Cacti in the fishtank?

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Mrs.Green
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Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by Mrs.Green »

I have a soon to be empty fishtank in my livingroom. Having nowere to put it at the moment the thought struck me; ’Hey, its a mini greenhouse! ‘ ( 120X35x60 cm / Length/width/hight) Having a lot of Echinopsis sp. pups waiting to be potted and really no place for them I began to wonder if I could keep these in the fishtank for a while? There are two fluorescent tubes ( Growlights) . My main concern is stagnant air/ lack of airsirculation. The lights are integrated in the top so I cant just take the lids off. But I can keep them totally open at night and partly during daytime. The light is pretty strong so keeping the lids off at daytime isn’t an option unless we wear sunglasses indoors.

The cacti will be in their own individual pots so no watering ‘outside’ . The ( dry) gravel on the bottom of the tank will only be for decoration.

Is this a silly idea?
Jangaudi
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by Jangaudi »

hmm, maybe not, but stagnant air is probably your biggest concern especially when it's cold. I got an orchid enclosure with a small usb driven ventilator inside, does a great job, and they come in all sizes, also cheap, and if you've got a plug that includes a usb port you're all set ;)
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One Windowsill
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by One Windowsill »

Do you have an air pump for the fish tank already? Have the intake outside and the outlet inside. You want the air moving around all the plants as well so if there is not enough of a draught you might need a little USB fan in there as well. Aim the outlet of the air pump so it causes as much turbulence as possible.
Mrs.Green
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by Mrs.Green »

Jangaudi wrote: Mon Dec 14, 2020 3:52 pm hmm, maybe not, but stagnant air is probably your biggest concern especially when it's cold. I got an orchid enclosure with a small usb driven ventilator inside, does a great job, and they come in all sizes, also cheap, and if you've got a plug that includes a usb port you're all set ;)
One Windowsill wrote: Mon Dec 14, 2020 5:46 pm Do you have an air pump for the fish tank already? Have the intake outside and the outlet inside. You want the air moving around all the plants as well so if there is not enough of a draught you might need a little USB fan in there as well. Aim the outlet of the air pump so it causes as much turbulence as possible.
Thank you Jangaudi and One Windowsill :) A little fan would be great , I will try to getting hold of one.

Yes, I do have an air pump ( or rather several) Will certainly try that! :)
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anttisepp
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by anttisepp »

Grow orchids or bromeliads or small ferns there, it may become amazing small piece of jungle.
Cacti need strong sun light all the year and cool dry place in winter.
Mrs.Green
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by Mrs.Green »

anttisepp wrote: Mon Dec 14, 2020 9:30 pm Grow orchids or bromeliads or small ferns there, it may become amazing small piece of jungle.
Cacti need strong sun light all the year and cool dry place in winter.
I should have been more clear I see :) I wasn’t planning on keeping the cacti in the fishtank permanently. I don’t think that would have been a good idea. I was thinking more along the lines as a mini nursery for the Echinopsis sp. pups.

No doubt a well run setup like you mentions above would look great! The problem is that the mentioned plants would like a bit more humidity and in my experience humidity, warmth ( the tubes do produce some heat) and stagnant air is an invitation to mold, fungi and algae.. :|
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7george
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by 7george »

If we find a way to control mold/fungi in such a closed volume growing cacti seedlings there for the winter months would be a good idea.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
Mrs.Green
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by Mrs.Green »

7george wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:54 am If we find a way to control mold/fungi in such a closed volume growing cacti seedlings there for the winter months would be a good idea.
I think you are right :) Since I found it boring having an empty fishtank in the livingroom I put some ferns , a Spathiphyllum , an Anthurium and Coffea arabica cuttings in the tank. Even though I do not overwater I already see signs of mold on the soil . The tubes do heat the tank a lot. I did toy with the idea of making the tank into a paludarium but I fear this would be a real mold/ fungifarm without wents .
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greenknight
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by greenknight »

What it needs is a carpet of moss covering the soil.
Spence :mrgreen:
Mrs.Green
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by Mrs.Green »

greenknight wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:07 pm What it needs is a carpet of moss covering the soil.
I forgot to say, there is no soil in the thank, only in the pots. I like the idea but I am a bit concerned about what’s hiding in the moss.. No shortage of moss but there may be critters in the moss waking up in the heat.. Could be that the free-range spiders in the house would take care of that but... :P
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One Windowsill
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by One Windowsill »

Don't you like tardigrades? Surely everybody loves tardigrades. The other critters are likely to eat mould and algae.
Mrs.Green
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by Mrs.Green »

One Windowsill wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 4:39 pm Don't you like tardigrades? Surely everybody loves tardigrades. The other critters are likely to eat mould and algae.
Nothing against tardigrades ( or bjørnedyr in Norwegian) as long as they only eat dead plants or are predators. The question remains wether the moss species living in Norway would thrive in a fishtank? I have in fact wondered wether it would be possible to ‘keep’ some ( or any) of our native moss species indoors, long before the now empty fishtank.
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greenknight
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by greenknight »

Some kind of terrarium is pretty much the only way to grow moss indoors, I think. Google "moss garden terrarium" for more info.
Spence :mrgreen:
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greenknight
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by greenknight »

I've considered doing something similar with moss and Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypodium_glycyrrhiza

This is a cute little fern that grows in this region. It has a rhizome that creeps through the moss on trees (or rock outcrops, logs, sometimes on the ground) from which fronds grow singly. It's evergreen as long as it stays wet, but in our dry summers the fronds dry up and fall off. I was thinking of growing them on a piece of a mossy branch or a slab of bark in a terrarium.
Spence :mrgreen:
Mrs.Green
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Re: Cacti in the fishtank?

Post by Mrs.Green »

greenknight wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 6:02 am I've considered doing something similar with moss and Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypodium_glycyrrhiza

This is a cute little fern that grows in this region. It has a rhizome that creeps through the moss on trees (or rock outcrops, logs, sometimes on the ground) from which fronds grow singly. It's evergreen as long as it stays wet, but in our dry summers the fronds dry up and fall off. I was thinking of growing them on a piece of a mossy branch or a slab of bark in a terrarium.
greenknight wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:07 pm Some kind of terrarium is pretty much the only way to grow moss indoors, I think. Google "moss garden terrarium" for more info.
I do love ferns too and we have several species here, in fact I was thinking of trying to ‘sow’ one of the species, just for fun. Most of our local ferns die back in fall ( or rather the fronds do) , not sure if the would like ( or adapt) to an indoor life. At the moment the fishtank has turned into a ‘fernarium’ as I bought some cheap indoor ferns( in our country anyway) .I am curious to see if they like living in the fishtank. I am still toying with the idea of growing moss indoors but in a smaller fishtank. ( I do have some of them... :D )

This guy seems to know a lot ..; https://www.anotherworldterraria.com/fa ... t-sourcing
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