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Shallow tanks and emergent growth

Q

Qwedfg

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21 Feb 2022
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131
Location
Rhode Island
Recently got a UNS 45s (ada 45f clone) tank with a stand I purchased for my 45u (45p clone) I am planning on setting up. I never thought much about shallow tanks but after getting it home I started poking around the net looking at some examples and I came across some awesome tanks with emergent and submerged growth. This got my wheels turning and I was wondering what it took to keep something like this going? I live in a place that is fairly humid during the spring and summer (45-55% in my basement at least by what my dehumidifier says...85% outside today according to the web) but dryer during the winter. What special precautions do I need to take to keep plants alive that are above the water line? What types of plants work in this scenario? I have been looking around on the web but it seems like details are pretty sparse on setting something up like this.

If anyone has any info or a link to a build I'd appreciate it.

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Aquariums with emersed growth are amazing and add a whole extra dimension to it!

Chris AKA @shrimpery on Instagram is well known for doing this in 'pond tanks'. This is a link to his guide.

There are lots of other examples on UKAPS that I can't recall right now. Someone will chime in...

I've done some examples myself here and here. Hopefully you find them somewhat useful! (I would skip the first page of mine lol)

Usually the main things are gentle acclimation to becoming emersed if using previously submerged plants, emersed plants are easier and quicker, watch out for aphids!
 
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Nice example. I think the key is choosing the right plants from the outset, ones that don't mind their feet in water but can also tolerate lower humidity. So you're not necessarily restricted to what we normally consider aquatic plants. You also have more than a few houseplants to choose from as well. Here's a couple I did earlier, no special demands, I just let them grow out emersed, and sprayed once a day.

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Hi all,
Courtneybst said:
There are lots of other examples on UKAPS that I can't recall right now. Someone will chime in...
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I can think of a few, @zozo (Marcel) is a good source.
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Then there was @BigTom
and @Iain Sutherland 's
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cheers Darrel
 
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Thank you for all the helpful links and information. I will go through them over the next couple days to see what I can learn. From my limited reading it doesn't seem possible to keep tropical plants like this if your humidity is in the 50% region even with daily spraying?
 
Qwedfg said:
Thank you for all the helpful links and information. I will go through them over the next couple days to see what I can learn. From my limited reading it doesn't seem possible to keep tropical plants like this if your humidity is in the 50% region even with daily spraying?
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If you can keep house plants alive then there will be plants that you can use in the tank. Googling the UK is meant to be 50-60% average humidity in summer and I've not had many issues with what I've tried and I don't mist at all. You might need to experiment with different plants but there will be ones that will work for you. You can do things to help e.g. keep the ones that want most humidity nearest the waterline or used big leaved plants to create little micro climates under their leaves. Try it, I expect you'll be surprised how adaptable plants are.
 
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This is my tank. Some plants have roots on the substrate, some are attached to the wood as epiphytes, some live in moss above the water but with a cotton wick pulling water up. Some houseplants, some aquarium plants. Humidity isn’t really a problem as it’s in my south facing kitchen. Water loss to evaporation and transpiration is more of a problem as I’m forever topping it up!

Try a few cheap houseplants. I always buy mine in the discounted section when they’re half dead, usually under watered and usually £2.
 
Hi all,
tam said:
Googling the UK is meant to be 50-60% average humidity in summer and I've not had many issues with what I've tried and I don't mist at all
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Problems often come in the winter, particularly in more continental climates. @Tyko_N or @MichaelJ can probably add more from their <"personal experiences"> of <"life in a cold climate">.

The problem is that the cooler the air is the less water vapour it can hold, so really cold air, even at 100% RH, has very little water in it. When that air enters your house, and warms up, the <"relative humidity"> (%RH) plummets.

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cheers Darrel
 
dw1305 said:
Problems often come in the winter, particularly in more continental climates.
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Very true. I try to make sure any plants have acclimatized well before winter, if not then it's worth waiting until spring unless you can plant (aquatic) plants below the water surface and let them make it up onto land on their own. Established plants usually handle dry air without to much trouble in my experience, except for some mosses. They might look a bit sad after a long winter, but will bounce back quickly in spring. Humidity will also be higher closer to the tank, especially if it's heated, which help a bit, although it makes frequent top-ups necessary.
 
dw1305 said:
@MichaelJ can probably add more from their <"personal experiences">
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Yes, our winters are cold and dry here in Minnesota... In the winter we often see indoor RH% down in the mid 20 ties. During those times the water evaporation from my tanks is pretty significant. Summers on the other hand are relatively humid which means less evaporation. That said, while it depends on the plants "humidity requirements", I don't think keeping partially emerged plants in my tanks would be an issue for me at any season. Some of the house plants we've kept over the years naturally grows in pretty humid conditions.

Cheers,
Michael
 
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Besides Peace Lilies l think Spider Plants do very well emmersed aquarium plants and like the "reed" effect they give
 
Does anyone have experience whether these mist-ifiers have appreciable effect or benefit on localized humidity for terrestrial and emergent growth?

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