A simple and effective tip for your plant jar

[Beastie]

I'm back with another question. I've been thinking about my tanks a lot lately, and I've decided to set up a new low-tech, no-tech tank using a glass cylinder that I have. It'll be replacing my two 3l jars with leftover plants. This cylinder will sit on a windowsill, with no additional light or heater. My current no-heater tanks with lids are at 22°C, while my no-lid jar is at 19°C, so I expect similar temperatures for this cylinder. The limited temperature and light will restrict plant growth, but I'll see how it goes. The sun hits my current jar for a few hours in the afternoon.

The cylinder's dimensions are quite unique - the base is around 20cm, but the height is 40cm. It could hold 50l, but I won't be using that much water. My plan is to move my leftover plants, grow some, and maybe even transfer some shrimps from my filtered tank if I have too many. I'm basically just upgrading from my jars, which don't look that great.

I wanted to use the Walstad method, but I don't have any plants with root substrates yet. I do have some leftover plants like limnobium, egeria densa, hornwort, anubias, cladophora, riccia, and duckweed. I might be able to swap for some Sagittaria subulata and Bacopa monnieri in the next two weeks.

Here's my question: should I set up the substrate according to the Walstad method now, even though I don't have any plants to root in it yet? I could add my leftover plants and then plant the new ones when I get them. Or should I just set it up without substrate for now and redo everything in two weeks with maybe some old water?

[kingrise]

I'm back with another question. I've been thinking about my tanks a lot lately, and I've decided to set up a new low-tech, no-tech tank using a glass cylinder that I have. It'll be replacing my two 3l jars with leftover plants. This cylinder will sit on a windowsill, with no additional light or heater. My current no-heater tanks with lids are at 22°C, while my no-lid jar is at 19°C, so I expect similar temperatures for this cylinder. The limited temperature and light will restrict plant growth, but I'll see how it goes. The sun hits my current jar for a few hours in the afternoon.

The cylinder's dimensions are quite unique - the base is around 20cm, but the height is 40cm. It could hold 50l, but I won't be using that much water. My plan is to move my leftover plants, grow some, and maybe even transfer some shrimps from my filtered tank if I have too many. I'm basically just upgrading from my jars, which don't look that great.

I wanted to use the Walstad method, but I don't have any plants with root substrates yet. I do have some leftover plants like limnobium, egeria densa, hornwort, anubias, cladophora, riccia, and duckweed. I might be able to swap for some Sagittaria subulata and Bacopa monnieri in the next two weeks.

Here's my question: should I set up the substrate according to the Walstad method now, even though I don't have any plants to root in it yet? I could add my leftover plants and then plant the new ones when I get them. Or should I just set it up without substrate for now and redo everything in two weeks with maybe some old water?

I think setting up the substrate according to the Walstad method right away would be the best approach. This way, the plants you currently have, even though they're not rooting plants, will have some time to settle in and adjust to their new environment. I'm assuming the vase only gets a few hours of direct sunlight each day, similar to your current jar, since you mentioned it gets hit by the sun in the afternoon.

[morvane]

I completely agree, setting up the substrate now will give the current plants time to settle. If I were to start from scratch, I'd probably go with Seachem Plant and Shrimp substrate, it seems like a hassle-free option that would promote healthy growth and happy inhabitants.

[Beastie]

I'm back with another question. I've been thinking about my tanks a lot lately, and I've decided to set up a new low-tech, no-tech tank using a glass cylinder that I have. It'll be replacing my two 3l jars with leftover plants. This cylinder will sit on a windowsill, with no additional light or heater. My current no-heater tanks with lids are at 22°C, while my no-lid jar is at 19°C, so I expect similar temperatures for this cylinder. The limited temperature and light will restrict plant growth, but I'll see how it goes. The sun hits my current jar for a few hours in the afternoon.

The cylinder's dimensions are quite unique - the base is around 20cm, but the height is 40cm. It could hold 50l, but I won't be using that much water. My plan is to move my leftover plants, grow some, and maybe even transfer some shrimps from my filtered tank if I have too many. I'm basically just upgrading from my jars, which don't look that great.

I wanted to use the Walstad method, but I don't have any plants with root substrates yet. I do have some leftover plants like limnobium, egeria densa, hornwort, anubias, cladophora, riccia, and duckweed. I might be able to swap for some Sagittaria subulata and Bacopa monnieri in the next two weeks.

Here's my question: should I set up the substrate according to the Walstad method now, even though I don't have any plants to root in it yet? I could add my leftover plants and then plant the new ones when I get them. Or should I just set it up without substrate for now and redo everything in two weeks with maybe some old water?

I think setting up the substrate according to the Walstad method right away would be the best approach. This way, the plants you currently have, even though they're not rooting plants, will have some time to settle in and adjust to their new environment. I'm assuming the vase only gets a few hours of direct sunlight each day, similar to your current jar, since you mentioned it gets hit by the sun in the afternoon.

Direct sunlight for a few hours, yes. Daylight for most of the day, given its spot by the window. I'll set it up as you've suggested then. The cylinder's not as spacious as I thought it'd be, so I'll have to work with the space I have. Thanks for the advice.