Suitable emersed plants (background ideas)

[zozo]

Thanks @zozo moss covered wood will be definitely be on the cards bud hadn't thought of using it as a base to be able to keep a plant

Moss is a great medium for it, also in nature it's not uncommon for plant seeds ending up in moss and germinates.

This happened in my garden, seeds from a flowering Cyperus alternifolius next to it blowing into the moss and germinate.


Cyperus also might be an option for you, its a pretty undemanding plant sp. If you keep a Cyperus from the garden centre outdoor during the summer, it will flower and carry seeds. These you can collect and germinate. It's a grass, if you cut it in time it will be similar to maintaining a lawn. It will rejuvinate and spread and stay small. Note the plant will not survive frost.

 

[tam]

nice idea @tam how does the syphon fed from the HOB work?

You literally just need a little pipe/bit of airline going from the top of the HOB filter to the other box - start a syphon (same as syphoning water out of your tank) easiest way is is filling the tube with water and then putting one end in each. As the water level in the filter is higher than the tank edge it will fill it enough to overflow and keep going.

 

[Kalum]

You literally just need a little pipe/bit of airline going from the top of the HOB filter to the other box - start a syphon (same as syphoning water out of your tank) easiest way is is filling the tube with water and then putting one end in each. As the water level in the filter is higher than the tank edge it will fill it enough to overflow and keep going.

yeh as long as the water level in the HOB is higher than the other box then it'll be a nice way to do it, just wasn't sure if the syphon would have been strong enough to keep going given that there is very little level difference between them usually (plus my eheim has quite a tall side to climb over so not sure it'll work)

 

[tam]

I've an aquaclear which has a top edge about 5cm above the tank rim - works with that with airline hose going up and over. I would guess it would work with most HOBs because they are all supported by the tank rim so the waterlines are roughly the same. If you don't mind not having flow through you can use a cotton wick with the end in the tank and it will keep the planter filled to the tank water line - you lose the benefit of using the plants as a filter though.

 

[Luciën]

But the small Peperomia sp. is a rather undemanding houseplant that can grow really well like that. They actually don't like wet feet to much, but in most cases the moss on the wood is moist enough for it.

In my tank I have an Peperomia Piccolo Banda it shifted down the wood in time, now the stem and roots are submersed, plant is still going strong after almost a year. It only drop leaves that get submerse after a while.