of gravel around it to secure it down. If it get uprooted by the fish or during vaccuuming the gravel, simply replant.

You have to be patient with new aquired plants to grow a decent root system. Once that is done, you shouldn't have a problem keeping your greens in place.

Sponge

I agree with Sponge_Bob,

You shouldn't leave the weights on the plants.

I would be interested in what kind of plants you have, the substrate you have (and how high it is), and how you currently plant them.

Rather often it helps to stick about 2 to 3 inches of the stem (and I assume they are stem plants) in an angle in the substrate. This way the weight of the substrate on top of the stem will help to secure it.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Stem plants come in bunches weighted with lead foil. Remove the lead foil and the trim the base of the stem with sharp scissors. Remove the bottom two or three leaves or stems from the plant then push securely under the substrate with a finger. Be sure to bring substrate together in a tiny mound around the base of the plant. The tips should root in about two weeks. Planting distance for the individual stems should be the width of a full grown plant for a dense effect with minimum planting of 3, 5 or 7 stems.

Plants rooted in rock wool and baskets should have the rock wool carefully, that is carefully separated from the roots. It can be peeled away from the edges. The roots should be a clean white. Trim away any dead roots or roots longer the three inches. Scoop a depresssion in the substrate large enough for the root mass and cover, making sure to fill in any empty areas around the roots.

Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 02-Jan-2006 12:30

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

thanks for the replies guys

at hte moment i have nothing with relative to plants... just two small plants about 2inch high.

i bought two cardomine lyrata - i've decided to go for a heavy planted tank they look much better

i was hopin to buy some more plants but they werent too healthy the ones on display

i've got abotu 2inch of a gravel substrate

also apart from buying chemicals etc the best way to clean plants is to leave them soakin in cold water rite?

If you decide to plant any of the swords (echinodorus) or cryptocoryne, you will want an additional inch of substrate.

If you want to rinse the plants to ensure that you don't bring any nasties into your aquarium, you will want to dip the plants in a solution of 1 part bleach to 20 parts water. Dip the plant for about 2 minutes and rinse it immediately in cool running water. Next dip it in water treated with a dechlorinator to neutralize any remaining bleach.

The dip is effective against algae but has spotty results against snails.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Certainly remove all the ties lead or not. I also trim the bottom ot the stem plants. You must remove the bottom leaves if not they will rot in the substrate and finally kill the pant.

3ins is a minium of a good 2-3mm substrate for any good healthy planting. You must also back this up with a good plant light and replace the tubes/globes regually.

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