gravel on the bottom, plants in pots?

[bungle]

has anyone ever just used gravel or sand as a substrate, and put plants in terra cota pots filled with eco complete through out the tank? a friend of mine is considering this and is wondering about any pros/cons?

 

[medge00]

I've never done it but I've seen it done by a pal...

natural planted tank guru Diane Walstad has photos of a similar set up in her book and on the www.aquabotanic.com wet thumbs site:

http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=4006090712&f=1306023812&m=8456062965

 

[TankGirl]

I have done this and it works fine up to a point. Some plants, like crypts, that send out runners don't appreciate the walls of the container but will do fine for a while. I don't think it is a great idea for long-term, though, unless you "repot" them from time to time. I had some crypts in balloon wine glasses (enlarged, rounded bowls) and it looked pretty neat to have them raised up like that.

 

[gone fishin]

I put mine in the toe of a pantyhose and tied the top with a needle and fishing string. All I used was peat moss for filler and a few rocks in the bottom for weight. (a good place for a fert tab) The only thing is you have to keep the top buried good so the peat doesn't feed the algae in the water column. Didn't do well with rizome plants, though. Swords grew like crazy.

 

[smilla4]

I didn't like the pots showing above the substrate. Also had a hard time of burying them, when I pushed one in, another would pop up or tip over, I guess I had them too close together. I thought it would be an easy way to move plants around, as I tend to do...