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Sunlit emersed tub? Best direction for most sunlight?

4K views 25 replies 4 participants last post by  SusanTheSnail 
#1 ·
I was reading a thread on here about emersed tubs, and I was planning on making one for crypts before hand and I was thinking that it looked cool and I wanted to do it for even more plants. What kind of direction should the window be that I put the tub in. I want to put it outdoors but that seems risky.
 
#2 · (Edited)
I recommend placing the tubs in an area that receives early morning and late afternoon sunlight only, for plants like crypts, anubias, amazon swords, etc. You want to put others like bucephalandra, piptopspatha, etc.in indirect sunlight and in cooler areas


For stem plants, it would not be a problem. You can make a large emersed bush when you plant them in open, non draining containers but is limited on tubs, though protects them from pests. Generally for me my stem plants grow under bright direct sunlight without wilting or any problem. Just make sure you water them in the morning about 1/4 of the tub or container.

If you tubs are closed try drilling a 2 inch wide hole, that would be enough to provide air circulation so your plants wont be cooked alive
 
#10 ·
I recommend placing the tubs in an area that receives early morning and late afternoon sunlight only, for plants like crypts, anubias, amazon swords, etc. You want to put others like bucephalandra, piptopspatha, etc.in indirect sunlight and in cooler areas


For stem plants, it would not be a problem.
Even out of direct sunlight, shade loving plants such as anubias can get burnt on immersed growth if the air is not humid. I can see brown edges on your anubias. The immersed leaves of my anubias grown indoor never look as lush as the submerged leaves. Shade loving plants are best grown in bright shade and partially covered to retain high air humidity.
 
#6 ·
You can grow them in pots and the pots submersed in a reservoir that can last you for a week but with the cost of frequent replacing of stems to make the bunch healthy and for rhizome plants that give runners (some dont like lagenandra) will limit your plants freedom (also the same with stems) though will not affect its productivity.

You can try taking a tub and putting it over a larger tub with the smaller one with holes. You can take advantage of this technique for rhizome plants.
 
#8 · (Edited)
This is what I’m trying to do (there will be dirt in the small cups View attachment 73363
That would be nice if you are busy. Anyway, how large are the pots? Usually if you just plan on establishing a small emergent culture then small pots would be. If you plan on using dirt, try mixing in some sand to make the diffusion easier and faster. Also try adding some marble chips to the soil to increase its Cation Exchange capacity
 
#9 ·
73367

Here is a 1 year old Ludwigia brevipes. They dont wilt even if its extremely hot.
73368

Here are 4 diff species of hygrophila.

You can scroll back up and see my anubias that i posted that might look like what you plan Except you'll use soil rather than lava rocks. You can also grow floaters if there are enough gaps and lights between the pots. What plwnts do you intend to grow emersed anyway?
73369
 
#13 ·
Beautiful plants. Do the plants seriously care about temp? I am planning on transitioning in a very humid area then in the summer placing them in sun. By a covered container do you mean like a frosted plastic container or like a opaque container
 
#25 ·
You want to manage the Temperature the plant receives. My place's humidity doesnt fall below 65% even at the peak of summer, and is hot (33-36°C) the plants just manage to grow out pretty easily . For the transitioning part you can try the high humidity setup to full sun (used this for my S. subulata,Crypts, etc...) or try planting them in your ambient humidity, in the shade, slowly increasing the exposure-you may just want to do it slowly, maybe if you have enough units to not decimate your stock and also since we have different growing conditions, maybe my way won't apply the same to you.
 
#15 ·
Temperature, light, CO2, nutrients influence plant growth rate. Clear covers are best to let light in. You have to worry about too high a temperature in the summer in a covered environment. 95F+ would be too much I think. Ventilation & frosted covers would be good in this case.
 
#26 ·
As mistergreen mentioned, Light, Temp, CO2 and other factors will influence the growth. Probably since bacopa is a weed here in my place, it grows fast. I find my bacopa to grow healthily in very rich substrate. I can only estimate maybe around 1 or more months. You can assist the plant by pruning it to make it grow more side shoots.
 
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