False bottom vs. clay balls

[jmeister]

Doesn't the water leach up thru the leca balls making the soil/planting medium soggy? That was one of main reasons I was going to do a FB setup.

[marilu]

I hope someone answers that question, jmeister, because it's a good one. I'd love to know the answer to it! I am still deciding which method is the best.

[seritchey]

Not if the leca are deep enough it shouldnt

[marilu]

Thanks, Seritchey! It's good to know that. Every little bit helps newbies like me!

[beckdg]

water will WICK up any surface... the more porous the better/faster/wetter. standing water will wick up about 18" period, that is why restoration companies cut drywall 2' above water line in a gray or black water loss. this happens in a day, maybe 3 depending on the situation/variables.

bottom line either way water is going up. with water movement and higher temps... it will be dripping off the bottom of your false bottom anyway. if you know your plants you can plan accordingly for both ways.

having the leca balls directly in the water will provide more biological filtration as well as oxygen if the water moves at all at the surface through it.

a false bottom in a shallow enclosure may force you to make your soil substrate too shallow.

the idea is too keep roots happy as well as the proper setup for a watering hole for your animals. if this means 18" of leca in a 24" wide tank, regardless what you do it will look like crap... so we have tricks up our sleeves. false bottoms, backgrounds with small pots, etc.. use your tricks and tools to get what you want. if you have heavy root feaders that don't mind getting wet or moss that does good submerged then stack em (leca balls) and make it easier.

remember essentially what we are doing is creating completely organic hygroponics systems in glass boxes. hygroponics do very well with just leca balls, most ground rooting vegetation, animal breath and fecal matter, and flowing water. in these setups the roots typically have to reach the water to gain from the nutrients (to eat). obviously anything sensitive to moisture should not go directly into leca balls sitting in water... so once again we have options. you can build it up as a hill and stagger your plants front to back according to their requirements or make a ledge with a "fallen tree or teeny dead forest" for a ramp onto land, or do a false bottom.

edit: there are many ways and all has not been thought of as far as i'm concerned. if you think of something, post it or go with the flow if you're confident with it and write an article when you're done. how to's are good and how not to's are scarce... imo some can be priceless.

[marilu]

Beck, you've done it again! Do you give classes on this somewhere? I think you should teach a college course, if you don't already! Anyway, once again, thank you!

Do you have suggestions re: which plants would love the leca ball setup? I know that Java moss is one. Which other ones?

Bowing to you, oh guru of vivariums!

[beckdg]

unfortunately i spent a lot of time just doing what i was told to and/or arguing like a child does when i was younger. otherwise i would have picked up more of moms knowledge of plants as well as i did her AMAZING cooking. i never liked gardening and such and just put the plants where she told me to with no care as to understanding why.

i have seen almost anything that can be grown in a garden grown in a hygroponics and/or hydroponics setup. that being said i currently have bamboo and anubias in my fish tanks. they both do best with their roots in the water and tops out. either can do without soil or bright light but neither will suffer from it as far as i know. anubias comes in different versions like nana and bartieri who's only real differences are size and flowers, and can be staggered front to back, short to tall to create ground cover and provide easy sheltered access to a water feature. bamboo can be staggered or arranged short to tall and are well suited to cover background areas and/or unsightly areas that may arise through the course of a build.

there are many people on this forum that know alot more than i on the subject of plants. i personally find harrywitmore and endless wealth of information on this subject. i would see what i could find around the house or get as clippings and such from friends and family, look up maybe some carnivorous plants, air plants to mount to some wood and maybe some orchids and ask more specifically as opposed to asking for general suggestions. this will give you the chance to 1) maybe have some prior knowledge for the care of the plants so you will know what to do in case it doesn't work well. 2) use your own creativity and enjoy your work more as it will be what you like or are comfortable with. 3) do something different than we would and in turn help increase general info/knowledge through your questions/answers and observations you choose to share.

good luck with plants... you'll probably do better than most. definitely check with harrywitmore once you have an idea what you want. maybe he'll suggest something on this post. starting another post asking about your plants will raise your chances of getting a better answer to your which plants question.

[marilu]

Bless you, Beck...your information is amazing! Thank you for all you've written. I think you're too modest about your plant knowledge. I may start another thread, as you've suggested, about plants. )

[froggsong]

LOL, marilu, you're giving him a big head...

[marilu]

Hi froggsong! Can you blame me? He's come up with some awesome answers to my questions! How are things going for you? You have quite a collection of critters in your list.