Seagrass root depth?
- Thread starter MarkS
- Start date
piercho
New member
Mark, the demarcation of how deep the root use to be will the white/green fade area of the leaf stalks, near the base. I'd plant them about that deep. Treat the existing leaf stock gently while handling them. IME, if you loose all the leaf stalks on a root to below the sand level, the newly placed root may not send up new shoots, even from a large surviving root. I also used FW plant tabs made by seachem when I first set the plants, set next to the new roots. I don't know if that helped.
The energy in Turtle grass seems to be stored in the thicker, horizontal tubers. The shoots I got that just were just a leaf stalk and small vertical root section snapped off the tuber did not survive very long.
Be prepared to give it time. I had one surving Manatee root send up a few new shoots in the same spot for almost a year. Now it is spreading rapidly. Grass in my tank grows towards the deepest sand.
The energy in Turtle grass seems to be stored in the thicker, horizontal tubers. The shoots I got that just were just a leaf stalk and small vertical root section snapped off the tuber did not survive very long.
Be prepared to give it time. I had one surving Manatee root send up a few new shoots in the same spot for almost a year. Now it is spreading rapidly. Grass in my tank grows towards the deepest sand.
Plantbrain
Active member
Around 3-4" should be good for most of the two main species from FL.
I've seen it deeper(12").
Realize: the Keys can get some wind and this brings silt on top of the grass, they respond to by growing taller. Some places end up very deep where the silt builds up and this also means there is very rich soil there.
In more scoured regions, the depth is not as deep, but the growth is slower, height less, etc.
They are pretty tough.
In our tanks, it's good to assume the silty condition.
They take time to adjust to tanks. A large bottle of patience will help.
Regards,
Tom Barr
I've seen it deeper(12").
Realize: the Keys can get some wind and this brings silt on top of the grass, they respond to by growing taller. Some places end up very deep where the silt builds up and this also means there is very rich soil there.
In more scoured regions, the depth is not as deep, but the growth is slower, height less, etc.
They are pretty tough.
In our tanks, it's good to assume the silty condition.
They take time to adjust to tanks. A large bottle of patience will help.
Regards,
Tom Barr
ezhoops
New member
which sea grass would you recommend for a nwbie to sea grasses and what else do I need to know about them, are t-5's acceptable lights. Do they need any supplements? and is it really worth it, I like the look I think they would give but not really sure.
got any pics of your tank with sea grasses growing?
got any pics of your tank with sea grasses growing?
I like turtle grass the most. My ideal system would be all my tanks tied in to a large 5'x3'x2'deep tank with turtle grasses as a living filter. I would personally plant some just under, some 2" and some 4". See what works, you can always replant. The neatest thing is watching a pipefish looking around for pods among the grasses. This is also the native environment for cowfish and boxfish. People think I'm crazy, but I love snorkeling in turtlegrass, it's amazing the diversity of life. Also, small lobster love this grassy area. Put a 5" diameter piece of pvc into the sand, with no sand inside, and a small lobster will live in there happily.
piercho
New member
Yes, Manatee grass and Shoal grass.
Manatee grass The longest blades are about 18" in this picture.
In my limited experience, Manatee grass is easiest, followed by Turtle grass and Shoal grass. "Dynamic Aquaria", Adey and Loveland, Smithsonian Press, is about as good a reference as you will find on cultivating seagrass. You could also go to the plant links thread stickied to the top of this forum, and follow the link in the first post to the Indian River Lagoon Seagrass page put up by the Smithsonian.
Not really. They are dependant, to varying degrees, on the richness of the sand substrate that they root in. They take a while to become established and are fragile until then.
They are not the easiest marine plants to cultivate. For sand beds, Udotea (Mermaid's fan) and sand-associated Halimeda's are attractive, fast spreading, and easy to cultivate, IME. So I would recommend them first.
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