# My First Emersed Setup



## 5318008 (Dec 11, 2010)

Hello,

Just wanted to share some pics of my first, and currently only, emersed setup. It's an all Cryptocoryne setup but I'm thinking making some space for anubias and ferns. Crypts anyone?

I started off with Flourite as the substrate but the growth really took off after I switched to dirt.

Some details: 
Lighting: 15w T8
Substrate: Peat moss, Compost, Sand
Humidity: ~100%
Fertilizer: NPK + Flourish + Flourish Iron
Watered once a week, with ferts added in the watering can
Flora: C. Wendtii Green, C. Wendtii Tropica, C. Parva, 4 other crypts , Ludwigia Repens x Arcuata, Java Moss

And some pics:




























Love the shine and details on the leaves: 









The only non-Crypt inside - Ludwigia Repens x Arcuata aka L.Repens Narrow Leaf. Unfortunately, it seems to be struggling under the low light, its growth is even slower than the crypts 









Some other crypts. It'll be great if I can get some help IDing them :




























Thanks for looking! 
Comments and advices are most welcome


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Wow I just love the Crypts...


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

That is just amazing. I've always wanted a grow out like that...currently have some ug growing emersed


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## Brian (Mar 14, 2006)

That looks slick man!


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## 5318008 (Dec 11, 2010)

Ciddian said:


> Wow I just love the Crypts...





Brian said:


> That looks slick man!


Thanks! Love them too.



Beijing08 said:


> That is just amazing. I've always wanted a grow out like that...currently have some ug growing emersed


Thanks! I so want to grow ug emersed as well for the flowers. Too bad they need higher lighting. How do you grow yours?


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

yupp, love the purply flowers..but they haven't flowered for me yet lol. 
well they're in pots with soil and has natural sunlight (no additional light). 
such slow growth outside of water...or it might be because I never fertilize them.


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

they grow so nice man, how did you do that? please share it to us


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## 5318008 (Dec 11, 2010)

Beijing08 said:


> yupp, love the purply flowers..but they haven't flowered for me yet lol.
> well they're in pots with soil and has natural sunlight (no additional light).
> such slow growth outside of water...or it might be because I never fertilize them.


Cool! I gotta try them someday. Doyou grow them at room humidity?



camboy012406 said:


> they grow so nice man, how did you do that? please share it to us


Thanks! Sure thing.

I wanted to create a set up that is as low maintenance as possible so I ditched adding water in the container; something common in most of the setups I see online.

The plants are grown in a plastic container I got from Walmart and covered with a clear plastic bag to keep the humidity high inside. I read that they do best at 80%+ humidity but to keep it as low maintenance as possible, I just covered the container completely (100% humidity). Also, I used to spray the leaves with water but after a while I realized that it makes no difference. In fact, spraying water created large droplets on the leaves, and the plants couldn't support the extra weight. The spraying also caused the leaves to stick to each other.

Weekly maintenance is pretty much just watering and fertilizing by adding the ferts in the watering can. I noticed that the new leaves are much browner after I started dosing Iron. Dosage is pretty much a rough estimate and the crypts do melt a bit if I fertilize too much. I usually add until the water has a slight brown tint to it. Crypts seem prefer smaller more frequent dosages.

The setup is 5 months old and things are getting a little too crowded inside. Many new leaves are deformed because they don't have enough space to grow. Right now, I get about 1 leave per week from each plant.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

they're in a covered tank which I spray once a day.

see the attachment~~ it's a picture of the current growth state 
the extra pot on the side is Eleocharis Belem (Japan)
I'm expecting to see some flowers from my UG sooner or later. maybe I should start dosing 

p.s. was gonna post some pictures of the flowering UG when they actually bloom, but your post got me too excited lol had to spoil the surprise


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## balutpenoy2oy (Feb 17, 2011)

5318008 said:


> Hello,
> 
> Just wanted to share some pics of my first, and currently only, emersed setup. It's an all Cryptocoryne setup but I'm thinking making some space for anubias and ferns. Crypts anyone?
> 
> ...


Superior , superb what else can i say


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## 5318008 (Dec 11, 2010)

Beijing08 said:


> they're in a covered tank which I spray once a day.
> 
> see the attachment~~ it's a picture of the current growth state
> the extra pot on the side is Eleocharis Belem (Japan)
> ...


Love the UG. Looking great. So want to get hold of some someday


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

5318008 said:


> Love the UG. Looking great. So want to get hold of some someday


frick, i overdosed on NPK; ug melted all gone LMAO!

No tank for it anyway...
will grab some for my nano tank in the near future


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## 5318008 (Dec 11, 2010)

*Continuing on...*

Nothing much has happened so far with the crypts. Damn the slow growers 

So........... 
I decided to set up another container with faster growing plants and higher lighting to store my miscellaneous plants from previous scapes. The lighting this time is 2x T5 HO and the substrate is regular potting soil with extra vermiculite to accommodate the quicker growth.

Unfortunately, it contained 'compost' which I thought at first referred to the dried leaves and twigs inside but my whole setup now smells like *faeces* . Horrible horrible smell. Animal poo, presumably from humans , is decomposing inside cuz of the high humidity & releasing a really bad stench. Oh well.

Some plants seem to adapt quicker than others to emersed conditions. All the Rotalas seem to be struggling at the moment. Some pics of the plants after a couple of days emersed:

Water Sprite:

















Ludwigia Repens var. Narrow Leaf









Rotala Sp. 









Rotala Wallichii









Rotala Sp. Najenshan









Rotala Sp. 









Water Wisteria 









Hope you guys enjoyed the post.


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## 5318008 (Dec 11, 2010)

Beijing08 said:


> frick, i overdosed on NPK; ug melted all gone LMAO!
> 
> No tank for it anyway...
> will grab some for my nano tank in the near future


LOL Ouch. Did you accidentally pour the whole bucket of ferts inside and burried it? 
Seems like a pretty sensitive plant. I've had creep melts from overdosing but never to that extend.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

yup it is sensitive to direct contact with fertilizers.

your new emersed setup look amazing, except for a couple of the rotalas..


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

great growth... good job!


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## 5318008 (Dec 11, 2010)

Quick pictorial update. Ludwidgia and Wisteria coming along nicely. Slow growth from the rotala but glad to see that the plants did not die off. Hopefully growth will pick up speed after the first few emersed leaves.























































Don't quite understand why the Rotala Sp Nanjenshan leaves look more like the submersed version than the emersed version. Maybe the humidity is too high that the plant got confused thinking it's still underwater


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## 5318008 (Dec 11, 2010)

A full 'tank' shot while cleaning:


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