Growing plants in another tank

[Baldrick30]

Hi There,

I've got a few plant clippings from my tank plus one plant that's just not getting a chance to grow properly (cos the fishies like to munch on it too much) and I was thinking of planting them all in a separate tank of some sort to see if I could nurture them along.

I was wondering if this is something you can do without having a full tank setup? ie: I'm not really keen to spend money another filter and light and everything, plus I don't have much space free for that. So is there a relatively cheap and easy solution such as a small tank with a bit of sunlight for example?

If you've got some tips on this kind of thing or some pointers to previous posts about it I'd love to hear them.

Thanks!
Baldrick

 

[KarlTh]

Unfortunately the thing you'd really need is good lighting.

 

[Fishy_Fun]

what kind of plants are they?if they are lowlight plants you could put them by the window for light though it might get cold and you will probably get very bad algae problems

 

[Notophthalmus]

Filtration is not necessary for a plants-only tank; just keep up with your water changes. Keeping the tank near a window, especially a south- or west-facing window (if you're in the northern hemisphere), will give your plants much of the light they need. Even better would be to place the tank outside on warm sunny days.

 

[jmhart]

Depending on the plants, you can grow them emersed. If you did that, you don't have to provide co2(because the leaves are exposed to air) and you could put them in a spot where they get full sun all day. That way, the only thing you have to provide is water and ferts(once and a while).

 

[Bk718]

also important factor is water movement, algae will build up faster if theres no water movement.

 

[StereoKills]

I use just a powerhead in my plants only tank to keep the water moving.

 

[Baldrick30]

Howdy,

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It's really helpful.

I think I'll try the 'tank in the sun' kinda approach and see how it goes and I'll look at a cheap powerhead for good measure. At the end of the day there's nothing critical here so if it doesn't work out it's not too much of a drama - just kinda fun to experiment a little

Thanks!!!

 

[Ajordan]

Good luck! Let us know how it goes. I've had varied results with my plant only grow out tanks. My problem is they always end up with fish in them!

 

[Marinemom]

I can't keep a tank with just plants in it either. I always have to add fish at some point just because I want to see some movement in the tank.

Marinemom