# how do you get plants to stay in substrate?



## Lydia

how do yall get your plants to stay in the substrate? i cant seem to get mine to stay!


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## Damon

Yuo need a good substrate along with 3 inches of depth. Plants will take root soon enough. Typical aquarium gravel isn't really suitable for plants. Size is too large.


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## DavidDoyle

Along with 2+ inch minimum depth, and I prefer 3+, it helps to plant the tank a few weeks before adding fish, this gives them time to root. During this period it may also help to turn down the filter flow rate to avoid blowing plants out of the gravel/sand.


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## drosera

Small note.

Some plants, like hornwort, are rootless. The best substrate for them is sand or fine gravel, about 3" as stated.

There's supposed to be "artificial" ways of keeping plants down. I read somewhere about using a sode bottle cap with a hole drilled into it for instance. (Not too sure if that actually would work.) 

Sometimes you can use decorations to temporarily or permanently keep the plants in place.

Take care!

Chris


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## turtlehead

i like 3 inches, it stays and give them room to root.


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## madmatrixz3000

I am using some strips of metal[url/] or something that the petsore gave me to hold them down. Also I have found this [url=http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3962&N=2004+113172]product[url/] to wiegh down plants


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## madmatrixz3000

I am using some strips of metal or something that the pet store gave me to hold them down. Also I have found this product to weigh down plants


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## midiamin

WARNING! Plants and metal do not go together well. Just take some of the rockwool out of the pots the plant come in and wrap it around the root of the plant. Careful not to make it too tight. If you want you can make a slice in the rockwool and insert the plant in the slot then bury.

Have no fear, the Plantman cometh.........................................


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## Lydia

some of the plants i have didnt come in rockwool....have any suggestions for the ones that didnt?


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## plantkiller

I've gotten them to stay in the substrate (regular gravel) bu then the stems rot and die. *sigh* Someone told me I have to let them float until they get roots THEN plant them in better substrate. I am going to try it.


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## midiamin

Go to your LFS and ask for Plant Plugs. No rotting!


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## MyraVan

I can only report what works for me. I have plain gravel in the tank, put there before I really knew anything about fishkeeping. Rather than replacing the gravel, I put the plants in pots with Flourite, which is a red clay gravel meant for growing plants. Most of the pots are plastic mesh, about 1.5" in diameter at the top, but a few are just cut down ordinary plant pots. The plants are growing slowly, and are healthy. The tank looks very nice. I did alot of research and got plants that were well suited for my setup (only 1.5 wpg, no CO2, not much in the way of fertilizer). I mostly have crypts, java fern, and sagittaria. I just added some vallis and water sprite, which look good now but I don't know how well they will do in the long run.


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## LeafGoblinFish

i use the metal plant weights...see the thing is that they are very plyable and that makes them easy to CUT so u just cut it thin and short enough to wrap around the plant (dont pinch the plant) just put it around it and it should stay to the bottom i think i paid like $3 for 6 strips of this then i ordered a bunch of watersprite from someone on aquabid and they came in little ITTIE ITTIE BITTIE plants i probably made about 15 little watersprites stay to the bottom with less than one small strip of this stuff pretty nifty stuff but i dont know about long term effects and as for you lydia what kind of plants are they? because some plants you shouldnt plant into the substrate like java fern and bolbitis


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## Lydia

im not sure what kind they are.....some are grass like with pretty good roots the other are hard to describe...they all have pretty good roots, though....i recently changed my gravel out for new, finer gravel, and it is at least 2 1/2 inches deep, deeper in other places....and i piled little pebbles aroudn the base of each plant so they are staying for now...i only did it about 2 days ago though so i will have to see how it does....i couldnt find plant weights anywhere around here and i couldnt order them online, but i tried putting split shot on one of the roots of a few of my plants, and it seemed to work to hold them down...like i said earlier, though, i will have to see in a few weeks if it still works...i also found a few of those strips of metal yall were talking about and used those....they seemed to work really well...i wish i could find more of them...i also held some of the plants down with decorations like chris suggested....so i hope everything will stay in there this time....i spent about 1 1/2 hours getting the plants put in there right :roll: .....ill tell yall if it worked in a few weeks...thank you soooo much for all yalls suggestions


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## FISHFACE

Good info!
What size tank would you all suggest for a first time aii-plant-tank. I have a few plants floating aroung my 38 gallon tank.
Java Fern, something with leaves like the ones on a banana plant and one or two more. But I want to start with young plants and watch them grow into the few I already have growing, okay.


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## Lydia

just an update: everything seems to be staying now.....thank yall for yalls help......fishface: im not sure what would work


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