# How-To: Grow aquarium plants for fun and profit!



## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

what you'll need:

2: two gallon glass jars or fish tanks with clear lids

1: 20 gallon cycled and established sorority or community tank, live planted preferably, with 7-12 fish (guppies, female bettas, platies or tetras will work fine)

five pounds of gravel, or two pounds of sand and two pounds of natural organic soil

10-20: assorted live stem plants (wisteria, primrose, hornwort, rotala and anacharis work great)

2: long stems of pothos or similar wide leaved surface plants

2: either male bettas or mystery snails

2: strong bendy-necked desk lamps or fluorescent banks

assorted aquarium-safe rocks and decorations

2: 7.5 watt heaters

the setup:

1-find a good place to set up your jars. you should have a flat surface at least three feet long and two feet wide, that's strong enough to hold at least 60 pounds.

2-set the jars on opposite ends of the surface (we'll just call it a table from here on out) with enough space to break up visibility from between the jars (only necessary if you're using bettas)

3-if you're using soil, first put a pound of soil in the bottom of each jar, then cap it with the sand. if you're using gravel, separate the bag into equal portions and fill the bottoms of the jars.

4-condition four gallons of water and fill the jars halfway (if you're using soil and sand, do this VERY slowly so it doesn't all end up floating.

5-once the jars are half-full, place your hardscape (rocks and decor) after this is completed, plant your live plants (the best way to do it is to space them around the rim of the glass, so the betta/snail has areas of plants and open water. you can do a cutout of the spacing in the front to give you viewing room) place your pothos somewhere in the open area, so the roots and part of the stem are in the water, with the leaves resting at the surface.

6-position your lighting for maximum exposure, ensuring that none of the plants overshadow the others. insert your heaters and check the temperature of your water to make sure it's between 78 and 82 degrees.

7-fill the jars with the rest of the water, and begin acclimating your snails or bettas (one per jar). once they're ready to be released, let them go, and place the lids (for jars, make sure the lid is propped up at least a quarter inch to allow air flow)

you should now have your farms up and running. the animals in them will provide ammonia and nutrients from their poo to fertilise the plants, and the plants in turn will keep the water safe and clean, as well as well-oxygenated. they should look a little something like this:










once every two weeks, take a pair of scissors and trim the top two to three inches of new growth from the stem plants. while you're doing this, pay close attention to the health of your betta or snail, and if you see any signs of sickness don't take the plants anywhere until the problem has been treated. take these cuttings and place them in your sorority/community tank for a further two weeks as floating canopy (bettas in particular LOVE floaters like this) during this grow-out time, they should start sprouting roots, both from the cut end, and from every joint in the stem. after two weeks they will likely have doubled in size. remove the stems (you should have a new crop you just cut to replace them) and trim back the roots from the stem joints, and you have some 4-6 inch plants ready to either plant, or post on aquabid. you can realistically expect to get $.50 to $.75 per stem for them, but may go up to a dollar or $1.50 if they're particularly nice. enjoy!


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## mattoboy (Feb 4, 2012)

Nice little How-to. I am thinking about growing plants in jars and such. Where do you find the flourescent lights that bend so you can grow plants? Can't really find them here in Canada.


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

mattoboy said:


> Nice little How-to. I am thinking about growing plants in jars and such. Where do you find the flourescent lights that bend so you can grow plants? Can't really find them here in Canada.


just get a regular old desk lamp and buy some CLF bulbs with screw-in connectors.


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

i should also add: if you do the jars with bettas, unless you've had the fish for a while and know his personality, you should stick to long-finned varieties, since plakats generally like a little more room because they're stronger swimmers.


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## mattoboy (Feb 4, 2012)

Just regular old desk lamps? Can you post a picture of your absolute whole setup?


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

here's our farm setup, there's a 10 gallon tank in between the jars, and sorry for the clutter, my fiance was doing some beadwork recently (i can't take up ALL the surfaces for fish, after all!)










and here are closeups of both jars. first the left jar, home to Genghis, who grows wisteria and primrose:









and the right, home to Leonidas, who grows anacharis, wisteria and hornwort:










EDIT: also, sorry the photos aren't the best quality, i took a rush job to get them posted.


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

the desk lamps are just everyday lamps, they cost about eight dollars (at walmart or similar stores) and clip onto thin surfaces like the back of a chair (which is how we mounted them)


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## mattoboy (Feb 4, 2012)

Awesome, thanks! Where did you get the jars? and how do you keep the water heated? I don't see heaters, just wondering.


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

mattoboy said:


> Awesome, thanks! Where did you get the jars? and how do you keep the water heated? I don't see heaters, just wondering.


we got the jars from walmart (they're about $10 each) and each tank has a 7.5 watt mini-stick heater, they're in the back because the cords are rather short and this way they can reach the outlet.


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## BearMitten (Jan 17, 2013)

Very very cool, I'll definately remember to try this once things pick up a little bit.


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## Destinystar (May 26, 2012)

Love those might have to try one this Spring if not before, thanks for sharing !


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