| How to Pick Freshwater Plants Posted: 22 Apr 2018 01:00 AM PDT Natural aquarium plants are perfect for freshwater tanks, and some people even have plant-only aquariums! Pet stores usually carry quite an impressive array of plants nowadays, making it easier for anyone to make their tank a bit more interesting. Sadly, not every plant works for every situation, and rapidly dying plants are common. As a smart consumer, read up on how to pick the best plant for your tank! EditConsidering Your Current Tank Environment - Scrutinize your tank dimensions. Just like for fish, the shape and size of your tank matters. The most important part to look at is the width, length, and height. If your tank is tall but has a small water surface area, don't put many floating plants. If your tank is wide but shallow, short rooted and floating plants are best. The trick is to accommodate plants that can grow to their full potential; you don't want a foot-tall plant growing in a shallow tank!
- The water capacity is not usually considered for plants, as they do not swim around or create that much waste.
- Make sure your filter can process the amount of water there as well, if your tank is tall, wide or deep.
- Think about co-existing tankmates. Do you have goldfish, plecos, or other creatures that love eating vegetation? Many standard freshwater fish or invertebrates are plant-friendly, but some aren't. Curious fish love pecking plants as well, so try sturdy plants such as:[1]
- Marimo moss balls
- Amazon sword
- Java fern
- Anubias
- Consider your substrate. Many people plant directly onto the substrate, which is usually gravel. Sand is beautiful, but many plants aren't compatible, so it's not always ideal. Generally, try for rooted plants where the majority will be for gravel. If you wish to use pellet fertilizer in the future, gravel is the best. If you have sand or no substrate, floating plants, moss balls, and anchoring plants will work.
- Anchoring plants include mosses and other ground-creepers.
- Most small to medium gravel sizes are compatible. However, large pebble-like gravel can be hard for plants to root in.
- Think about appropriate lighting. Generally 2 to 5 wattage per gallon is good.[2] Standard fluorescent and LED is okay for beginner plants, which don't need much light. Other types of fluorescent bulbs are better. Your lights should come with a label detailing type of bulb and wattage; check this.
- LED lights are sensitive to moisture, so use a glass cover.
- Incandescent bulbs are not recommended because they produce a lot of heat and are not energy-efficient at lighting.
EditTesting Your Tank System - Add a source of ammonia to the unpopulated tank. This is to see how efficient your tank is at processing waste. Putting in a pinch of fish flakes works, but using pure ammonia sold as cleaner is quicker. Calculators are available online to check how much ammonia you should be putting in your tank; 3 ppm of ammonia is the best concentration to aim for.
- Never add much ammonia to a tank that already has animals. Adding ammonia to a tank with animals can poison them, so be careful to only add it if it is needed.
- If your tank has at least 50% of its fish capacity, skip this step. There's a steady source of natural ammonia already!
- Search for "ammonia concentration calculator" for calculating how much ammonia to add.
- If you do use cleaning ammonia, make sure it is pure, isn't scented, colored, and doesn't have any additives besides water.
- Test the water every day for at least a week. In this period of time, don't add any more ammonia. Test for the big three: ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. While test tube-style tests can take a long time, they provide more accurate results than test strips.
- Adding ammonia without testing at this stage might stall your system.
- Some pet stores will test your water as a customer service for free, so ask the employees what tests they offer.
- Evaluate the results. If your ammonia, nitrites, or both are still present after this testing time period, it just means you need to let the system naturally cycle for a bit. If your ammonia and nitrites are 0, and nitrates are present, congratulations! Your tank is cycling well.
- Touch up your system as needed. If your tank isn't up to par, cycle it until ammonia can be quickly neutralized into nitrates. If your tank's ammonia tested fine, you may still need to do a 25% water change to reduce nitrate levels over 20 ppm -- using properly conditioned water.
- Adding invertebrates like shrimp can help with clearing up dead matter, which in turn means less ammonia for you to worry about.
EditPlanning Locations and Plant Types - Mentally divide your tank into four sections. These sections are the foreground, middle, background[3], and the less acknowledged water surface. If you imagine slicing your tank lengthwise into three sections, those are the first three sections mentioned. The foreground is the closest section to a viewer. The background is the section farthest from the viewer. The middle is sandwiched between the two. The surface of the water is included because floating plants are commonly used, and do take up their own space.
- Choose plants based on your desired section for their placement. The background does well with thick, long growth, sort of like a curtain backdrop. The middle is usually reserved for wood and rocks, where a variety of medium sized plants can be anchored. Since the foreground is the closest to the viewer, delicate and small plants are favored here. Any type of floating plant is good for the surface, it's just up to your own preference.
- Foreground plants include:[4]
- Anubias
- Dwarf hairgrass
- Any carpeting plants
- Middle distance plants include:
- Java fern
- Java moss
- Dwarf ferns
- Background plants include:[5]
- Amazon sword
- Water sprite
- Crypts
- Surface plants include:
- Plan how the plants will coexist. If you want competitive, fast-growing floating plants, those can block light to lower plants, such as moss. Bushy, tall plants also block light in their shade. Picking plants that conflict, such as fast growers that have the potential to block out light to overshadowed plants is not a good idea. Each plant also has different light and fertilizer requirements; just make sure every plant and its place in the tank matches each other's needs to prevent such conflicts.
- If you're sure you can keep up, you can just prune or transplant the fast growing plants regularly to ensure enough light reaches all levels of your water.
- Spacing out plants that block out light is another option to control them.
- "Beginner" plants (ferns, moss, swords) usually have the same comfort zone, so consider these if you want multiple plant species co-existing together.
- Accommodate tankmates' needs. Most animals aren't picky, but some love shade or protection. Livebearers, which include guppies and mollies, especially need thick protection for fry to hide among. Egg layers would also benefit from their kind of place to nest. Generally, small animals would benefit from cover and concealment.
- Plants also provide a source of food for some animals.
- Mix floating and bushy plants to provide cover so fry don't stand-out as well-lit "food" in open areas.
EditChoosing Healthy Plants - Ask employees or managers how long the plants have been sitting on shelves in the store. This especially pertains to ones kept in containers, which are the most popular. Oftentimes, plants are shipped and sold in sealed containers. While these containers often contain a watery gel for nutrients, the plant inside can exhaust this over time. If the plant has been in the store for over half a year, skip it.
- If the plants you're interested in are kept in tanks, this freshness step can be skipped.
- Take a look at the environment the plants are being kept in. If it's in a sealed container, check if there is water condensation on the upper part of the container, and see what source of nutrients is available. Such water condensation means the plant is not dehydrated. And, vital nutrients can be in the form of gel or small fertilizer pellets. If the plants are in tanks, check whether there are dead animals or plants inside. Dead organisms indicate a lack of proper, consistent water care, so skip plants from these tanks.
- If you see small stray snails crawling near the plant, this is also not a good sign. Their tiny offspring can transfer from your new plant to your tank.
- Look for plants without unreasonable signs of deterioration. A little is acceptable and normal; a lot is not good. If more than 25% of the plant exhibits these signs, skip buying it. The signs of deterioration include:[6]
- Brown or black coloration of any part
- Slimy film present
- Shredded-looking (note that some plants are naturally like this)
- Holes in the leaves
- Choose snail-free brands. While there are plant-friendly snails sold in pet stores all over, the snails or their eggs hitchhiking in plants are not your friends. They are often small and dark, which makes them difficult to pick them out. When introduced to a nice, warm tank, they can reproduce quickly. Even if you don't see snails themselves on the plants, eggs may be present. If you want to keep your plants intact and hole-free, this step is important, realizing[7]
- Some snails, especially the plant-harming ones, can reproduce by themselves and don't need a mate.
- To make sure your plants are snail-free, soak them for about 2 minutes in a chlorine bath of 1 gallon of water mixed with 1 1/2 cup household bleach. Name brands of bleach are sold at about 5.0% chlorine; so you're diluting that to 1/10 strength, 10% household chlorine bleach and 90% water for 0.5% = 1/2% chlorine. The plants best suited for this treatment are tougher, larger-leaved ones. Smaller plants should be soaked not more than 1 minute.[8]
- Then dip them in a DeChlor solution and rinse them thoroughly with tap water. Repeat rinsing if the plants smell of chlorine. The plants best suited for this treatment are tougher, larger-leaved ones. Smaller plants should be soaked not more than 1 minute.
- You can use assassin snails to get rid of plant eating ones -- Or buy 2 or 3 small puffer loaches and they'll take care of all the snails and their eggs in short order.[9]
- Well balanced water parameters regarding the big three chemicals are near: 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, and less than 50 ppm nitrates.[10]However, many aquarists believe nitrate levels under 20 ppm are best for ideal conditions.
- Search for pictures of planted tank designs for inspiration. You might not be able to recreate such underwater scenes faithfully, but it can give you some ideas on where to place plants.
- If your tank has been reliably used (with living things) for at least six months, you can usually skip testing your water. Of course, you can do testing just in case.
- If your plants look a bit yellow and your tank is established, just add more light sources. Clip-on lights are available widely online. If your tank is new, test for nitrates. If there's some present, add light. If there's not, add some fertilizer.
- Don't worry too much about water pH. It's likely your water source is not overly acidic or alkaline, and freshwater plants have a high tolerance range. Test your water pH yearly or now if you're unsure of the situation.
- Fertilizers aren't needed normally, which saves time and money. However, since plants feed off of nitrates, new tanks may need a bit of a boost. Only use fertilizers made for aquatic plants and follow the instructions. Adding too much can be detrimental!
- If you're not sure how to keep plants where you want them, many plants can be grown by tying them to wood or other structures. Use fishing line or thin thread.
- Many plants are versatile and can fill in the appropriate sections of the tank conveniently.
- There are some plants sold as "suitable for aquariums", but are really not fully aquatic, so to what extent can each be submerged or floating in your tank. The label should specify if your plant is aquatic or not; ask a store employee as well. Putting non-aquatic plants in water will cause them to die, rot and potentially poison your pets.
- Changing water to get rid of high levels of ammonia and nitrites/nitrates is a temporary fix -- not the solution in the long run. You should change water if you experience a (hopefully rare) spike, but frequent spikes signal a problem in cycling of your system.
- With all chemicals you should wear protective eye wear and gloves. Bleach/chlorine will damage clothing, carpeting, and can irritate/burn skin, etc.
- If you see your plants turning brown or rotting en masse, check the water parameters. High levels of ammonia and nitrites are usually the culprit.
- Never use a LED light unless there is a glass cover or similar protection! Even a bit of water touching the bulb can make it pop, potentially harming your pets.
EditThings You'll Need - Aquarium light source
- Substrate (gravel recommended)
- Tank that is set up
- Plants
- Fertilizer (if using)
- Test tube kit for testing water parameters
- Bleach (if using to get rid of snails)
- Filter
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| How to Save Voicemails from iPhone Posted: 21 Apr 2018 05:00 PM PDT This wikiHow teaches you how to save an iPhone voicemail message as an audio file using the Voice Memos app. Edit10 Second Summary 1. Open the Phone app.
2. Tap Voicemail.
3. Tap the share button.
4. Tap Voice Memos.
5. Tap Save.
- Open the Phone app on your iPhone. It's the green icon with a white phone receiver inside. You'll usually find it at the bottom of the home screen.
- Tap . It's the icon at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
- Tap on the message you want to save. A list of saving and sharing options will appear.
- Tap . This opens the recording in the Voice Memos app.
- If you want to save the file to your iCloud or other cloud drive, select Save to Files instead, and then choose your drive.
- Tap . The voicemail message is now saved an audio file.[1]
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| How to Use Crop Rotation in Gardening Posted: 21 Apr 2018 09:00 AM PDT Crop rotation is the practice of growing different fruits and vegetables in a different patch of soil each season. Learning to rotate your crops effectively is mostly a matter of careful planning. Once you've decided what you want to raise, map out your garden into separate plots and designate one type of plant to each. Every growing season, you'll move your desired crops to a new plot, introducing them to fresh, nutrient-rich soil where they'll be able to go on thriving. EditSeparating Your Garden - Divide your crops up into groups. Once you have an idea of what you want to grow, assign your selections to one of four categories: fruit crops, root crops, leaf crops, and legumes. Since the crops in each category deplete similar amounts of nutrients from the soil, splitting them up by type is easier than trying to determine where to place them individually.[1]
- Fruit crops include those like cucumbers, peppers, and eggplant require lots of nutrients to produce their colorful, meaty fruit.[2]
- Popular leafy greens like lettuce, cabbage, and spinach are heavy feeders that should follow low-nutrient crops in the garden.
- Root crops such as onions, turnips, carrots, and radishes can get by on fewer nutrients, and tend to be relatively low maintenance.
- Legumes, which include beans, peas, and all other veggies that grow in a pod, actually return nitrogen to the soil. This property makes them a good choice for trading off with more demanding crops.
- Determine each group's specific nutrient needs. Learn a little bit about the plants you want to grow and how taxing they'll be on your garden's soil. Heavy feeders like corn, tomatoes, and cabbage, for example, can drain large quantities of nutrients in a single season. Light feeders, such as most root vegetables and herbs, get by on relatively low levels.[3]
- Legumes are in a league of their own. They actually improve soil health by introducing essential nitrogen into the ground through a process called nitrogen fixation.[4]
- Understanding of your crops' unique requirements will allow you to modify your rotation plan so that they'll have the best chance of success.
- Designate a plot for each crop. Since the soil conditions in your garden will be the same starting out, you're free to situate your crops wherever you like. You might choose to plant your legumes in alongside fruit crops like tomatoes or squash, or alternate leafy greens with low-impact root crops. The exact placement will only become important after the first growing season, when the soil containing each crop type has been used up.[5]
- For maximum nutrient retention, consider alternating between heavy feeders and light feeders. Moving a crop of melons into a plot previously devoted to a few cilantro plants will ensure that they get the sustenance they need.
- The traditional eight-crop rotation plan can be a great place to start if you're new to crop rotation. It calls for a eight simple crops: tomatoes, peas, cabbage, sweet corn, potatoes, squash, root crops, and beans. Each of these crops is shifted over one plot every next growing season.[6]
- Leave at least one plot empty. In order to rotate your crops effectively, you'll need enough room to plant everything you want to grow and still have one or two patches of soil left over at all times. Leaving a plot fallow, or unused, will give the soil a break and prepare it for the next growing season.[7]
- If you don't plan on growing a certain type of crop, use the spare plot to plant more of the fruits and vegetables you like.
- Alternately, you can leave more than one plot empty (preferably on opposite ends of the garden) to give the soil more time to recover.[8]
EditPlanting and Harvesting Your Crops - Plant your crops. Till the soil in your growing site lightly and sow seeds for each crop in their corresponding plots. It will take a few weeks for your delicious homegrown fruits and veggies to begin springing up. The exact time of year you plant will depend mostly on the crop, so be sure to study each plant type to find out when to put it in the ground.[9]
- You can increase the organization and efficiency of your rotation cycles by sticking to crops with similar planting and harvesting schedules.
- Harvest the crops from your first growing season. Once the items in your garden have reached peak ripeness, venture out and gather as much as you can. Try not to leave any usable veggies behind. Your next step will be to relocate the plants, and any leftover growth will have a tough time surviving the transition.[10]
- Hold off on picking your crops until they're ready. With most plant types, you'll have a span of several weeks to take care of your harvesting and replanting and keep things on schedule.[11]
- Re-fertilize your soil as needed. Following the first season's harvest, examine the soil at your growing site closely. If it looks overly dry, sandy, or colorless, it may be spent. Add a small amount of nitrogen-rich organic fertilizer to restore vital nutrients and make sure that the next growing season is equally fruitful.[12]
- Compost, humus, and manure tend to make the best fertilizers for vegetable gardens in arid climates.
- Fertilizing shouldn't be necessary in most cases. In fact, one of the major advantages of crop rotation is that it cuts down on the need to use fertilizers as often as for traditional gardening methods.[13]
EditContinuing Your Crop Rotation - Shift each crop over one plot for the following season. Dig up your freshly-picked plots and aerate the vacant soil thoroughly. Then, move each crop over clockwise to its new destination and re-plant it. There, it will enjoy a brand new set of soil conditions that will promote healthy growth and discourage pests and disease from setting in.[14]
- A basic clockwise rotation is the most common configuration in rotation gardening. However, you could also move relocate your crops counterclockwise, across opposing plots, or even in a random pattern, as long as no patch gets the same kind of crop 2 seasons in a row.
- Don't forget to also move your empty replenishment plot over. That way, each patch of soil will have a full season to recover.
- Adjust your rotation plan if your crops are failing. In time, you may discover that a certain rotation works better in theory than it does in your garden. If this happens, play around with the order of your plots until you find a more productive arrangement. Remember that as a rule, plants with high nutrient needs should be moved to plots previously occupied by plants with low nutrients needs, and vice versa.[15]
- To get struggling crops back on track, stick to the fundamentals of crop rotation, like trading out herbs with robust fruit crops, planting legumes after alliums and cucurbits, and following legumes with needy brassicas.[16]
- It may take a couple seasons to find out what works best for a particular selection of crops.
- Change out your crops as desired between seasons. If you want to introduce new selections to your garden, the best time to do it is just before the start of the next growing season. Following a successful harvest, clear out a plot and use it to sow fruits or vegetables with nutrient needs that match the soil's current levels. You can then put the new crop into rotation along with your existing crops.[17]
- Heavy feeders like pumpkin or Swiss chard, for instance, will do best in a plot that housed light feeders or legumes the season before.
- Consider making room in your garden for local seasonal offerings each year to take advantage of changing growing conditions.
- Continue with your rotation cycle every growing season. Assuming you've chosen a logical sequencing for each of your offerings, they should go on producing at a high rate year after year. To ensure that infestation and disease don't become a problem, rotations should adhere to a three-year cycle, meaning that no one crop returns to its original position in less than three consecutive seasons.[18]
- Neglecting to properly rotate your crops can result in losses of up to 40% in subsequent seasons.[19]
- It's not necessary to stick to the same rotation pattern every growing season—the most important thing to remember is that no crop should go back where it's already been.
- When in doubt about the next rotation in the cycle, follow the crop in question with a light feeder like beans or leafy greens.
- In addition to keeping your garden healthy, crop rotation also reduces your ecological impact, as it cuts down on the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
- While it's possible to reap the benefits of crop rotation in a smaller garden by dividing available beds into individual growing areas, this can make it more difficult to control the spread of disease.
- If you have a long growing season or are raising plants like radishes that mature quickly, you might be able to plant more than one crop in a single bed each season. With careful planning, succession plantings can even be rotated through different beds in the same season.
- Whenever possible, avoid planting crops that favor drastically different soil conditions alongside one another. This can stunt the development of one or both.
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