# Potted Tanks



## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

If you're new to the "tank keeping" hobby and you want to give yourself a little better chance for success with aquatic plants, try a potted tank. I got some small, plastic pots, some organic potting mixture, some aquarium pea gravel and some average light aquatic plants to see if I could grow anything in low light, low tech conditions.

A little gravel in the pot bottom, then some potting mixture, put in the plant and cover everything with a little more pea gravel.

Do a large water change and before you replace the water, ease the pot into the tank and let it fill with water. Then position the pot in the tank. You can stack pots to get plants closer to the light if needed. Then replace the water.

The potting mixture feeds the plants for several months. The tank isn't the prettiest, but the plants grow relatively well.

Just a thought, in case you're board with the regular planted tank.

B


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Great idea. I'm personally a fan of having a bottom layer of dirt in my tanks, then capping with with gravel. It's pretty much the same thing, except on the whole tank. If you rise the dirt to get rid of floaty stuff first, then are careful about adding the dirt, gravel, and water, there isn't any more cloudiness than any other just-filled tank. 

Either way, both will make growing plants a lot easier!


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

Do the pots eventually restrict the growth of the plant's roots?


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## Kev1jm2 (Oct 18, 2011)

Summer said:


> Do the pots eventually restrict the growth of the plant's roots?


Yes, I would say so. 


What do you have stocked in this tank? It looks like you have a whole lot going on. It's a pretty cool looking alternative to the standard planted tank.


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

Summer said:


> Do the pots eventually restrict the growth of the plant's roots?


Hello S...

Some Crypts and other plants with thicker root systems will get "root bound" in the pots. The pots I use have holes in the bottom and the roots grow through the holes. I have several plants in that condition and as near as I can tell, the plants remain healthy.

My aquatic plants don't live indefinitely. Most live for a couple of years and then die back for several months. After a while, I notice some new growth. For the most, part, I periodically remove older plants and trim and replant or just replace them.

I like the pots. It makes it very easy to move them during cleaning or if a particular plant isn't doing well, I can move it to take better advantage of the light. I also keep a lot of floating plants and sometimes those over grow and shade the lower plants. If they're potted, I can easily move them to an area with more light.

B


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