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anchoring stem plants after trimming.

hellohefalump

Member
Joined
25 Sep 2008
Messages
345
Location
Newhaven, east sussex
I think part of my problem is I have the wrong substrate?

It is just normal sand. I'm moving house in a year, so I didn't want to fork out for aqua soil, if it will all turn to mud in a year when I move it. My tank is 100gals, so that's hundreds of pounds worth of AS.

My problem is, when I trim my stem plants, I find it really hard to anchor them back in the sand. They keep floating up.

It's alright with plants that have lots of roots, but while the stem plants have a little bit of root once I've trimmed the bottoms off, it's not enough to anchor them in my sand.

My biggest problem is with my nessea crassicaulis, which is thriving and growing REALLY fast! So as soon as it grows enough root to anchor itself, it's time for a re-trim and it starts all over again.

Is the problem my substrate, or is there a method everyone else uses that I don't know about?
 
I tend to cut just below a leaf node and then cut the bottom leaves so that there is 2-3mm of them left which forms a sort of anchor on its own. By the time it disintegrates within the substrate some roots are starting to grow and have some instant food at the same time.

AC
 
Regular tweezers work, long handled planting ones are easier.

I cheat, since most of my stems bases are hidden by hardscape/crypts I use lead weights with foam to protect the stems from being crushed. The foam is just strips cut from one of those washing up sponges.
 
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