# 38 G Terraphyte Tank



## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

Hello AF...

Here are pics of my latest attempt at a maintenance free tank. Well, almost maintenance free. It's a 38 G with minimal filtration and weekly water changes of 2 gallons, just to service the filters.

Emersed plants are Aglaonema and Nephthytis. The plant roots are submerged to take in the dissolved nitrogens from the fish waste, so the water chemistry remains stable. The leaves are above the water to take in room light (ambient) and CO2. Substantial growth for what are naturally slow growing plants.

A balanced tank between fish and plants.

B


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

Im sorry but i dont think that setup is attractive in any way..if i wanted potted plants, i would go to the store and buy plant hangers. maybe if the plants were in the substrate and not pots, it would look better. I strive for a great looking aquarium that adds to the decor of my home. i cant see that working with any decor., but its your systems and if you like it thats all that matters.

Rick


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

whitetiger61 said:


> Im sorry but i dont think that setup is attractive in any way..if i wanted potted plants, i would go to the store and buy plant hangers. maybe if the plants were in the substrate and not pots, it would look better. I strive for a great looking aquarium that adds to the decor of my home. i cant see that working with any decor., but its your systems and if you like it thats all that matters.
> 
> Rick


Hello Rick...

Thanks. I appreciate your comment. I've had the standard tanks for several years and frankly, they got boring. I was doing the same routine every week and stared at the same thing all the time and so I decided to experiment with some of my tanks. This one is really interesting to see how emersing the root ball of certain land plants will keep the water pure for the fish. It also gets some more plants into my house. 

I've learned a lot about freshwater tanks in the years I've been in the hobby and now I'm taking my tanks in another direction learning about biotopes and hydroponics.

The idea is to never stop learning.

Thanks again for the comment. Pro or con, I welcome all of them.

B


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## Brian757 (Sep 24, 2012)

I love your tank(s)! It strays from the typical! Its like the freshwater version of saltwater stands for frags:









I love freshwater plants and more power to you for being able to keep them alive and obviously thriving! If you ever get TOO full of plants, I would love to take some off your hands 
Keep up the aquatic green thumb!


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

Hello Bri...

Thanks for the post. The plants are easy to keep. I get them at my local grocery store in the floral department. The Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen), any variety work the best, but there are others like Peace lily, Impatiens, Nephthytis, Pothos and Philodendron. These are all inexpensive.

Thanks again,

B


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## Brian757 (Sep 24, 2012)

Your welcome. I say you go out to Home Depot, get some potting soil, get pea gravel and completely empty your tank. Lay out the soil, wet it down, then lay out your pea gravel. Take all plants out of their pots and then plant them! That would look awesome! They would also not be restricted to rooting inside of a pot, they would be able to branch out.


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

Brian757 said:


> Your welcome. I say you go out to Home Depot, get some potting soil, get pea gravel and completely empty your tank. Lay out the soil, wet it down, then lay out your pea gravel. Take all plants out of their pots and then plant them! That would look awesome! They would also not be restricted to rooting inside of a pot, they would be able to branch out.


Hello again..

I like that idea. It's different than the one I'm working on. Actually, the pots have Miracle Gro organic potting soil in them. It's covered by the pea-sized tank gravel.

The pots have holes in the bottom, so the plant roots, by now, have grown into the gravel on the bottom of the tank. The plants in the small pots are low light, so they grow very slowly. The emersed plants above grow pretty quickly. All I have is a 20 watt, T12 for the aquatic plants and a 60 watt eco bulb for the land plants.

I have several larger tanks and all have a wooden frame with plastic netting to hold the land plants in place. The tanks have been running for several years, but the land plants were added this summer.

No serious water changes are needed and the water chemistry remains stable. I just replace water lost to evaporation and add a little liquid fert when I top off the tanks.

Your interest is appreciated.

B


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