Punjab;170282 said:
Jahmic that is sweet!
Blazinjack, I have seen that thread on reefcentral and while I love it, I think that he should have created more area above the water line.
I have spent a bunch of time cruising the various forums. Dendroboard.com is where I'm typically lurking.
Thanks! The biggest challenge has been finding plants that thrive in these conditions. The roots are completely submersed and contained within planter cups (until they grow out the bottom), and are surround by a combination of hydroton and flourite. Finding the right mix of media effects root development and overall growth...I've propagated plants and had them thrive in one planter and die in another depending on that ratio of flourite:hydroton. The other challenge has been low humidity. Most plants that I've had shipped to me don't fair well as they're pretty stressed after being mailed to me, and with the plants growing out of the top of the tank, the leaves are rapidly expelling water into the dry air. I tried a covered top before and ended up with too many pests in the system with the higher humidity.
My best advice that I can give you is to research plants that will likely work, then purchase them locally at a nursery, if possible. The sygnonium that's sending out runners was picked up at a local small nursery and has been the easiest to acclimate...I've had other "tried and true" riparium plants shipped to me and thrive for several weeks, then suddenly die. That sygnonium actually even has roots that reach down a foot below the planter cup and root into the substrate...it took off once the roots got into the gravel at the bottom of the tank. The only plant that's done well that I had shipped is a pandanus tectorius (screwpine)...it also developed roots that grew down into the substrate. Most other plants send out a bunch of foliage while their roots slowly rot away unnoticed.
Lemme know if you end up setting something up, I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you have. If you do go with a riparium or something remotely similar, check out this guy's blog:
http://hydrophytesblog.com/ Devin's helped me out a TON with plant selection and supplies for my setup.