# Ripariums



## hydrophyte

Hi all, I am a new member. I have few cichlids, but I spend most of time with planted tanks.

I have several planted ripariums, which are aquariums filled part of the way with water, with air space above for emersed plants. These look a lot like a similar idea, _paludariums_, which are sort of like a terrarium/aquarium hybrid, but they don't have any real land area. The above-water part is rendered instead just with plant foliage.

This is a 120-gallon setup that I stocked with Mexican poecilid and goodeid livebearers. You can't see them in this shot, but there are a couple-dozen fish in there.










Just last week I put together a new setup that also includes riparium plants along with an _Archocentrus_ and a group of _Synodontis petricola_ (not the best biotope representation, I know). It is coming together pretty well.


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## cjacob316

great looking setups :thumb:


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## hydrophyte

Thanks!

Here is another one. This is in a 55-gallon tank. It is mostly a plant dsplay, although there are a few barbs in there. The plants include crypts and _Anubias_. Click the picture for a larger view.


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## sim_plic_i_ty

Beautiful tanks


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## Comic Sans

Gorgeous.


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## hydrophyte

Thanks again. Here is one that I just tore down, to make room for that new 50-gallon setup shown above. This one was in a 65-gallon tank, filled mostly with air and emersed plants.










There were a number of real nice plants in there too. I had some apistos and various other stuff in there.


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## mlancaster

I have always enjoyed looking at pictures of Ripariums. yours look great; particularly the first two.

What are some of the challenges your come across setting up and maintaining a riparium?

Welcome to the forum and nice work.

Thanks,
Matt


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## scrubjay

Those are beautiful! What do you use as substrate? It looks like such a thin layer in your tanks. I bet your fish really love it in there.


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## hydrophyte

mslancaster said:


> I have always enjoyed looking at pictures of Ripariums. yours look great; particularly the first two.
> 
> What are some of the challenges your come across setting up and maintaining a riparium?
> 
> Welcome to the forum and nice work.
> 
> Thanks,
> Matt


Thanks so much.

I think that ripariums are generally easier to keep than regular planted tanks. You don't have to worry about adding extra CO2 and there also tends to be less trouble with algae. The floating and hanging planters are all modular and easily moved about.

One kind of problem that I have run into from time to time is damage from insect pests, but these can be managed. I have been able to kill off bugs by just dunking the plants in water overnight.

For most of these riparium setups I have placed more emphasis on the plant life, and genreally only used common low-key community fish such as tetras. However, I am looking into incorporating the riparium plants into tanks that have fish as a stronger central theme. That was my idea for that 50-gallon with cichlids and _Synodontis_ cats.


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## tankhead

This is a much more complete set up than most of us have. It is very nice. You could also consider some South American Cichlids? I think your 1st step should be to check your water conditions and then see which fish are suited for those conditions. This will make fish care much easier.


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## hydrophyte

Thanks! I have looked at some South America cichlids and there are so many great possibilities, but right now I already have too many tanks and fish. So I won't be getting any more new ones anytime real soon.

Some of my favorite plants for this are _Echinodorus_ swords and there are a number of other good possibilities among South American plants, so one could put together a nice biotope for cichlids from that area.


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## hydrophyte

...here's a little plantlet and bloom from the large _E. cordifolius_ that I had going in that 65-gallon setup.


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## hydrophyte

scrubjay said:


> Those are beautiful! What do you use as substrate? It looks like such a thin layer in your tanks. I bet your fish really love it in there.


Do you mean the stuff in the bottom? The material in the 65 and in the 55 is a mixture of pool filter sand and a light-colored gravel that I found. Here are some of the river stoes that I like to incorporate too.










It is easy to arrange these rocks in a pretty nice design, and when they grow algae on one side I can just roll them over to expose the clean underside.

The gravel in the riparium planters is a "kitty litter" type fired clay gravel. It is handy because it has a good texture for rooting, and because the clay holds nutrients for the plant roots. Here is a shot of some in a planter cup along with some hydroton clay pellets (in the bottom) and a thin layer of soil (the dark lens of material), which serves as a slow-release fertilizer source.


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## aspen

i've always liked this idea, but i am not a fan of the constant evaporation into the room that an open tank has. do you have a way to control this? humidity is always a problem inside in the toronto climate.

your tanks are real nice.

rick


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## hydrophyte

This setup has a closed top so that humidity can be maintained high for the crypts and Anubias inside. There is very little evaporation.










This is one of my favorite tanks that I have kept. There are a lot of nice plants in there.


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## aspen

i have found that closing my fishtanks with a lowered water level has sometimes caused them to go 'sour' if you know what i mean. have you had this happen to you?

in the past when this has happened i've found that a complete fill and a light dose of potassium permanganate with air bubbling has sorted everything out. all plants and fish will be fine, i'd remove any filtration first.

i have seen some very nice effects with the roots growing under the water like a mangrove with plants on top. this would make an excellent discus breeding biotope tank, or for any of the many species that use these places to breed.

rick


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## hydrophyte

Do you mean that the underwater area goes sour? So long as you have good water circulation and filtration and so long as the setup is not overstocked for the total volume of water that is actually in there you shouldn't have that kind of trouble.


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## hydrophyte

Here's another riparium setup that I had going for a while in a 20-gallon. This is the view in form the top.










And a close-up.










I had originally just put that together as a bunch of plants for growout, but they actually turned into a nice little arrangement.

Here's another earlier view of that tank, with somewhat different plants in it.


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## newbiechick

Stunning tanks....do you have a journal showing a step by step set-up?


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## hydrophyte

Thanks very much. I do have journals for a few of these setups, although none are as comprehensive as I would like. This link goes to the journal that I have for that 50-gallon setup over on another site.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t.../96449-catfish-riparium-50-gallon-tank-2.html


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## a7oneal

Ok... so, I'm personally saving this on my computer as a favorite.

For those that don't know, the riparian zone refers to the margin along a river's edge where the water and the land meet. "Riparium" refers to the tank resembling that, I assume.

I had done some research a couple of years ago on Anubias (I was able to get it to flower submerged), specifically, because of the Horticulture group in the local club... this was definitely on my list of things to try. Additionally, I wanted to try something with some brackish fish in this way, though I'm not sure if it would qualify as a riparium in the strictest sense.

Thanks for sharing!


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## hydrophyte

Anubias are some of my favorite plants for this, and using them in a riparium can create a real authentic West Africa riverbank biotope. They seem to require high humidity to grow as emersed plants, so I keep them in tank that are covered or mostly covered.

Here is an _A. barteri_ that grew into a real nice specimen for me on a Trellis Raft.










It grew these waxy, robust leaves...










...and it has also bloomed for me once too.


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## NetStalker

Maybe you have perfect water, but how do you keep the evaporation line/hardwater line from occuring. I cant imagine the annoyance I would go thru looking at the evap line halfway down the tank with my water.

Drives me nuts on the two aquariums I have now...and they are at the top... :roll:


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## hydrophyte

The water in most of my tanks is 1/2 RO + 1/2 conditioned tap. It is moderately hard and does form chalk lines and water spots on glass. However, the chalk line is easy to manage. If cleaned off routinely it never builds up very thick and comes off easy. I use an old plastic phone card to scrape it off each time that I do a water change, about twice per week. A little bit of white vinegar can be used to remove more stubborn deposits.

For a tank that is put together as a nice display for a living room or wherever one probably needs to attend to it a couple times a week anyway for minor touch-ups to keep it looking nice.


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## trackhazard

I just want to say that Devin has helped me a lot in building my riparium.

75 gal SA w/ Bolivian rams and glowlight tetras.

http://www.cichlidforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=195612



















-Charlie


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## hydrophyte

I really liked that setup of yours a lot. I might shoot for a mound-shaped foliage area in the emersed part of that 50-gallon that I am starting, and I also like that sense of movement from left to right in your layout.

I still have extra plants if you might ever try to put another new one together.


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## yogurtpooh

what do u use to keep the plants above the water like that?


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## hydrophyte

The plants are all held up there with the hanging and floating riparium planters. The magnet planters work very nice and I am working on replacing them with the suction cup mounts for some of the plants. Here is a magnet planter with a _Diffenbachia_ plant.










Here is a quick update from this tank.










Everything is growing pretty well. You can still see the trellis rafts there along the front edges of the bacopa and other carpeting palnts, but they will become covered as those plants grow in some more.


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## yogurtpooh

so do you use regular soil? 
do the roots actually touch the water inside the tank?
any links to exactly what you bought to hold the plants?


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## bulldogg7

Awesome plants, would be a great alternative for a tank with some of the digging fish you just can't keep plants with.
How do you hide the shower basket things?


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## hydrophyte

The media inside of the planter cups depends upon the kind of plants used. For most plants I use a fired clay gravel similar to Fluorite that works very well. It is also helpful to include a _small_ amount of regular topsoil buried in the planter gravel as a slow-release nutrient source--it's important that the topsoil not spill or wash into the aquarium because it has abundant nutrients and can trigger an algae bloom. Certain plants need more water diffusion and oxygen around their roots, and for those a more open medium such as Hydroton clay pellets is real good.

The trellis rafts support the plant growth which throws shade on the planter cups and hides them from view. The rafts also hold plants out in the mid-ground, which helps to develop the visual appeal of the planted layout. The picture below shows some bacopa rooted in the planter cup and growing out onto the trellis raft. You can see the raft and planter here because the plant growth is still thin, but as the stems grow they hide those pieces. It helps to trim the growing stem tips as they extend past the raft to encourage more bushy, branching foliage.










Here is a shot of another different raft design that is for plants that like to grow right on hard substrates, such as _Anubias_ sp. and the _Bolbitis_ fern shown with the floating piece.










These rafts also just snap right onto the planter cups.


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## hydrophyte

Hey I just posed a question with some detail about partial re-stocking of the 50-gallon tank over in the Lake Tanganyika Species sub-forum (http://cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=205999&sid=30f3ac9accce29217cd82895866ce8ec).

I'd be interested in any suggestions that might come to mind.


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## hydrophyte

I just put together a quick blog post on the _Dieffenbachia_ plant that I potted up for my 20-gallon. Here is the link to the post

http://hydrophytesblog.com/?p=1503

I haven't tried them before, but I imagine that _Dieffenbachia_ should grow well as riparium specimens. Down in Costa Rica I remember seeing them growing in swampy spots out in the rainforest, and I have seen other references describing them as growing along streambanks. This one has attractive leaves anyway. It would be good as a centerpiece plant in a riparium layout.










I think that this one is some kind of cultivar, but it didn't have any kind of label. It is going to grow larger than it is now. I hope that I will able to control its size by trimming the leaves. It also had a number of little offsets which I snipped off and will use to start new little plants.

Here is a picture of that tank again.










I don't have any cichlids in there right now, although I wonder about shuffling some things around and adding the pair of apistos that I have in another temporary setup.


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## hydrophyte

My 50-gallon setup is doing well. Here is a shot from the other night...










The carpeting plants are filling in nicely. This picture shows _Bacopa_ right after planting with the planter cup and raft.










I prune the growing tips as they extend past the edges fo the trellis rafts so that they will grow more bushy and cover the foam rafts. It also helps to pipette a few drops of KNO3 fertilizer solution into the planter to get these to cover more quickly. As they are not I don't really see the rafts unless I look closely. I suspect that these carpeting plants are good for biological filtration because they send many roots down into the water as they grow forward onto the rafts.

I have just one cichlid in here now, my male _Cryptoheros cutteri_.










I removed the pair of Honduran red point convicts--they were too rambunctious.


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## dantra

I said it before and I'll say it again... beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

Dan


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## hydrophyte

Thanks Dan! I really gotta try to get video of the 50-gallon setup. It took some trial and error, but I am really happy with the fish combination that I ended up with and they make a nice display.


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## hydrophyte

Here's what I ended up using for a shoaling fish--really they don't so much shoal as just wander around all day--a group of six _Ilyodon furcidens_.










I had asked around some in the Tanganyika sub-forum for suggestions and I am quite interested in _Cyprichromis_ and _Paracyprichromis_, but I elected to use these fish instead. I have had their colony going for several years. I collected the original parental fish several years ago down in Mexico.


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## Ronstopable

As another newcomer to this forum all I can say is wow. Those look amazing and if I ever need any help with my live plants I know who to ask. :thumb:


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## hydrophyte

Hey you bet. I can't say that I really know what I'm doing but I have some good luck anyway.

Hey send me a note if you are ever looking for new plants. I have some that I can spare.


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## hydrophyte

I got another quick shot of my 50-gallon setup a few minutes ago, and here it is.










I don't much care for the tannish-yellow wall as a background, so I tried a white sheet. I know that it is wrinkled, but it gives an idea of how the foliage looks against white. I think that the color and contrast are improved.

This image is a montage made with a shot at slower shutter speed, which I used to cut and paste the underwater area. This corrected for my camera's tendency to overemphasize glare and shadow.

For the sake of comparison here is an older shot with the wall as background.










I have asked, but the Prime Minister gave a thumbs' down when I asked about repainting the wall. I will need to just try to find something that I can hang up as a temporary background. I have also wondered about maybe using a backdrop with a charcoal gray color or a dark grayish blue(?).


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## hydrophyte

Here is another shot from the other night.










The carpeting plants have just about covered the foam trellis rafts. I really like this view down inside through the top of the tank.


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## hydrophyte

I just saw a post on the *guitarfish* (http://www.guitarfish.org/) about the Riparium Supply that he had done a couple of months ago. Here is the link to that post.

http://www.guitarfish.org/2010/01/05/riparium-update

He put this planting into a 20 Tall. As you can see in my pictures above a 20 isn't the best shape for a riparium--too short front-to-back--but he put some pretty cool plants in there. That _Cyperus_ umbrella sedge (the grassy stuff right in the middle) is an especially good riparium plant and it looks happy in his setup. The underwater area is nice too.


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## hydrophyte

I just started a thread on using those _Pilea_ plants over in the Aquarium Decoration sub-forum.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=206610

This one here is "aluminum plant", _Pilea cardierei_.


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## hydrophyte

I have another quick update form my 50-gallon setup. I moved the rocks around some and the plants have also grown in some more.










The _C. cutteri_ is still doing great and getting along with everybody else.


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## hydrophyte

I have a quick update for the 120-gallon Mexico setup.










This tank was looking a bit sad for a while, but I am getting it back into shape. Here is another shot form a week or so ago.










I trimmed some of the bushes and also moved the hardscape around some for that latest update above.


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## hydrophyte

Here is a quick photo update for my 50-gallon tank.










I added more new underwater plants. That crypt, _Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia_, has bright green leaves with nice long petioles, so they don't cover up the nice stones.


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## hydrophyte

I got a few more new pictures today. I'm getting ready for another new full-tank shot. I intend to paint the wall white...still don't like the yellowish hue created by this tan color. Anyway, the plants are looking pretty good.


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## Pali

I would be stuffing a bunch of nice frogs in thouse tanks 

They look really nice, I have over the ÃƒÂ½ears had omething similar for my frogs, guess u call it a vivarium then and u deffently have lit on them :thumb:

Thanx for showing u your beutifull tanks and plants


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## hydrophyte

Thanks Pali. Really these riparium setups are not so good for animals like frogs or turtles. There is not any real land area in there for them to use. Even small frogs would quickly knock down many of the nice plant stems in there.

However ripariums are good for displaying fish and plants. There are many kinds of beautiful marginal aquatic plants that grow well in this kind of setup.


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## mlancaster

Hi *hydrophyte*,

I feel like i am breathing fresher air just looking at your tank. What is your light hanging from on your 50 gallon? All i see is the cords tied up.

Thanks,
Matt


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## hydrophyte

Thanks Matt. That fixture is the 4 X 39-watt Tek Light. It has four lamps, but I have had only one pair switched on for this setup.


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## hydrophyte

I finally got around to re-painting the wall. Here is a quick post-paint shot with the new background, plain white.










I'll come back with an updated full-tank shot tomorrow night.


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## hydrophyte

I have just a couple more recent shots from the 50-gallon setup. Here is a side-view.










I like the look of the tank from this angle. The _Limnophila_ and _Bacopa_ have grown in so densely that they have covered up the rafts and planter cups really well. The fish like to hang out near that dense tangle of roots and foliage.

Here's a close-up with the newest leaf on the _Cyrtosperma johnstonii._










The leaf apex has this amazing gold + pink coloration that I had not seen on the older leaves.


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## Donnixd

your tank is amazing, ever considered mosses in your project?


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## hydrophyte

Thanks so much Donnixd!

I haven't used mosses yet, but I have seen that some other people with riparium setups have grown them well on the trellis rafts.

Mosses would be good in a high-humidity setup, like this one that I had going for a time with _Cryptocoryne_, _Anubias_ and ferns.


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## ashilli48

very nice! Very tranquil! I could stare at them all day....in fact I find myself staring at some of my plants as much if not more than my fish. :thumb:


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## hydrophyte

Thanks! I had some pretty cool plants in that 55. I tore that setup down a few weeks ago, htne set it up in a new spot. Now it's in the entryway of a local garden center.










It looks pretty good there.


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## hydrophyte

I have mostly torn down the planting in the 50-gallon setup. Before taking it apart I got a bunch of pictures. Here's one of the first that I got formatted and loaded up.










I am keeping the same fish and substrate and so on in there, but I'm going to replant with new different plants.


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## Old Hippie

That's some classy stuff! :thumb:

You do very good, enjoyable, work Hydrophyte....Congrats!


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## hydrophyte

Thanks OLd Hippie!


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## Vadimshevchuk

Great tanks :thumb: I saw some on either PT or aquaticplantcentral cant remember. I was gonna do a 55 gallon rip but my parents are to happy of me running 200 watts of light over it. Thats why im gonna go cichlid =D. Your ripariums are some of the best around. Nice, clean professional look.


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## Vadimshevchuk

Great tanks :thumb: I saw some on either PT or aquaticplantcentral cant remember. I was gonna do a 55 gallon rip but my parents are to happy of me running 200 watts of light over it. Thats why im gonna go cichlid =D. Your ripariums are some of the best around. Nice, clean professional look.


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## hydrophyte

Hey thanks.

Well you certainly don't need that much light over a 55. That one I have on the previous page just has a single 54-watt T5 strip and the plants grow great.










With less light you also get a lot less trouble with algae.


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## hydrophyte

I have a start on a new project. This one is going into a 15-gallon tank.










This is a standard Aqueon tank with the top rim removed. I will only fill it to about 2/3 full. I might start a journal here if I decide to include an apisto or other dwarf cichlid, but it would be a pretty tight squeeze.


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## Vadimshevchuk

what i dont like about the transfer from planted tank forums to cichlid forums is the lack of journals. Good luck and i hope to see it. I will make a journal when i start my tank. :thumb:


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## hydrophyte

Yeah well I suppose that the Aquarium Photography & Video sub-forum is appropriate enough for journals. I will try to start a thread over there for this project.


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## hydrophyte

Now I'm using my 50-gallon setup as a temporary riparium plant propagation tank. There are plants hung on all four panes of glass. It's not much of an aquarium display at the moment, but looks kind of cool from the top.


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## hydrophyte

I was over there at the garden center servicing the 55-gallon tank today and I got a couple of shots. The plants have grown up quite a bit. Here is a view in through the top.










That's a lot of great biological filtration. I have couple of full tank shots too--just need to go image-edit those and post them.


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## hydrophyte

Here's that FTS. The fish were all hiding in the shade--I should have thrown a food wafer in there to draw them up front.










The stem plants have grown up quite a bit.


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## Pali

As a "greenhouse gardener" I just have to love your planted tanks, personaly I prefere my plants in the greenhouse. I got a single planted tank, but got problems with algea on them hehehe.

Im planing a fishroom atm and im undesided, if I wanna go with a heavy planted sump area or if I should take the step and also try a hydroponic rootzone filter in the greenhouse, that's right next to where im building my fishroom. Only down side is the rootzone filter would have to be turned off atleast 3-4 month during winter as my GH is'nt heated, so might be a good idea to do both.

Im thinking im gonna use the plant Spathiphyllum wallisii (common names: Peace lily, White sails, or spathe flower) as they can grow above water, half or fully submerged in water and it have a lovely flower. They are dirt cheap and always snail free as it's mainly sold as a house plant in potting soil, I just remove the pot and wash the soil off the roots and it's ready to go into the tank. Full submerged plants only flower if they are near the surface, so they can shoot the flowerstalk above water.

Do you know of other plants then peace lilies with this ability to grow above and under water, as I only know of the one I mentioned. (well Spathiphyllum is a genus of 40 species)

By useing this plant I can move the plants from the sump, to the rootzone filter in the spring and move them back to the sump when it get's too cold in the greenhouse.

Just thourd id share my plans and hear what you might think of my idea with a rootzone filter, I have never seen them in use with tanks or anything but large Koi ponds and for cleaning polluted waste water.

Anyway thanx for shareing your beautiful tanks =D>


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## crys

amazing !!! great job!!! love them!

every tank of you is a miniatural piece of nature in your house!!! no comments! :thumb: =D>


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## hydrophyte

Hey thanks you guys.

Pali I have a few different ideas for your questions I'll try to return soon with responses.


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## hydrophyte

Hey pali those all sound like great ideas. I agree that for fish displays it can be much easier to maintain emersed plants than full underwater foliage. Ripariums are nice because you can keep the emersed planting right in the same tank with the fish, rather than in a separate enclosure. The fish also appreciate the extra cover too.

There are many plants that can grow well in ripariums. If you just perform a Google search for "riparium plant" you will see many results.

http://www.google.com/search?source...&q=riparium+plant&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=


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## hydrophyte

Here's a quick shot of the 15-gallon setup from a couple of nights ago. There's nothing much new in this tank--it has been real easy care. All I do is change the water, feed the fish and clean the glass. The plants have grown in a bit more.


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## Madhun

THOSE are awesome!Now you need some Archer Fish(Toxotidae) in there to shoot some bugs off the leaves!


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## drthsideous

Hydrophyte,
just a quick question, have you ever been to blackjungle.com? I used to breed poison dart frogs and red eye tree frogs and got all my plants for my vivariums from those guys. They know a ton about plants and have some very cool stuff. Lots of really cool pitcher plants. Check them out if you have not already. I think you would enjoy it.
Jeff


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## bearded lab

WOW! =D> Those tanks look awesome! Do any of you keep frogs in your ripariums? I have several species of tropical treefrogs, and they would LOVE to live in there! :dancing:


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## simon.li

very beautiful!! cool


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## hydrophyte

Hey thanks everybody!

Ripariums are not very good for frogs and other herps. There is no real land area inside. Many of the plants have relatively light stems that would be quickly bent by hopping frogs. However, ripariums are great for displaying fish and plants. There are many unusual and appealing plants that grow very well in ripariums.

Last week my emersed _Cryptocoryne usteriana_ bloomed for me. The spathe was really fantastic--it only lasted a day.










Here's a close up shot for the spathe.


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## bearded lab

Most all tree-frogs don't need a land area, as they are virtually exclusive climbers, and crickets can be put in a small dish or bowl. The weak stems is an issue I hadn't really thought about. Tree-frogs are usually around 2-3 inches long and sometimes quite skinny, so they're not very heavy, but those do look like some very fragile plants! I guess any frog riparium would have to be specifically designed for frogs, which would make them different from yours. I did have another question, how do the plants stay so VIBRANT? They all seem like they want to grow out of the tank!


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## hydrophyte

I suppose that tree frogs could work well with the right plant selection, so long as they didn't really need a land area. The sturdiest plants (e.g., peace lilies, dwarf taros, swordplants) planted in hanging planters would be the best choices.

I have also wondered about African reed frogs.

Here is another quick shot. I think this one shows the spathe the best.


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## bearded lab

Reed frogs should be fine as well, they are just small treefrogs. That's a beautiful pic.


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## hydrophyte

I am going to re-do the layout in my 15-gallon tank with new stones and some new plants so I wanted to get a couple quick shots before moving stuff around. The plants have grown in real nice. This was a great selection of plants for a nano/smallish riparium setup.

Here's a good view of the emersed foliage.










I like the fish in this tank, but they don't photograph very well. I tried to get a shot with the tetras but it doesn't look like much. I mean to introduce some lighter-colored rocks and maybe also some bright green plants so that the underwater area won't be so dark.


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## Cvurb

Hello Everyone, I have become completely obsessed with Ripariums, and I can't stop wanting one. If I do make my tank into one, will I have to take out most of my fish? I will have the same surface area, but the water will be a little above halfway (The max of how high my fish swim...) and there will be a TON of extra plant filtration (And I can keep my filter). Bascially all the emmersed plants will be tapping into the water, and I will keep all my submersed plants, a win win situation correct!?

Current stocking for my 55G:
-3 Bolivian Rams (4 this thursday)
-8 Rummie Nose Tetra
-7 (I think...) Discrossus filamentosus
-7 Pygmy Corydoras
-Endlers (Just growing out the babies to sell)
-2 Corydora fry (About a 3/4 inch, I will never get rid of them )
-3 otos

This seems like a lot, but the fish are small, and I never really can find them...


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## hydrophyte

That looks like a lot of fish for ~25 gallons water. Do you have any way to suspend your lighting above the tank? If you could do that then you could just keep the water level where it is and have the plants growing out of the top.

A 55 is kind of an awkward shape (too little spce front-to-back) for a riparium (or any other kind of planted setup) but it can work well enough if you choose the right plants.


----------



## hydrophyte

While replanting this one I intend to use just the new trellis raft design. These should be real good for nano riparium setups.










This design has some nice features. There are two or three plastic snap fasteners and an extra puzzle-piece float. It is about 4" long. If snapped tight into place with the hanging planter it only sticks out a couple of inches, so it should be easy to hide in smaller tanks. Here is a shot of one planted with some creeping charlie (_Pilea nummularifolia_).


----------



## Cvurb

Is there a way to make your own kind of hanging planters? I know those planters are like shower caddies, but could I make something that would make it one big land mass?


----------



## hydrophyte

You could probably make something like that, but it would probably be more like a paludarium if it had a lot of land area.


----------



## Cvurb

Well, Not really because what I'm thinking of would be hanging, and I would like for whatever holding it to be covered in moss. I think it would look cool, and maybe I could keep a small amphibian... :thumb:

Where do you guys buy your plants? I know I can have crypts and peace lilies are at Home Depot. But is there a good place to ask for them at?


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## Cvurb

BTW I'm think about hanging a piece of a rain gutter in the water. I think it would look awesome.


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## hydrophyte

The other night I got a bloom from one of my plants, Traub's spider lily (_Hymenocallis traubii_). I was so happy to see it open. This one is not currently growing in a riparium, but I did have it in the 120-gallon tank last year. I kept the bulbs dormant this winter and they began to grow right away when I potted them up in a terra cotta pot with clay gravel for growing in a container pond.

The foliage is only about 12" tall, so this plant has the right size and shape for growing in a riparium. The flower stalk grew somewhat taller, to about 15".


----------



## bearded lab

Spectacular!


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## hydrophyte

Thanks bearded lab! Here are a couple more shots.


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## hydrophyte

I am starting work on another new setup for my emersed crypts. I have some real nice plants, but they are all in dingy culture tanks right now. I am going to shoot for something like the 55-gallon setup where I had them before. Here is a shot of that tank from last year.










I am going to use a different tank configuration. I haven't thought much more about fish selection yet(???).

I have a fun piece of of hardware to use for this new project, a new riparium trellis raft design that is designed for medium-small varieties of emersed aquatics that grow on hard substrates, such as Java fern 'WindelÃƒÂ¸v' and _Anubias barteri_ var. _nana_. Here is a shot of the raft, which is about 5.5" long.










This picture shows a _nana_ growing on the old prototype raft similar to this new one, but the prototype had more pieces of foam sticking out, and was thus more difficult to hide in the riparium layout.










The new design should be easier to cover up and it has a few other handy features too. Here are some shots showing various different configurations that one might use for attaching the raft with hanging planters. The first one shows it in combination with the other smaller raft design, which could be used to get some smaller stem plants out into the midground.




























There are some other plants that might also be supported well by this thing. Certain stems, such as this NOID _Pilea_, could for example be planted into those larger round holes in the raft.










I might have another update soon. Tonight I am going to work on juggling fish & tanks some to see if I can situate the setup somewhere. I might start a new journal thread for it too.


----------



## hydrophyte

I got back to replanting my 15-gallon tonight. I think that I have a pretty good result. It still looks a bit disheveled, but it should perk up as stuff grows in.










The _Cyperus_ umbrella sedge over there on the left is _C. albostriatus/I] and it is shorter (~8") than the other one (C. alternifolius) that it replaced. There are several new plants. I should explain more with another post._


----------



## hydrophyte

I made a bit more headway with the 15-gallon--now it has a hardscape. It is not so special but it adds some dimension anyway.


----------



## hydrophyte

The underwater area still needs work, but I think that I have the emersed layout for my 50-gallon pretty well figured out. I shuffled things around a bit and added a couple of new plants. These plants are mainly full size, so I don't have to wait much for it all to grow in. The midground plants on rafts (such as the _Oplismenus_) will need a few weeks to grow and cover up the foam.










I have some nice plants in here. I should come back with a list of what I planted. I also need to work on the underwater area.


----------



## hydrophyte

The new layout in my 50-gallon is looking pretty good. I have most of the same fish in here, but the plants are all new.


----------



## hydrophyte

Here is another quick update for my 15. I switched up the hardscape again, this time electing to use some interesting rocks of different colors that I had sitting around.










There really are fish in there. These phantom tetras are mainly black anyway and they hide in the shadows under the planters.


----------



## mlancaster

Hi *hydrophyte*,

As always your tank(s) look great. You should think about getting a school of cory cats for that tank to liven things up a bit, my favorite are the juli cories.

Thank you for sharing and the continued updates.

Thanks,
Matt


----------



## hydrophyte

Thanks so much Matt. Really in person this tank is a pretty lively fish display. In addition to the tetras there is a lone apisto and a bumblebee goby. They just don't show up so well in pictures. I might do better if I can remember to throw some food in there before shooting.

I _really_ want to do a setup as a species display for a shoal of cories. The general idea that I have in mind is for a 36" or 48" wide tank of shallow depth and with a nice dense planting of emersed stems. And with no underwater foliage at all, just pretty broad stretches fo sand and a few well-place stones. The planting that I have in mind is something like what I had going in my 50.


----------



## hydrophyte

Here is one more quick image with a crop of the tank shot above to show the plants better. I really like the textures of the various kinds of foliage in there.


----------



## SCARF_ACE1981

thanks for sharing with us. my 65 is tall. wonder if i can do something like this. i would have tons of fish in these displays.


----------



## hydrophyte

Thanks so much. A 65 is a real good shape & size for a riparium.

I just got a shot tonight of the lone _C. wendtii_ 'Green Gecko' that I have in here by itself up in a front corner.










I got the algae in this tank under control again and it has cleared up well. I hope to come back with a FTS soon.


----------



## hydrophyte

Here is another angle shot of the 50. The above-water area has filled in really well. The _Acorus_ is such a great plant for riparium layouts.










I need to get the camera out again for more close-up specimen shots. I have some nice plants going in here. The leather fern in particular is a great plant.


----------



## hydrophyte

Here is another angle with a close up view of the plants in the 50.










There are some real good riparium plants in there. The grassy yellow-green stuff right in the middle is _Oplismenus_. That makes a real nice midground plant.


----------



## hydrophyte

The other night I took a picture for a better view of the underwater area in the 50-gallon stup. The fish tend to get lost in the full tank shot, but you can see them pretty well here. A couple of the _Synodontis_ are zooming around there in the foreground.










Those underwater plants are all planted in Tank Planters. Here is a 'Marble Queen' sword that I potted up last night.


----------



## hydrophyte

I was admiring the _Oplismenus_ grass tonight and got a quick picture of it. My glary camera flash actually made a pretty nice effect lighting up the grass there in the middle of the frame.










This is a real easy plant. I just have the stems planted right through the holes in a couple of trellis rafts and with the roots right in the water.


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## hydrophyte

I got a quick shot of the 55-gallon setup tank today.










It was having some trouble with algae but now it's all clear again.


----------



## ceech

wow your tanks are beautiful so they are 
i had planted tanks myself before but have left for all rock tank now.
You have worked very hard one these tanks congrats for some really great looking tanks ;-)


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## hydrophyte

Thanks so much ceech. I am working on some more new pictures and I hope to post them soon.


----------



## hydrophyte

Here is another quick photo update for that 50-gallon.


----------



## Manoah Marton

I think the 50 gallon is my favorite, but your 55...wow! It's like a rainforest in there!

Manoah Marton


----------



## hydrophyte

Yeah the layout in the 55 is a bit flat and dull, but it is nice for some greenery and water anyway. It is difficult to work in that shape tank because it is just 12" front-to-back. I put together that setup as a very low-maintenance system. Aside from daily fish feeding it only gets 20 minutes of attention per week.


----------



## Manoah Marton




----------



## hydrophyte

Here is another quick view from the other angle.


----------



## hydrophyte

Here is a quick FTS of my 50-gallon that I got the other night.


----------



## mlancaster

Hi *hydrophyte*,

Great FTS, I like the action of the fish. Both the underwater and marginal plants look great.

Thanks,
Matt


----------



## hydrophyte

Thanks so much mlancaster!

I might have some video updates pretty soon.


----------



## hydrophyte

Here is a quick YouTube video update...
http://www.youtube.com/user/ripariumsupply#p/a/u/0/vtV_qEuZ4zg


----------



## Glaneon

Gorgeous. You must have dedicated a lot of time to these and it shows.

I hope you do that professionally, from the looks of it you could make a living off it!


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## hydrophyte

Thanks Glaneon.

It took a little while to get the plants going, but this setup now is very undemanding and I probably only spend about 1/2 hour/week maintaining it.


----------



## hydrophyte

Here's another quick video of that 50-gallon setup.






*


----------



## hydrophyte

I have a quick new photo update for the 50-gallon tank. Everything is still looking pretty happy.










This image is a montage that I made to correct for exposure.


----------



## hydrophyte

I haven't been back to this thread in a while. I have been so busy lately.

I have a plan for a riparium in the 11.4-gallon Mr. Aqua rimless aquarium. This tank has a real nice shape (11.8" X 11.8" X 18.9") and I think that I have a good concept in mind for a riparium planting.

I am going to shoot for a layout with a fine, grassy theme. I want to use baby panda bamboo (_Pogonatherum crinitum_) in several planters for most of the emersed background.










This is a great plant. I have several of them going in riparium planters and they are finally (months later) starting to fill out. Baby panda bamboo is not a fast-growing plant. It really does look a lot like bamboo, but it is not a true bamboo. Like bamboo, however, it is a kind of grass.

I want to get some nice fish for this setup.

The tank came tonight with UPS and I got a few pictures. It shipped in a great bog box with lots of that spray expanding foam.










Here is the tank with stand.










I might start a journal for this setup in the Photography sub-forum. I am not sure if I will use a small cichlid in here or not(?). I have a dwarf pike that I could potentially use, although that fish doesn't get along very well with anything else.


----------



## hydrophyte

I found another spot for the 11.4 tank and here it is set up with a light and water.










I need to raise the left side 1/8". This light seems OK. It is just a chicken clamp light with a spiral CF bulb. I need to add a black background for the rear pane of glass.

Can anybody recommend a real mellow dwarf cichlid for this setup?


----------



## hydrophyte

I got some plants into the 11.4G setup...










The planting is real simple. The riparium plants are, from left...


_Pilea grandifolia_ -- on a trellis raft[/*]
_Pogonatherum paniceum_, baby panda bamboo[/*]
_Fittonia_ "red vein" -- on trellis raft[/*]
_Laguncularia racemosa, _white mangrove[/*]
_Acorus gramineus_ "dwarf"[/*]

I really like the baby panda bamboo in there. I will switch up the plants some more to better resolve the layout. There are also a couple of rosette swords (_Echinodorus parviflorus_ 'Tropica') underwater. I will add more underwater plants too.


----------



## fatcat660

Wow you have some beutiful tanks I would love to do a tank like that. :thumb: :fish:


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## hydrophyte

Thanks so much.

Here is another quick shot with more detail of that planting.


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## hydrophyte

The planting in the 55 is still doing well. This is most definitely the least demanding setup tat I have ever done. It gets only about 20 minutes of attention each week and looks great. A riparium setup like this would be real good for dentists' offices and similar settings.


----------



## dwarfpike

I must have missed the dwarf pike addition ... which species is it? Most play nice with fish too big to eat and aren't pushy themselves.


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## hydrophyte

Gosh I haven't been back to this thread in a while. Now I can't remember which species of pike it is. It is still in that 11.4G tank and looking good, although it did clobber the two tetras to death.

I got the baby panda bamboo (_Pogonatherum crinitum_) growing a lot better and now it looks pretty good. I really like this plant a lot.










Here is close-up of the base of the plant. You can see that it is growing vigorously now with lots of new shoots.










I just cleaned this tank. Tomorrow after the water has had time to clear I'll get a FTS.


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## Fevz

hydrophyte, your ripariums are true inspiration for me. I was thinking of changing my 15 gallon tank to a riparium. But the problem starts with getting the plants and i can't get those floating barks that you use. 
Is it possible to get them on ebay?


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## hydrophyte

I believe that you can get them from an online store. Just try to Google "riparium".

The planting in my Mr. Aqua 11.4G setup is looking good. The foliage has grown in nice and full. Here is a shot with all three baby panda bamboo and the other plants.










This was just a quick shot. I will try to get another better one later with the black background.


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## fanlynne

Beautiful tanks,those are beautiful!


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## hydrophyte

Thanks fanlynne!

Here is another slightly different view...


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## Cromak

These look great, nice job.. :thumb:


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## hydrophyte

Thanks Cromak!

I got a quick picture to better show the foliage on the black mangrove plant that I have in the 50-gallon tank.










Black mangrove is a slow-growing plant. This specimen is two years old but only about 24" tall. Like most kinds of mangroves, black mangrove has leathery foliage.


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## canlax

impressive


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## hydrophyte

Thanks canlax!

Here is a shot from last night of the setup in my 11.4G tank. The plants have grown in nice. At the moment I have just a single _Crenichla_ pike cichlid in there. I intend to add some more showy fish that will contribute to the whole scape.


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## mlancaster

Hi *hydrophyte*,

The 11.4G looks amazing; I am sure it easier to maintain as well. Do you have "jumpers" with the rimless open top tanks? Do you try to choose fish that are less likely to jump?

Thanks,
Matt


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## hydrophyte

Hi mlancaster thanks so much!

Yes I have had a couple of tetras jump jump out of this tank. The underwater area is looking pretty empty and I need to get more fish in there, but I need to select stuff less likely to jump.


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## hydrophyte

Here is a quick photo update for my 50-gallon setup. It needs more, but this gives an idea of what I have in mind. It will also look better as the riparium plants grow in. There won't be any underwater plants for this new aquascape.










I want to remove all of the _Poecilia chica _mollies and get some other kind of livebearer in there.

I also want to some kind of cool New World cichlid. Does anybody have any suggestions??


----------



## mlancaster

Hi *hydrophyte*,

Your tank is looking good.

I thought you already had a spilurus or sajica in your 50 gallon?

What size cichlid are you thinking about? I assume they have to be mellow enough to not hurt livebearers.

Thanks,
Matt


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## hydrophyte

Hi Matt thanks for writing.

I had a real nice looking _C. cutteri_ in this tank, but I put him into another setup. I would like to find something about the same size (~3.5"), nice and active and preferably New World. Do you have any ideas?

I am inquiring about some _LImia_ that I saw on AquBid.com. They look like really cool little fish.


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## hydrophyte

I have a quick photo update from last night for the 120 riparium setup with Mexican livebearers. I replanted the whole thing and it is still growing in. It will be a little while before the plants get to be nice and full.










I also changed the fish stocking a little while ago. I replaced the _Xenoataenia resolane_ that were in there with another goodeid, _Ilyodon furcidens_. The _I. furcidens_ are a better aquarium fish. They are nice and robust and never stop swimming; the _X. resolanae_ hid much of the time. I'll try to get a fish close up or two the next time that I am over there so you can see.

This kind of riparium could perhaps be pretty good with discus or other good-sized cichlids. It would look cool to get a dense stand of emersed swordplants growing in the riparium planters.


----------



## hydrophyte

I cleared some space and got the tank set up for the brackish riparium setup that I am putting together.










I have these really great manzanita stumps that I am going to use in here. I have not yet had them in an aquarium and I stuck them in there to start leaching the organics out and get them to sink. Now I need to go get some aragaonite sand for the bottom of the tank.

This is going to be a simple setup with some nice fish and plants. The riparium plants will mainly be mangrove trees. I am still pondering the fish sticking but I am leaning toward using orange chromides. Does anybody have any suggestions for where to find orange chromides?


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## hydrophyte

I am writing a series of blog articles with more detail about my brackish water mangrove riparium setup for the AquaBotanic.com blog. I am going to have some pretty cool plants and fish in this tank.

Follow this link to read the first entry...

http://www.aquabotanic.com/?p=980


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## hydrophyte

Hey I have here what looks like a fun new plant to use as background in my 50G tank.










I will try to pot some up in riparium planters soon and post more pictures with details.


----------



## hydrophyte

I have a new photo update for my 50G setup. I cleaned the tank and got this quick shot.










Sorry I did not take the care to get the fish into the shot. I will take more time later on for some more pictures. The fish are looking great, and so are the plants.


----------



## hydrophyte

He I have some fish pictures now ready. This is one of the seven _Synodontis lucipinnis_ that I have had in this setup all along.










This species is definitely one of my favorite aquarium fishes.

And here are some of the _Limia vittata_. A lot of wild type livebearers are more like collector fish, but this one is also a great display fish. They look great all the time and I love those splotchy markings on the sides.


----------



## hydrophyte

I'm just keeping this _Cryptoheros cutteri_ in the 56 the time being. He seems to like it in there.










This sure is a pretty fish. Eventually I'm going to find another spot for this fish and replace it with some kind of West Africa cichlid for this tank.


----------



## Notrevo

Absolutely fabulous setups and superb photography. Well done!


----------



## Chunkanese

Hydrophyte - What kind of lighting do you use, and also whats an inexpensive way to do it? I picked up a 4ft shop light with T12 aquarium and plant lights from home depot using them over our indoor garden. The plant growth is decent however i feel its insufficient as flowering plants just wont flower. This is kind of my practice run before i can make a riparium.


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## allierw

Your photos are amazing. I would love to do a setup with guppies and shrimp underneath.


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## hydrophyte

Notrevo said:


> Absolutely fabulous setups and superb photography. Well done!


Thanks so much Notrevo.



Chunkanese said:


> Hydrophyte - What kind of lighting do you use, and also whats an inexpensive way to do it? I picked up a 4ft shop light with T12 aquarium and plant lights from home depot using them over our indoor garden. The plant growth is decent however i feel its insufficient as flowering plants just wont flower. This is kind of my practice run before i can make a riparium.


Hi Chunkanese. You can get brighter light and better plant growth if you use HO T5 strip lights with good reflectors. These lights are also more compact and look better. For use with a riparium you can either use a pendant aquarium fixture, or just get some T5 strips from a hydroponics store. The hydroponics lights are more economical and might only cost you 1/2 as much.


----------



## hydrophyte

allierw said:


> Your photos are amazing. I would love to do a setup with guppies and shrimp underneath.


Thanks allerw. I did a riparium like that a long time ago. I used endler guppies.

Hey here's another shot of that 40G brackish mangrove setup with a different view. The plants look pretty thick from this angle...


----------



## hydrophyte

I have been experimenting with more new plants for ripariums. I found a nursery in Hawaii (Floribunds Palms) that carries hundreds fo species of palms. They have several that are water-associated palms. I included some of these in my recent order with them and got these three plants potted up in riparium planters. Now they are in my 50G riparium setup.


----------



## hydrophyte

I haven't been back to this thread in a long time!

I still have most of my riparium tanks going in one form or another.

During the last couple of nights I tore down, cleaned up and reassembled my 65 brackish riparium setup. I have some pretty cool plants and fish in this tank.

Here's the tank empty again.


----------



## 13razorbackfan

Those tanks are very cool. I thought about doing that once with a saltwater refugium with mangroves.


----------



## hydrophyte

13razorbackfan said:


> Those tanks are very cool. I thought about doing that once with a saltwater refugium with mangroves.


Hey thanks!


----------



## hydrophyte

I got a few plant specimen shots while putting the 65G back together.

Here's the _Acrostichum_ leather fern.


----------



## 13razorbackfan

Do you leave the plants in those little pots or plant them in the gravel?


----------



## hydrophyte

13razorbackfan said:


> Do you leave the plants in those little pots or plant them in the gravel?


Those plants are all in riparium planters. The water is too deep to plant any of them, except for the red mangrove, into the bottom of the tank.


----------



## 13razorbackfan

hydrophyte said:


> 13razorbackfan said:
> 
> 
> 
> Do you leave the plants in those little pots or plant them in the gravel?
> 
> 
> 
> Those plants are all in riparium planters. The water is too deep to plant any of them, except for the red mangrove, into the bottom of the tank.
Click to expand...

I didn't read the entire thread but do you inject CO2 at all? If I wanted to do a tank like this, besides the plants, what would I need exactly? I have heaters, bright lights(LED), Canister filters, etc....


----------



## hydrophyte

13razorbackfan said:


> hydrophyte said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 13razorbackfan said:
> 
> 
> 
> Do you leave the plants in those little pots or plant them in the gravel?
> 
> 
> 
> Those plants are all in riparium planters. The water is too deep to plant any of them, except for the red mangrove, into the bottom of the tank.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I didn't read the entire thread but do you inject CO2 at all? If I wanted to do a tank like this, besides the plants, what would I need exactly? I have heaters, bright lights(LED), Canister filters, etc....
Click to expand...

No the plants are all above water and they get all of the CO2 that they need from the air. Carbon dioxide is hundreds of times more available in the air than underwater.


----------



## 13razorbackfan

Thinking about doing this to my 40g breeder. I could put the plants at the very back and cover the plant containers with rocks and still have plenty of viewing from the front of the tank so the fish don't get lost behind and in all the plants.


----------



## hydrophyte

13razorbackfan said:


> Thinking about doing this to my 40g breeder. I could put the plants at the very back and cover the plant containers with rocks and still have plenty of viewing from the front of the tank so the fish don't get lost behind and in all the plants.


A 40B is a real nice shape for a riparium because it has enough space up in front for some light to still shine into the water.

WIth the riparium planting all grown-in you don't really need to hide the planters. The plants cast enough shade that they become pretty well covered up.


----------



## hydrophyte

Here's a quick view of that 65G brackish setup in through the top.


----------



## cichlid-gal

Gorgeous tanks and plants. I like the idea of this to create a shaded riverine aquatic habitat. How do the fish fair in the smaller water volume created by lowering the water levels? Do you stock according to gallonage (?sp) remaining for them? Have you done this in tall tanks where you would have more water volume remaining for the fish? Would it be as visually pleasing do you think? What type of fertilization is required for the plants?


----------



## hydrophyte

cichlid-gal said:


> Gorgeous tanks and plants. I like the idea of this to create a shaded riverine aquatic habitat. How do the fish fair in the smaller water volume created by lowering the water levels? Do you stock according to gallonage (?sp) remaining for them? Have you done this in tall tanks where you would have more water volume remaining for the fish? Would it be as visually pleasing do you think? What type of fertilization is required for the plants?


Hey thanks! I generally stock the fish according to the total water volume in a riparium setup like this with a lowered water volume, although one can probably stock a bit more heavily because of the broader footprint area, the higher water surface area to volume ratio and the strong filtering action of the plants. I have also set up ripariums in tanks with water filled to the top, although this generally looks better with shorter enclosures, such as 30G or 40G breeders. It can help to dose fertilizer to the water column or bury a few root tabs in the riparium planters, but riparium plants get a lot of what they need from the fish wastes and generally don't require careful fertilization like underwater plants sometimes do.


----------



## hydrophyte

Sorry, no cichlids here.

I got a quick snapshot to show the fish selection in my 65G brackish setup. You can see the _Poecilia latipinna, Fundulus confluentus_ and _Cyprinodon variegatus_. The _Jordanella floridae_ are shy and they hide whenever I go near the tank.










I really like these _C. variegatus_ pupfish.


----------



## hydrophyte

I might have some video on the way pretty soon. Stay tuned!


----------



## hydrophyte

I made a new video using my 56G hillstream setup! Please check it out...






The still images got a little screwed up. I am going to open the file again and fix those, then reload the updated version.


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## a7oneal

I love them!

It is an idea I've toyed with off-and-on for several years, and yours look great. Many of our typical aquarium plants are often found growing emergent in their native habitats. Kind of tough for most flowering plants (particularly one with an inflorescence that follows one of the insect pollinator syndromes) to get their flowers pollinated underwater. I've had Anubias flower underwater several times, and I'd love to try and get them to try it in a set-up like this. I believe several other members of the Araceae are actually beetle-pollinated.


----------



## hydrophyte

a7oneal said:


> I love them!
> 
> It is an idea I've toyed with off-and-on for several years, and yours look great. Many of our typical aquarium plants are often found growing emergent in their native habitats. Kind of tough for most flowering plants (particularly one with an inflorescence that follows one of the insect pollinator syndromes) to get their flowers pollinated underwater. I've had Anubias flower underwater several times, and I'd love to try and get them to try it in a set-up like this. I believe several other members of the Araceae are actually beetle-pollinated.


Hey thanks so much!

Yes for many kinds of aquarium fish this kind of planting is actually more like their wild habitats than a tank with many underwater plants.


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## ParrotKeeper

Beautiful. 
Probably you might have already mentioned that in one of your earlier posts, What is the fertilization routine you are following for your plants ?

Kiran


----------



## hydrophyte

ParrotKeeper said:


> Beautiful.
> Probably you might have already mentioned that in one of your earlier posts, What is the fertilization routine you are following for your plants ?
> 
> Kiran


I generally follow a pretty casual fer dosing regime. These riparium plants are less susceptible to deficiencies than underwater plants. They mostly get along with the products of fish wastes and I also add trace ferts with iron a couple of times per week.


----------



## hydrophyte

I got a quick picture of the 11.4G setup tonight.


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## CrypticLifeStyle

Loving the tanks. I see you over at planted tank, glad to see you over here too


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## hydrophyte

CrypticLifeStyle said:


> Loving the tanks. I see you over at planted tank, glad to see you over here too


Hey thanks a bunch!

Here's another quick shot.


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## hydrophyte

I made a quick movie tonight of the Mr. Aqua setup. I have more clips and I want to make a longer version with some editing and music. The colors are a bit washed out, but I think that I can increase saturation in iMovie.


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## hydrophyte

I have a quick photo update for my 50G setup. I added some J. transcriptus "Pembe" the other night and they are awesome!

This tank will be looking good in a few weeks when the plants have filled out a bit more.


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## hydrophyte

Here is a new setup that I have been working on. This is a very shallow 6.5g tank that I used for planting a Montezuma cypress tree that I'm training as bonsai. It's coming along pretty well.










No cichlids in this tank either! There is a small group of Boraras brigittae along with a single chocolate gourami.


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## badspellar

really pretty. I presume no cats in your house.


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## hydrophyte

badspellar said:


> really pretty. I presume no cats in your house.


Thanks so much! Nope, no cats in this house. This setup is also in my basement shop, not upstairs.

Here are a couple more shots to show foliage detail.

This is the _Cephalanthus_ buttonbush...










...and here's another view of the Montezuma cypress...


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## hydrophyte

I have been working on getting specimen photos for the plants in my brackish mangrove setup. Here is a quick shot of the larger _Pandanus tectorius_. I like this plant a lot. You can see that it has grown impressive prop roots reaching all around the riparium planter.


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## hydrophyte

I'm working on a blog post about the brackish planting in my 65G riparium setup. Like I mentioned above I took some time to get plant specimen photos for each of the five species that I have been using in the tank. I will add some additional notes later on, but while I had the image links handy I wanted to copy them here.

These are all pretty cool plants and they have been easy to grow in the riparium planters.


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