FishChannel Forums / Freshwater Forums / Plant Particulars / Aqua Botanic / Latest Posts

RE: Aqua Botanic

FattFishy — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:47:16 GMT

Just curious but what's your tank stats? Lighting, type of lighting, fertilization, CO2/Excel, substrate, etc...

RE: Aqua Botanic

huntersponyfarm — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:21:35 GMT

Thanks for the compliments. I created the rock work in the corner on the left and the stacked stones in the front from rocks on our property. I was trying 2 products to see which ones worked best for creating these sorts of pieces. First I used the Two Little Fishies epoxy putty. It didn't hold as well as I had hoped. The flat surface of the rocks didn't make for good adhesion. The smaller piece I used aquarium silicone. It worked very well. To prepare the rocks I soaked them in a bleach solution overnight. The next day I scrubbed them and rinsed, rinsed, rinsed! I left them outside on a towel in the sun to dry and then made the pieces. I am planning to do more, but will create them on slate to give more support. I love the look because it reminds me of a riverbed.

I think the plants really add to it. My lighting is a single full spectrum florecent and natural light from a large window. I have 4 small gourami less than 2" long, 4 neon tetra, 1 oto, 1 julii cory. The plants are frog bit, duckweed, giant hairgrass, java lace fern, singapore moss, egeri najas, dwarf sword fern, ludwigia repens, lilaeopsis mauritius. All are growing.

RE: Aqua Botanic

Nikita — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:28:30 GMT

I like the rockwork and the giant hairgrass. How much lighting do you have? I'd love to have some. Let us know how it goes! :)

RE: Aqua Botanic

huntersponyfarm — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:16:02 GMT

Hi, I bought some plants from Aqua Botanic. They arrived fine. I got 2 giant hairgrass, some frogbit, some moss. Take a look and see what you think. The plants arrived on time and in good condition. I paid $3 for a special package to keep the plants cool. I think it was worth it. Everything is growing.

Pam
http://www.huntersponyfarm.com/pets/fish.html

RE: Aqua Botanic

David Lass — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:21:34 GMT

Tomorrow, Monday the 29th, Robert Paul Hudson of Aquabotanic is going to be on Blue Zoo Radio, in the "University" segment of the show, and will be talking about planted tanks. I hope that as many of you as can will tune in.

The show starts at 9:00 PM Eastern time, and Robert will probably be on around 9:45 or so. To listen, please go to our website

BlueZooRadio.com.

RE: Aqua Botanic

FattFishy — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:47:54 GMT

After my potting soil substrate is ready, I finally get some Excel, and new bulbs for my 10 gallon, do you think I can keep some pygmy chain swords in there? Maybe even an Echinodorus bleheri?

Stats: 2.8 wpg, Every other day Excel, weekly Flourish, weekly half dose of PlantGro, potting soil substrate. The potting soil will have all necessary nutrients.

I know the bleheri will outgrow my tank but with EXTREME pruning do you think it's possible?

P.S. I love the name bleheri. Just say it with a rough tone.

RE: Aqua Botanic

Nikita — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:55:09 GMT

Browsing AquaBotanic's plants always makes me feel like a kid in a candy store - I want one of each! All that variety and color, it makes the plants at all the fish stores around here look run-of-the-mill and drab.

RE: Aqua Botanic

JCHAMPAGNE — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 04:10:37 GMT

I am really grateful that you responded to our questions. That gives me a lot of faith that if I had an ordering issue, you would respond as well.

We should have a vendors section where we could ask direct questions.

By the way, great article on Ludwigia in the Nov. FAMA mag. I have both the L. Ovalis and L. Repens. Your article was spot on for both of these.

Please join us more often. Especially in the plant particulars forum. It would be great to have an experienced "mentor" who can give some advice from time to time.

RE: Aqua Botanic

RobertH — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:06:09 GMT

I only charge the actual shipping charge. Thats the price you pay for mail order. Priority mail flat rate is just that.. a flat rate. As long as it fits in a flat rate box, the price is the same. That will always be less than UPS, but there is no tracking and no guarantee. If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me. You should check out the column I write in FAMA magazine too! :D I'm not really supposed to be conducting business in this forum, so I appreciate the moderators allowing this.. but I don't want to push it! :cool:

RE: Aqua Botanic

Samme — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:34:35 GMT

I have not personally ordered from them, but know someone who regularly does, he speaks very highly of them. He says shipping is a little high, but everything he's ordered from them for the past year, has arrived on time, in good condition and he's only lost one plant, a anubis, from them. Good luck....

RE: Aqua Botanic

FattFishy — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:38:55 GMT

Then...

If I order a Marimo Ball, Anubias minima, Anubias barteri var. nana 'petite', and Marsilea Quadrifolia Fourleaf Clover, what is the best way to ship cost-wise?

RE: Aqua Botanic

RobertH — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:41:11 GMT

Maybe I can offer some advice if nobody minds me butting in...

If you are on the west coast, your shipping charge will be in the lower range of the estimated charges shown on my WEB site for each shipping option. UPS starts at a one or two pound minimum. So even if its just one little marimo ball, its still going to cost over 50 dollars in shipping.

If you are ordering under 20 dollars worth of plants, under ten dollars, UPS overnight does not make very much sense cost wise. UPS 2 day for such a small amount of plants is still expensive. The more plants you order, the more cost effective it becomes.

On the other end of things, if you order a large amount of plants and its over three pounds, then the cost goes up higher.

Marimo balls are very hardy, and not that sensitive to shipping. Priority mail should be sufficient and is the most cost effective with a flat rate of 9.80. Its usually delivered within 2 to 3 days. Express mail cost about the same as UPS 2 day and takes just about as long. Thin stem plants would be the most vulnerable. For $3 I offer a thermal isulated shipping bag and cold pack to protect the plants from the heat.

I hope this information helps. Please feel free to email me if I can answer any questions. robert@aquabotanic.com

Best regards

RE: Aqua Botanic

FattFishy — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:25:27 GMT

I'll have to ask about express mail by Fedex...

But since the company is in Oregon/Washington area, the shipping will be quite cheaper than from the east coast. YAY! Time to order the Marimo ball...

RE: Aqua Botanic

jsmith11618 — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:19:01 GMT

I have never paid overnight for plants, and have never had any issues. My java moss and ferns came from Malaysia and took 15 days to get here and they are growing like crazy now.

You could always call and see if they can use the USPS instead, priority mail averages 2-3 days, with 2 being the norm unless its coming from the east coast, even express mail is a fraction of UPS and express mail is guaranteed for next day delivery. (most express mail and priority mail is flown by Fedex now, so its gotten far more reliable now.)

RE: Aqua Botanic

FattFishy — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:31:07 GMT

Does anyone have problems with shipping costs? I mean, seriously, it's about 50-60 USD for overnight shipping by UPS.

Now I live in the Los Angeles southern california area and only going to order a Marimo Ball. The marimo ball is pretty small, about 2-3 inches in diameter. The size of the box will not be big, shipping not too far, and the ball hardy. Should I do the 2nd day UPS or overnight? How much for shipping did you pay?

RE: Aqua Botanic

hiddenrunes — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:07:49 GMT

I also ordered the Hard to Kill package from this company, along with some driftwood. All my stuff came quickly and in good condition and has done really well except the Java fern which was a little brown on arrival and did not due well in my tank at all. I gave it to a friend though it is seems to be flourishing well in his tank. Overall, good review.

RE: Aqua Botanic

stvnw — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:30:49 GMT

I purchased one of their hard to kill low light packages back in June and everthing arrived in good shape but I was supposed to have some java moss included with the package and there wasnt any but the plants I did receive were all healthy and in good shape!

RE: Aqua Botanic

FattFishy — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:49:19 GMT

I just did a bleach dip before. Left the moss for too long and some strands died... But the algae's gone for sure.

RE: Aqua Botanic

Nikita — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:19:45 GMT

Diatom algae is fairly soft and slimy, at least compared to stuff like green spot algae that you're lucky to remove with a razor blade. I find that it comes off glass easily with a toothbrush (great for getting into the corners and sealant). But I've never had it grow on plants to any great degree. Can you rub it off with your fingers? I have a small sword plant in my 10g, a remnant of an older setup, and I occasionally have to squeegee algae growth off between my thumb and fingers. Swords have fairly large, thick leaves so it's a bit easier. It does require you to get your hands wet, though. :( I always keep a towel near my tank for when I have to do hands-on maintenance like that.

Green beard algae is one of the few algae types I haven't run into with this setup. I've never worked with Excel, either. I hope you get good info soon. Algae can run rampant in a matter of days if not dealt with. :(

RE: Aqua Botanic

FattFishy — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:50:59 GMT

AH! did I offend you? I mean, all that information was VERY helpful and I will pass it on to others but it's just not into my "low-tech" definition.

Thanks! Does anyone know how to solve the algae problem?

RE: Aqua Botanic

Nikita — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:53:43 GMT

What, I wrote all that and you aren't gonna get any?! Darn.

Nah, just kidding. It's a fun plant, but it's given me a share of difficulty to deal with. It's not something you can just drop in your tank and never touch again, I figure - bit more maintenance involved.

I'll upload more picture eventually so you can see the new leaf forms and the growth that's taken place since I purchased the plant - my old photos in the Invert section are rather dated at this point.

RE: Aqua Botanic

FattFishy — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:47:28 GMT

Thanks for the info Nikita. I think that I'll pass... I really do like it but I prefer staying away from hassles.

RE: Aqua Botanic

Nikita — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:34:14 GMT

What water depth are you looking at? When grown emersed (out of water), marsilea tends to have longer stems and will arrive to you with maybe six inches or more of stem growth from the runners. But it doesn't typically stay at this height. Submersed plants grow much shorter stems before displaying the clover leaves. I'm running 4 wpg and my max stem length is coming to around 2 inches - and most of them are staying at 1 inch. Very short plant, much more suited to foreground carpeting.

Now, with 2.8 watts per gallon, you will likely see a bit higher stems as the plant has to grow more to get the same amount of lighting to its leaves. But don't expect the plant to stay a) tall with the long stems displayed in the pictures and b) in one defined bunch. Marsilea propagates via runners. It will send out little stems that will grow a new frond or two after about an inch, then keep growing, adding roots along the way.

My marsilea took a day or two to adjust to its new conditions and begin growing. For the first few days, it was still in "long stem mode", growing 5-6 inch stems with very large "clover tops." However, within four days or so, it adapted to submersed life and the stem length began to decrease. In addition, the fronds that were grown emersed will die relatively quickly after planting in your tank - they aren't adapted to underwater life and will decay to make way for new, truly aquatic growth. At this point, the length of the stems and the size of the clover fronds will decrease.

In addition, immersed plants do not always keep the four-leaf form. Marsilea can grow in a one-leaf form which is still quite attractive; they look like little spoons about a quarter-inch in diameter. My plants develop a mix of one, two, three, and four-leaf tops. None of the fronds are as large as the emersed form fronds are. (btw, I call them fronds because this plant is actually a fern, not a true clover.) Submersed four-leaf fronds in my tank are quite small, rarely over half an inch in diameter.

Watch out for the stems on this plant. If the stem is damaged, the frond will decay upwards of the injury. Marsilea stems are also quite brittle and are easily injured by basic pruning and more so by planting. When you notice brown areas at any point on the stem, cut the frond off with small scissors as close as possible to the base. Damaged stems do not seem to heal and cut stems do not regenerate. However, the plant is fast-growing under good conditions and will quickly send out new fronds to compensate for the loss.

Hope this helps. I love my marsilea, and I hope you have the best of luck with it if you decide to get it.

RE: Aqua Botanic

FattFishy — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:36:31 GMT

I'm really considering to grow Marsilea submerged and with a few strands here and there out of the water showing off the 4 leaf clover. Would it be alright under said conditions?

RE: Aqua Botanic

Nikita — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:51:46 GMT

I've never ordered from them, but their selection can't be beat. Their prices are very competitive too, even from the harder-to-find species. In addition, if you're ordering more common plants, the chances are even greater that they'll be healthy and vibrant, since those species will have a better "track record" of being propagated in captivity.

RE: Aqua Botanic

jsmith11618 — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:31:10 GMT

Never ordered from them, but I like the prices...

I'll just say the selection of aquarium plants in the US is way better then what I have found in Canada, my java fern cost a whopping 12 bucks each and I had to special order them, vs 3.49 on that website....

Aqua Botanic

FattFishy — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:20:47 GMT

I am thinking about buying some plants from this site.. has anyone tried it? Is it reliable?

Tank Stats

2.8 watts per gallon. 28 watts of 6500k "daylight" compact flourescent bulbs. On for 8 hours. Lowering to maybe 6. Should I?

A half dose of PlantGro Iron Enriched fertilizer every week after a water change. Will dose Excel once I get it.

Amazon Swords, Java Moss, Anacharis, Hornwort

Questions

I am planning to get Anubias nana 'petite', Marsilea Quadrifolia Fourleaf Clover, Marimo Balls, Anubias minima, and Cryptocoryne moehlmannii.

Does anyone have any problems with these plants from aquabotanics? Will they thrive in my tank conditions?

Algae problem

I also have a Green Beard Algae (NOT CYANOBACTERIA) and brown diatom algae problem. My water source has excess silicates so I can't help the diatom but I would like it if it just didn't grow on my Amazon Swords. The GBA is on the gravel and Java Moss and would love it off both. Can dosing Excel help with the algae problems? Should I stop using the fert?

Thank you to those who read and reply. Please post some advice and opinions.