# Uncommon knowledge: Plant hacks, techniques that actually work:



## cam1941

Everyone who has worked with plants for a long time has come across a trick or two to get your plants to do what you want. Don’t be stingy why not share for the good of the hobby  Giving feels good 

I thought it would be a good idea to have one place where people could come to share some useful and easy plant tips and tricks that actually work. Lets keep it vivarium appropriate.

Everyone loves proven short cuts so please make sure your posts are tried and true. Meaning you actually did these things and saw them work and are not akin to internet myths like mixing moss with buttermilk or whatever non-sense


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## cam1941

I will go first… Everyone loves marcgravia so here goes:

When you get a cutting. Instead of just throwing it on your back ground plant it in a pot, net pot or I have used the cardboard ones, filled with sphagnum moss and let it root and become a potted plant. 

Marcgravia loves sphagnum moss more than any other substrate I have seen. You can do this in the final resting spot or you can do this outside your viv, your choice. This part will still take some time. 

Once you notice new growth bury the pot in your substrate next to whatever you want your marcgravia to grow up and that's it. 

The potted well established marcgravia will grow so much faster than any cutting and usually from multiple points. Marcgravia loves sphagnum moss for some reason grows much healthier in it.


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## sumer

A few from me about Bucephalandras and Anubias-

*Always keep the rhizome out of the substrate.
* They say these are low light plant but when you give them good light, their growth quadruples. So give them some light love.
* Before planting these plants, tie them to a lava rock and then place it in your vivarium or emmersed setup. That way the plant has a lot of rock surface area to grow the roots into. 
* Don't hesitate to buy these from aquarium plant sellers. Most of these plants that are sold on websites are emmersed grown. They would do great in vivariums.
*If the plants you have got have some hitchhikers like snails etc, bleaching isn't the best way to get rid of them. Use KMnO4 (Potassium permanganate) to wash the plants with. It's a strong oxidizing agent which would kill the snails or other pests. Make sure you give the plant only 20-30 sec dip and wash with fresh water afterwards. And use gloves, it will make your skin yellow which would eventually peel off.


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## cam1941

Thanks for posting... I've never heard of KMnO4 (Potassium permanganate) before. Is this a good bleach substitute in general or just in this one application for aquarium plants (Bucephalandras and Anubias)?




sumer said:


> A few from me about Bucephalandras and Anubias-
> 
> *Always keep the rhizome out of the substrate.
> * They say these are low light plant but when you give them good light, their growth quadruples. So give them some light love.
> * Before planting these plants, tie them to a lava rock and then place it in your vivarium or emmersed setup. That way the plant has a lot of rock surface area to grow the roots into.
> * Don't hesitate to buy these from aquarium plant sellers. Most of these plants that are sold on websites are emmersed grown. They would do great in vivariums.
> *If the plants you have got have some hitchhikers like snails etc, bleaching isn't the best way to get rid of them. Use KMnO4 (Potassium permanganate) to wash the plants with. It's a strong oxidizing agent which would kill the snails or other pests. Make sure you give the plant only 20-30 sec dip and wash with fresh water afterwards. And use gloves, it will make your skin yellow which would eventually peel off.


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## sumer

cam1941 said:


> Thanks for posting... I've never heard of KMnO4 (Potassium permanganate) before. Is this a good bleach substitute in general or just in this one application for aquarium plants (Bucephalandras and Anubias)?


Totally missed this question.
I can't comment on how good is bleach to use on a plant. I have always used KMnO4 to remove any unwanted pests to enter my aquarium when I got the plants.
In the asian countries, if an animal falls and dies in a water well, they remove the dead animal and treat the well with KMnO4. After a day or two, drain all the water, do it a few times again and the well is good to be used again.

It's a very strong oxidizing agent. I swear by it and it's easy to wash it off with normal tap water.
I also use it to wash my aquariums, water change pipes, buckets etc. after they have been used with a sick fish.


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## Judy S

would hope that some of the plant sellers would pick up on this thread....


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## Jjl

I've found pure Turface (All Sport Pro is the best, MVP is a solid alternative) to be an all-around helpful plant starter and permanent vivarium substrate. I've never had a plant (cutting or mature) die in it. I've also found that a 20-minute soak in 5% bleach is just as effective a treatment (albeit "gentler") than its shorter, higher-concentration counterparts. Very helpful for (reportedly) touchy plants like S. kraussiana and tiny orchids. I say "reportedly" because I've never had any issues with them (bleach-wise, as well as general hardiness). 

Also, gobenias seem to have a bad reputation as far as sterilizing goes. I've found that dipping them in the bleach solution mentioned above is fine, but you must rinse them off at a few intervals over a ~25-minute period. After each "mini-rinse", put them back in the bleach and continue the cycle. 

If you're like me and stockpile plants even when you don't have room, the rhizomes of ferns like _P. nummularifolia_ and _D. repens_ will stay alive just sitting in a pile on the floor. Just spray them every day, and they should grow new foliage when you're ready to mount them on a log or background.

Finally, while this isn't technically a plant shortcut, I like to have my tanks to have an established springtail population before planting. They minimize mold that takes advantage of new plants adjusting to my tank.


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## Natural_Tank

I am sure most viewers have already learned these, but here are my two cents: 

-Bromeliads can be mounted with a toothpick pushed through the woody portion of its' stem and into a background. The toothpick will rapidly degrade as the roots take hold. 

-From my experience most any tuberous orchid likes to be mounted on top of sphagnum and not in it. I tend to over do the sphagnum root wrapping. They (sphagnum wraps) can be over watered in an already very humid vivarium and in combination with plants that are susceptible to root rot quite a few plants will simply melt away.

And lastly

-As counter-intuitive as it seems, the more plants that accumulate in a terrarium the less frequent that that terrarium needs to be watered. Plants help hold the general humidity in a terrarium and with time, accumulation, and growth a terrarium will dry out far less often. This is just a factor that comes into play in promoting root health and preventing mold.

Hopefully someone finds this useful.


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## jturner

For mounting bromeliads and other epiphytes on branches use zip ties. They make it so easy to position and secure the plants. You can cover the zip ties with moss or wait a month or two for the plants to root and cut the ties.


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## jarteta97

For bromeliads, instead of buying one of every type of bromeliad you know of, buy several from 1-3 species and cluster them together by species in their own distinct areas. You would find bromeliads growing more like this in the wild rather than a motley assortment spread about everywhere


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## waterbed fred

cam1941 said:


> Everyone who has worked with plants for a long time has come across a trick or two to get your plants to do what you want. Don’t be stingy why not share for the good of the hobby  Giving feels good
> 
> I thought it would be a good idea to have one place where people could come to share some useful and easy plant tips and tricks that actually work. Lets keep it vivarium appropriate.
> 
> Everyone loves proven short cuts so please make sure your posts are tried and true. Meaning you actually did these things and saw them work and are not akin to internet myths like mixing moss with buttermilk or whatever non-sense


 I applaud you, Cam1941 !!!! You wrote the suggestion for this thread in the TRUE spirit of how Forums are to be utilized. So many other forums I've been a part of, only to abandon later, were only there to let people name-call, brag, whine, vent about how rough they have it, or just to make everyone miserable. There hasn't been any of that on this forum, and i'm glad. It truly appears that everyone here is here for the betterment of the life of frogs. Some of the answers and responses to questions really amaze me. I understand that other "Froggers" spent lots of time(including time spent banging your heads against a wall), money, energy, and a good many frogs lives were sacrificed trying to perfect methods during trial and error. Bless everyone for trudging ahead anyways....


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## Gibbs.JP

So, I've got a question that could potentially be a tip to beginners:

I've received a few plant clipping packages from members on here, and when shipped they all seem pretty fresh and healthy in the ziplock bag or however they were packed. I've been taking them out and planting each clipping in a single plastic planter pot with and orchid planting mix and sphagnum on top for moisture. I've noticed the clippings usually start to sag, wilt, brown, etc. after I plant them. Am I doing something wrong? I've got some clippings from a local friend that seem to be thriving after several weeks, but some still seem wilted and brown. They are in an enclosed tank with a CFL grow light and a mostly open top for passive ventilation. 

Maybe someone can advise on how to best care for a new clipping (or clipping package) when they receive it and what can be done to help the new clippings acclimate and start growing. 

Thanks! This is a really great thread - thanks cam!


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## Natural_Tank

> I've been taking them out and planting each clipping in a single plastic planter pot with and orchid planting mix and sphagnum on top for moisture.


What kind of plant clippings? And is the orchid planting mix a very course mix of bark and furr or similar? 

The reason I ask is that a well draining mix may be far too dry to start a clipping in. Generally I use some moist sphagnum as the media in combination with root hormone powder/ gel. The hormone supposedly speeds up the root growing process and kicks the cutting into overdrive. I hope some clippings pull through though. I have had a fern die back to the rhizome until it adapted to the conditions in my vivarium. At the time I was sure that it was dead though. I am just happy that I waited to pull what was left of the plant and did not accidentally throw away something still alive.


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## cam1941

I'll answer as best I can with my limited experience...

Most plants need time to adapt to new conditions. Even though you have your new clippings in what sounds like viv conditions they are not going to be the exact conditions where the plants were originally growing. 

Add the fact that these are clippings and not potted plants, which one could assume would be alot more forgiving, it takes time for the plants to adapt to a new environment. 

Some plants will even completely melt and die away only to return and start thriving. Hope that helps... 

This is a great segway to another tip I learned the hard way...


Edit: It sounds like your plants are rebounding so I'd say your problem is solved. I would just make sure with the person you bought them from that you have them in the right conditions.



Gibbs.JP said:


> So, I've got a question that could potentially be a tip to beginners:
> 
> I've received a few plant clipping packages from members on here, and when shipped they all seem pretty fresh and healthy in the ziplock bag or however they were packed. I've been taking them out and planting each clipping in a single plastic planter pot with and orchid planting mix and sphagnum on top for moisture. I've noticed the clippings usually start to sag, wilt, brown, etc. after I plant them. Am I doing something wrong? I've got some clippings from a local friend that seem to be thriving after several weeks, but some still seem wilted and brown. They are in an enclosed tank with a CFL grow light and a mostly open top for passive ventilation.
> 
> Maybe someone can advise on how to best care for a new clipping (or clipping package) when they receive it and what can be done to help the new clippings acclimate and start growing.
> 
> Thanks! This is a really great thread - thanks cam!


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## cam1941

The best fertilizer is time and patience...

Almost all of the mistakes I made doing anything in this hobby involved me being impatient when it came to seeing results. 

Whether it came to choosing plants that would be easier to get, to start rushing a build because I couldn't wait to see it finished.

Most plants are best left alone and forgotten about. These are the plants that will thrive and the ones you won't leave alone will be the ones that won't.


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## Dendro Dave

Stay away from tap water as much as possible.

Mosses tend to like more light then you might think. 

Plan on plants getting larger then you think they will.

As some plants thrive, and others die this will effect the microclimates in your viv and can make plants spontaneously start doing really well, or rotting away.

So far i've had little luck combining fiber optics into real plant stems without killing them....





That's all I could think of in a few minutes before I got to bed


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## cam1941

Thanks for posting... Those fiber optics are amazing! Love to see people pushing the limits and just really being creative. Very inspirational...


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## Judy S

DD--HOW did you DO that....really neat....


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## Dendro Dave

It was actually kinda painstaking so I think the better play would be fiber optics with the tips melted so they weren't sharp to animals, and just hide them among the plants. Also hiding led strings under the plants to light them from below at night wouldn't be to hard to do.


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## Judy S

maybe for you....I can't even make myself plug in an appliance without wondering whether I'm going to get shocked....I'm okay with flipping a switch...lol


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## Source

............


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## cam1941

Got a new one and this one is really interesting to me because its definitely not widely known or at the very least, widely practiced...

Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)... That fast growing vivarium staple which is also considered a weed by some, because of its growth rate and dominance, can be grown completely aquatically. 

Thought it was really cool looking and definitely seldom seen. Its growth habit is just like its terrestrial version which I think would be very unique especially in a planted aquarium. 

Now to me this could be a much bigger find for the aquatic tank world but its still interesting for our purposes especially for those who have water features or better yet paludariums. 

Also, I'd like to know if anyone happens to know if this would work for its miniature cousin _creeping fig oakleaf_ (_Ficus pumila_ 'Quercifolia')?


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## Encyclia

cam1941 said:


> Got a new one and this one is really interesting to me because its definitely not widely known or at the very least, widely practiced...
> 
> Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)... That fast growing vivarium staple which is also considered a weed by some, because of its growth rate and dominance, can be grown completely aquatically.
> 
> Thought it was really cool looking and definitely seldom seen. Its growth habit is just like its terrestrial version which I think would be very unique especially in a planted aquarium.
> 
> Now to me this could be a much bigger find for the aquatic tank world but its still interesting for our purposes especially for those who have water features or better yet paludariums.
> 
> Also, I'd like to know if anyone happens to know if this would work for its miniature cousin _creeping fig oakleaf_ (_Ficus pumila_ 'Quercifolia')?


Nice job figuring that out, Cam. I always forget to try terrestrial stuff in my planted tank. Do they need CO2? What light level did you have success with?

Thanks!

Mark


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## MELLOWROO421

Most probably already know this but I'll add to this thread as well.
Begonias can be propagated by leafs or pieces of leafs. Often times you can take a single leaf from a begonia and cut it into 5-10 little pieces and simply lay them on damp sphagnum moss and they will sprout new plants. 

I've found that 99% of my cuttings I have received over the years do best simply laid on a bed of sphagnum moss until they root as opposed to planting them in any type of soil medium. 

Air movement in the viv will add to the health of almost any plant. Fans are our friends


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## Stifle

My advice, stay away from wandering jew and other fast growing plants.

Loved my purple wandering jew at first but now I hate it, it grows too fast, its leaves die too frequently, it's really just a pain once you have it for awhile. get something that grows slower you'll be much happier in the long run.


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## cam1941

Encyclia said:


> Nice job figuring that out, Cam. I always forget to try terrestrial stuff in my planted tank. Do they need CO2? What light level did you have success with?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Mark



Thanks Mark, I wish I still had my fish tanks, so I didn’t find this one out through any experiment of my own… It was a happy accident that I observed in a local vendor’s tank. 

They have a paludarium set up for aquatic reptiles that is done naturalistically. The background is covered in creeping fig and it just decided to grow down into the water and just kept going. Looks really cool and for some reason the green is more vibrant and almost neon under the water.

I can answer your questions though and the news is even better. The tank definitely does not have any CO2 and barely any movement or filtration during much of the year. Which makes me think it would be great for the stagnant ponds that many people have in their frog tanks.

During the breeding season they ad a powerful pump to simulate a rainy season with floods but thats only for like 2 months out of the year. They do have to do a lot of water changes however, way more than I would be willing to do lol.

The light needs are definitely low since its growing at the back of the tank near the bottom of the water. I don’t know what brand of light they are using but it is a readily available LED.


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## cam1941

Also, thats a great idea to try terrestrial plants in your planted tank. If you have an extra clipping of Marcgravia sintenisii I would be willing to bet that this plant would grow underwater. When I got my first clipping like 2 years ago at an expo it was sold to me in a ziploc bag that was filled with water no sphagnum moss or anything. 

The bag wasn’t a balloon or anything but the cutting was definitely just sitting in water and I didn’t have anywhere to put it when I got it so it sat in that water for at least 3 days and I’m pretty sure that that is how that vendor would root his cuttings.

Anyways, I think that that would be an amazing plant to grow submerged, with just those two you could have an underwater viv with fish instead of frogs lol Would def be very unique in a planted tank.


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## Encyclia

Interesting stuff, Cam. Any chance that the ficus was growing in the water because it was rooted terrestrially and just drooping into the water? I have plenty of it myself. I will try it. It would be a fantastic foreground plant if it worked 

Sintinesii, eh? Pretty rich blood for an experiment ;-) I may just have to give that a try. Not sure why it would work, seeing as how its primary growth form seems to be shingling up tree trunks, but who knows?

Good job with this thread. It's fun 

Mark


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## cam1941

Encyclia said:


> Interesting stuff, Cam. Any chance that the ficus was growing in the water because it was rooted terrestrially and just drooping into the water? I have plenty of it myself. I will try it. It would be a fantastic foreground plant if it worked
> 
> Sintinesii, eh? Pretty rich blood for an experiment ;-) I may just have to give that a try. Not sure why it would work, seeing as how its primary growth form seems to be shingling up tree trunks, but who knows?
> 
> Good job with this thread. It's fun
> 
> Mark


Thanks Mark, this is definitely a fun topic for me personally, glad you think so too... To answer your question, the plant is def actively growing in the water and spreading. The question I guess is maybe it needs to be acclimated? 

Not sure but I did some digging online and it seems it is used in the planted tank world but in the refugium to remove nitrates, much like pothos. So I would think that the transition is easy. 

Yeah that Marcg is expensive and I didn't mean to go buy some for an experiment, I just meant if you had some at the top of a tank already.

If you can try it would be awesome but I definitely don't know for sure its just I found that that plant loves sitting in water as a cutting for some reason. 

I'm going to see if I can give it a try, I think I have some growing along the top of my set ups. I just don't have a fish tank  will have to figure out a good way to set up an experiment.


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## 55105

I'm not an expert by any stretch but here's my uncommon knowledge

Coconut coir is one of the best rooting mediums out there. It's cheap, easy to store and easily accessible. It naturally holds the perfect amount of moisture and has natural rooting hormones and anitfungal and antibacterial properties  it's made from a giant seed!

I've experimented with adding very diluted hydroponic nutrients in my vivarium reservoirs with great success. This obviously only applies to plants that have rooted into the reservoir and needs to be used carefully and sparingly!

You can get an RO filter for $70 on Amazon that can be attached to almost any standard kitchen or bathroom faucet. I'm super happy with mine and I believe the filters don't need to replacement until 500 gallons. So either way I save a lot of money and hassle of buying and hauling water.

Awesome thread! I'll add more later!


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## Encyclia

cam1941 said:


> Thanks Mark, this is definitely a fun topic for me personally, glad you think so too... To answer your question, the plant is def actively growing in the water and spreading. The question I guess is maybe it needs to be acclimated?
> 
> Not sure but I did some digging online and it seems it is used in the planted tank world but in the refugium to remove nitrates, much like pothos. So I would think that the transition is easy.
> 
> Yeah that Marcg is expensive and I didn't mean to go buy some for an experiment, I just meant if you had some at the top of a tank already.
> 
> If you can try it would be awesome but I definitely don't know for sure its just I found that that plant loves sitting in water as a cutting for some reason.
> 
> I'm going to see if I can give it a try, I think I have some growing along the top of my set ups. I just don't have a fish tank  will have to figure out a good way to set up an experiment.


I'll do it, Cam. I have some around and a planted tank already set up. My results will be high light and CO2 injected, but it will be pretty definitive 

Mark


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## cam1941

port_plz said:


> I'm not an expert by any stretch but here's my uncommon knowledge
> 
> Coconut coir is one of the best rooting mediums out there. It's cheap, easy to store and easily accessible. It naturally holds the perfect amount of moisture and has natural rooting hormones and anitfungal and antibacterial properties  it's made from a giant seed!
> 
> I've experimented with adding very diluted hydroponic nutrients in my vivarium reservoirs with great success. This obviously only applies to plants that have rooted into the reservoir and needs to be used carefully and sparingly!
> 
> You can get an RO filter for $70 on Amazon that can be attached to almost any standard kitchen or bathroom faucet. I'm super happy with mine and I believe the filters don't need to replacement until 500 gallons. So either way I save a lot of money and hassle of buying and hauling water.
> 
> Awesome thread! I'll add more later!


Thanks man, no expertise required, just real and honest results. 

Thanks for the contributions…




Encyclia said:


> I'll do it, Cam. I have some around and a planted tank already set up. My results will be high light and CO2 injected, but it will be pretty definitive
> 
> Mark


Very cool Mark! Looking forward to the results… I did some internet research, for what thats worth lol and found some interesting info on marcgravia sintenisii.

Distribution: In moist and wet forests at upper elevations. These wetlands are prone to flooding.

Indicator Code - OBL
Indicator Status - Obligate Wetland
Designation - Hydrophyte
Comment - Almost always occur in wetlands

Hydrophyte. (hī'drə-fīt') A plant that grows wholly or partly submerged in water. Because they have less need to conserve water, hydrophytes often have a reduced cuticle and fewer stomata than other plants.


All that said above, ahhh man, the pressure is on lol I really hope it works out! I’m going to feel bad if it doesn’t. I think its worth the risk though, such a cool plant. Good luck and keep us posted!

Also, I found this post on ThePlantedTank.net that you may find interesting. Its a list of all the plants they’ve grown in their tanks.

“HiddenWalrus - I’ve grown pothos, philodendron, lucky bamboo draceana, purple waffle plant, sweet potato vine, creeping fig, and spider plant succesfully out of my aquariums. I attach the plants to the side with plastic Christmas light clips, just pinning them on the edge so just the roots are submerged. HOB filters are good for planting single spider plants or peace lilies. Vines like pothos will root at every leaf node that touches the water while spider plants, purple waffle and most others will only grow roots from a single crown. Pothos and creeping jenny can be tossed willy-nilly into the tank to float (both will grow submerged too, rooted in the substrate) or attached with clips and grown out of the tank. Lucky bamboo usually has long enough stalks to plant in the gravel and still be tall enough for the leaves to be above water.

Syngonium, Peace lily, pothos, philodendron, lucky bamboo draceana, purple waffle plant, sweet potato vine, creeping fig, wanderng jew, purple heart, fittonia, purple passion vine, chinese evergreen, pepperomia, pilea dieffenbachia, and spider plant are all good choices, but beware dieffenbachia is quite poisonous. My favorite plant for aquarium use is pothos. “


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## Encyclia

The game is afoot.


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## cam1941

Encyclia said:


> The game is afoot.



Haha nice! That is one gorgeous space monkey...

I especially like the freestyle planting, its making my marcgravia OCD kick in, I'm counting leaves


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## Encyclia

cam1941 said:


> Haha nice! That is one gorgeous space monkey...
> 
> I especially like the freestyle planting, its making my marcgravia OCD kick in, I'm counting leaves


Freestyle planting - I like that  I just let stuff grow. The riccia is invasive. Some got stuck down there and grows in with the baby tears. I need to start over in there... We shall see what becomes of the Marcgravia 

Mark


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## cam1941

Here's to hoping for the best  I was specifically talking about the marcgravia; how you didn't lean it on anything. If it does work, it will be really interesting to see how it grows and shingles with only water for support. Great idea! Excited to see the result...




Encyclia said:


> Freestyle planting - I like that  I just let stuff grow. The riccia is invasive. Some got stuck down there and grows in with the baby tears. I need to start over in there... We shall see what becomes of the Marcgravia
> 
> Mark


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## Encyclia

FYI, the Marcgravia didn't do well under water the way I tried it. It disintegrated about a week after going in the tank. This does not mean that it won't ever work under water, though. I didn't try to acclimate it slowly with just its feet wet or anything like that. It also may work great still in a semi-aquatic environment. Well, now I know one way not to do it. And no worries about losing the sintinesii - I still have plenty.

Mark


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## cam1941

Thanks for trying that experiment out Mark, very cool. That's a good idea, maybe it will give me an excuse to set up a new fish tank 

Let us know how the creeping fig works out for you.



Encyclia said:


> FYI, the Marcgravia didn't do well under water the way I tried it. It disintegrated about a week after going in the tank. This does not mean that it won't ever work under water, though. I didn't try to acclimate it slowly with just its feet wet or anything like that. It also may work great still in a semi-aquatic environment. Well, now I know one way not to do it. And no worries about losing the sintinesii - I still have plenty.
> 
> Mark


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## Caesin

A tip I've recently learned is to mount orchids using super glue. The thick gel formula, not the runny liquid. Just spread a dab of glue where you want your roots, and press them on. Use gloves! For moss, lay down some lines of glue over the roots, and press a handful of lightly damp sphagnum over the roots. Like covering a GS background in silicone and coir, a good bit of the sphag will fall off when its dry. Cyanoacrylic glues cure faster when exposed to water, so having the roots, mount and moss damp is no problem. I've found this useful as a quick, easy way to mount orchids without fussing with fishing line or the like, and it works well on rocks or terra-cotta for lithophytes! 

It's not a be all, end all technique, as you have to commit to placement, but if you glue to a separate mount and then attach that to the background with a wire hook, you can still tweak placement. Another use I've seen done, but not tested, was to turn a terra-cotta pot upside down and mount a cool-growing orchid, like a Sophronitis sp. or the like, on the outside. Then fill the pot with wet sphagnum, and the clay pot will wick moisture, evaporate, and cool the roots of the plant. This is most useful for plants that like it cool, but not constantly wet/damp.

Last but not least, cyanoacrylic glue is frog safe! It was developed to glue wounds together during one of the World Wars, and any reefers out there know it can be used to mount coral frags in established reef tanks (cures underwater, doesn't poison anything). Just don't get it on the frogs while it's still sticky .

Here's the video where I found this technique. His other videos are worth watching as well.
https://youtu.be/xriOo2VSewA


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## Dendro Dave

I don't think I've posted it in this thread but one thing I've found helpful for getting plants to survive in a viv is leaving them in their pots and placing them in the viv or vivarium like conditions for a few weeks or couple of months.

A lot of the plants we buy are greenhouse grown and they get more airflow and maybe light and I find that from greenhouse to viv is enough of a shock to kill some stuff if you don't let it acclimate before taking it out of it's pot especially in vivs without fans.

Begonia pavonina has been a real pain in my ass, and pretty much it only survivs if I do that acclimation process... of course it's hard to sterilize a plant if you don't setup some kinda fake vivarium to use just for acclimation and pests can infiltrate the viv... So far all my pavonina that survived transplant have fallen prey to slugs 

...But they did much better in the viv till the slugs got them!


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## Dendrobait

The best mounting tool I have found so far is aluminum wire. Won't rust...esp. anodized aluminum....and at finer gauges can be used even to tightly attach mini orchids to mounts.


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## cam1941

This isn’t a plant hack, as much as its a Mistking hack, so close enough 

I’ve always hated how Mistking tubes look when not secured in place. Most importantly, another problem is that if the tubes are not secured then they can make a lot of noise and create a ridiculous amount of vibration; even though the pumps run silently.

Mistking has those clips you can buy but they are not made to be secured to glass. I would always end up using masking tape to secure them to my tanks so that they would run silent. The only problem is that it looked really ugly.

So I finally found a solution that works great for me. Velcro makes these clips that can be stuck to glass that holds the tubes very securely so that they remain silent and best of all they look clean and designed.


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## Encyclia

cam1941 said:


> This isn’t a plant hack, as much as its a Mistking hack, so close enough
> 
> I’ve always hated how Mistking tubes look when not secured in place. Most importantly, another problem is that if the tubes are not secured then they can make a lot of noise and create a ridiculous amount of vibration; even though the pumps run silently.
> 
> Mistking has those clips you can buy but they are not made to be secured to glass. I would always end up using masking tape to secure them to my tanks so that they would run silent. The only problem is that it looked really ugly.
> 
> So I finally found a solution that works great for me. Velcro makes these clips that can be stuck to glass that holds the tubes very securely so that they remain silent and best of all they look clean and designed.


Great idea, cam! Too bad it would take me about 700 of them to bind up all the tubing in my Mist King system 

On a different topic, let's hear the story and see some more pictures of the light support/fan ventilation apparatus I can see in the last picture!

Mark


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## ChrisAZ

Let's see what the plants inside look like as well please.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## cam1941

Thanks Mark, its was born out of necessity... LoL you may have a frog problem  Its definitely not for a rack system or any situation utilizing one pump for many tanks. As you know you could use the Mistking clips for that or even those plastic ties.

This is a solution for larger stand alone tanks that have a dedicated Mistking system. In this situation you end up with the tubes hanging all over the glass with no way to secure them but tape.



That's a glass ventilation box that Chris Sherman made:

The fan pulls air up from the tank into the box and pushes it back into the tank on each side (2 inch opening on both sides of box). The box doesn't completely cover the entire vent (there's about an inch on either side as you can see in the pics) so what you end up with is a nice blend of both circulation and ventilation. 

Works great, I forget who Chris credits with the idea but he suggested it to me when I was telling him that I wanted to add a fan inside the tank. This looks much better than having fans stuck to the sides of the glass with suction cups IMO and is much safer as there is less chance of water spraying onto the fan.

Since the box almost covers the entire vent you almost completely control the air flow in the tank with the fan. Has been a great help in acclimating my aquarium plants and having my favorite liverwort really take off in this tank. 

I'm going to be starting a new thread on this tank soon as it is now home to a pair of Pumilio (Black Jeans) Such great frogs...




Encyclia said:


> Great idea, cam! Too bad it would take me about 700 of them to bind up all the tubing in my Mist King system
> 
> On a different topic, let's hear the story and see some more pictures of the light support/fan ventilation apparatus I can see in the last picture!
> 
> Mark


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## Ilya_Nech

cam1941 said:


> This isn’t a plant hack, as much as its a Mistking hack, so close enough
> 
> I’ve always hated how Mistking tubes look when not secured in place. Most importantly, another problem is that if the tubes are not secured then they can make a lot of noise and create a ridiculous amount of vibration; even though the pumps run silently.
> 
> Mistking has those clips you can buy but they are not made to be secured to glass. I would always end up using masking tape to secure them to my tanks so that they would run silent. The only problem is that it looked really ugly.
> 
> So I finally found a solution that works great for me. Velcro makes these clips that can be stuck to glass that holds the tubes very securely so that they remain silent and best of all they look clean and designed.




Can you show all the vivarium please?


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## cam1941

Saw this video recently and it looks like a good way to attach and train plants in a viv that is up and running. 

Its a variation on a clay backgrounds that lets you make fixes or upgrades after you've already finished your set up and don't want to risk your animals health.


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## cam1941

I've written this in a few different threads now as an answer to questions and realized this is definitely a useful plant hack that works great for many begonias.

I found that if I do not use this method the begonia is very likely to melt and disappear as they seem to have a hard time adapting to new environments with old foliage as opposed to starting a new from cuttings. 




cam1941 said:


> When it comes to begonias I have found that it is best to keep the original plant out of the set up and use it as a master plant. Then you take leaf cuttings and place them in a few different spots in your set up.
> 
> That way you have a better chance of getting a successful plant that is adapted to your set up specifically. Another great benefit is that you have unlimited chances at success. That is as long as you know how to take care of your master plant back up.
> 
> Also, I try to place them in places that get moderate moisture where the plant won't be able to bury roots in deep substrate (like an epiphyte). On a rock pile or near an area with shallow substrate for example. This has worked great for me, YMMV.


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## cam1941

This is one example of a begonia I planted using this method. I just placed two leaves (cuttings) between the two rocks… Took about a month to become a new plant. 

Make sure you have <where the stem meets the leaf> coming in contact with the growing surface.


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## ChrisAZ

cam1941 said:


> This is one example of a begonia I planted using this method. I just placed two leaves (cuttings) between the two rocks… Took about a month to become a new plant.
> 
> Make sure you have coming in contact with the growing surface.




I've started a lot of begonias from leaf cuttings set on top of moist New Zealand sphagnum moss. Just make sure that there isn't moisture on top of the leaf for too long as this can rot the leaf before it has a chance to become fully established.

That moss grow looks very nice in that picture! Is that something that just grew from existing spores or did you "plant" a certain variety moss yourself?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## cam1941

Its actually a liverwort. I got a small piece of it from someone on DB. 

I just cut it up mixed with water and painted it on with a brush. 

I also placed a tiny piece of it in another tank and it is now growing on every exposed surface that gets light and water. 

It is even growing on some of the older leaves of other plants.



ChrisAZ said:


> I've started a lot of begonias from leaf cuttings set on top of moist New Zealand sphagnum moss. Just make sure that there isn't moisture on top of the leaf for too long as this can rot the leaf before it has a chance to become fully established.
> 
> That moss grow looks very nice in that picture! Is that something that just grew from existing spores or did you "plant" a certain variety moss yourself?
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## cam1941

Just realized, in one of the pics I posted above for that MistKing hack… It can be seen (bottom right of the pic) how these plants were started from two leaves just sitting in between the rocks. This is a good visualization for anyone who wants to try this.



Keep in mind that in the above pic that the stems of each leaf are still attached and they, as well as the bottom of the leaves, are in close contact with the rocks. I hand misted that area under the leaves to get them going.


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## cam1941

Thanks for the inquiries but I'm unable to sell any of the liverwort pictured above at this time as I'm not currently cultivating it for that purpose. I only have it growing where I need it right now.

I may start cultivating it outside my tanks in the future so I can get it to those who want it but it would take some time. Thanks again for the interest.


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## cam1941

Repost of lost pics for Begonia hack: 





















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## cam1941

Repost of lost pics for Mistking hack:








































​


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## Noel Calvert

Natural_Tank said:


> -As counter-intuitive as it seems, the more plants that accumulate in a terrarium the less frequent that terrarium needs to be watered. Plants help hold the general humidity in a terrarium and with time, accumulation, and growth a terrarium will dry out far less often. This is just a factor that comes into play in promoting root health and preventing mold.
> 
> Hopefully someone finds this useful.


I love that you mention this, as it offers us a learning opportunity about the rainforests & cloud forests in general. You see these zones create the weather they have there by being warm all the time, & full of vegetation. It is like the plants know what they need, & collectively create it. 

This is one of the biggest problems with slash & burn deforestation. Not only are we stabbing ourselves in the foot as this region controls & processes the atmosphere of the whole planet, but cutting them down creates deserts where even the crops replacing them will not grow. 

So, your mini-climate epiphany shows you how the bigger picture actually works. 

Noel Calvert
Owner: GueCal Colombian Tropicals
Website: https://www.guecalcolombiantropicals.com
Location: Tumaco, Colombia


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## Noel Calvert

jarteta97 said:


> For bromeliads, instead of buying one of every type of bromeliad you know of, buy several from 1-3 species and cluster them together by species in their own distinct areas. You would find bromeliads growing more like this in the wild rather than a motley assortment spread about everywhere


From someone who lives in Colombia, & sees these plants in situ, so true... I know of a tunnel of trees along the main road to Ipiales from Tumaco that has 1 type of bromeliads almost exclusively populating every free space... This is a couple of miles of natural tree canopy that is like this.

Such a beautiful place.

Noel Calvert

Owner: GueCal Colombian Tropicals
Website: https://www.guecalcolombiantropicals.com
Location: Tumaco, Colombia


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## Noel Calvert

cam1941 said:


> The best fertilizer is time and patience...
> 
> Almost all of the mistakes I made doing anything in this hobby involved me being impatient when it came to seeing results.
> 
> Whether it came to choosing plants that would be easier to get, to start rushing a build because I couldn't wait to see it finished.
> 
> Most plants are best left alone and forgotten about. These are the plants that will thrive and the ones you won't leave alone will be the ones that won't.



Begonias are a perfect example of this... Put them in a place where they will stay cool, moist, & not receive direct spray on the leaves (for the most part) & forget them... If you mess with them, you come back to melted plants... At least this has been my experience.

Noel Calvert

Owner: GueCal Colombian Tropicals
Website: https://www.guecalcolombiantropicals.com
Location: Tumaco, Colombia


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## Noel Calvert

Judy S said:


> would hope that some of the plant sellers would pick up on this thread....


Yep, sure did... 

Responding to what I know to be true, & trying to share my own tips as well.

My Colombia based tropical foliage nursery has finally received export permits, so come on by & check out my stock...We are literally the only legal store of this kind in Colombia. 

Noel Calvert

Owner: GueCal Colombian Tropicals
Website: https://www.guecalcolombiantropicals.com
Location: Tumaco, Colombia


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## Vertigo

This is mostly experience rather than hacks but here's what I've got from thirteen years of orchid growing and two years of vivarium growing.

Selaginella cuttings are notoriously hard to root for me in the vivarium but I have always found the sphagnum in a plastic bag method to work perfectly. Just stick a cutting into sphagnum in a plastic bag and plant once the fern takes root. S. kraussiana does fine in medium lighting and will even grow under low lighting (just a bit lankier).

Pepperomia prostrata will grow rapidly under high lighting but will also lose most of its gorgeous veining pattern for a bright green. Keep this in mind when designing your planting scheme.

Speaking of which, contrasting colors will really catch attention. Use combinations of super dark or colored foliage plants along with bright green climbers or moss to create a striking focal point. My favorite combo is red crypanthus surrounded by moss. Although almost everyone will say that they do best terrestrially, they grow just as well as epiphytes with enough sphagnum moss or if wedged into an moist area.

Most pleurothallid orchids, especially Porroglossum and Lepanthes, perform much better in higher than their recommended lighting. Purple leaf edge tints are always a good sign but if the whole upper side of the leaves goes purple (with the exception of Lepanthes gargoyla and saltatrix) or if leaves start dropping, its time to relocate the little guy to a shadier area. Unobstructed light from one 13 watt LED screw in bulb that many vendors now sell is perfect even if the orchids are sitting at the bottom of an 18" tall tank.

For those of you with L. calodictyon, brighter lighting will turn the veins a bit more purple while turning the overall leaf a brighter green. For those of you struggling with L. calodictyon, I highly suggest hunting down its hybrid with L. tentaculata. The leaves are almost identical and you get a plant that will grow quickly and bloom nonstop due to hybrid vigor. Trust me, its worth looking into.


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