AIO20 gallon Plant list thoughts

[BranchScape]

I have a Waterbox AIO 20g I decided not to use for salt. I am currently completing a dark start which looks to be done in about 2 weeks. The tank is posted below, it is using UNS Controsoil on top of Aquaforst AF Lava Soil and APT Start. then a section of CaribSea Carolina Creek and some detail stones. Hardscape is a bunch of spider wood pieces glued up and ohko/dragon stone. The tank will be running C02, the tanks light is a 45 Netlea AT5S. Stocking is undetermined.

I would love some feedback on my plant list before I submit my tissue culture order. Any thoughts or concerns are very welcome. I also have mini narrow leaf java fern I will add once it's bigger from another tank onto the wood.

Current Plant list:

Foreground
3 pack
IC809 ADA Tissue Culture Plant - Christmas moss (Vesicularia Montagnei) (cup size: short) - on the stone and wood
Quantity 3
Anubias Minima Dragon Claw Tissue Culture - Small Cup - tucked into the stone.

Midground
Quantity 2
IC015 ADA Tissue Culture - Hydrocotyle verticillata (cup size: short) - Goal is for it to be Interspersed among the Tripartita
Quantity 2
IC014 ADA Tissue Culture - Hydrocotyle tripartita (cup size: short) - Hoping for this to drip over the wood
Quantity 1
Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini' UNS Tissue Culture
Quantity 1
Juncus Repens Aquatic Farmer Tissue Culture -Behind the wood as a backdrop


Background sides
Quantity 2
Limnophila Aromatica Aquatic Farmer Tissue Culture -rear sides
Quantity 2
IC472 Tissue Culture - Bacopa Salzmannii -rear middle

 

[MrJG]

Heeey saw this on the CAC discord! Looking good.

I can’t comment on tc order, I’ve never had much luck with them so I try to buy submerged growth cuttings if I can.

 

[ElleDee]

What is your reason for going entirely with tissue culture?

 

[NC AL]

I am playing around with a 8 gallon. If everything goes well I am going to get a waterbox 20 AIO. What light are you using?

 

[BranchScape]

Heeey saw this on the CAC discord! Looking good.

I can’t comment on tc order, I’ve never had much luck with them so I try to buy submerged growth cuttings if I can.

Thanks, I was a member a few years back but had to step back but trying to be active again.

 

[BranchScape]

What is your reason for going entirely with tissue culture?

Availability and I had never tried it. Started to doubt that choice seeing other threads on TC melt, which is one of the reasons I posted this and I have a few plants new to me. As far as TC I have really only used it for moss and Eleocharis but with good luck. I just checked again and I can get everything for much less as a non TC. So likely doing that from Buceplant. But open to other plant sellers, i prefer not to ship cross country. ​

 

[MrJG]

Shot you a message on discord.

 

[BranchScape]

I am playing around with a 8 gallon. If everything goes well I am going to get a waterbox 20 AIO. What light are you using?

I am using the Netlea AT5S they have a 45 cm light the 545S that is a perfect fit. My one warning is this light is far stronger than I ever anticipated. I need to borrow a par meter but my guess is I never even get past 40% power.

Bought it here. App is ok, it had some learning curves just make sure ot get the V2 and for Andriod you will have to manually download it.

Netlea AT5S Gen 3 - Voice Activation - Latest

Latest Netlea AT5S Gen 3 with voice activation control and 21% more power. RGB+W LED, app control, perfect for planted aquariums. 2025 model with advanced features.

aquarockscolorado.com

 

[Sb1415]

Looks great. I don't have any experience with UNS Controsoil, but I have heard that it does't leach too much ammonia so i think you should be fine with TC. That is assuming your tank is cycled, maybe dark start. In my limited experience i have found that survival of TC depends upon the plant. My rotala BR, Rotala indica bonsai TC plant thrived even when there was ammonia in the tank while the L.arcuata completely melted off.

Anubias TC - Not much experience with this, but they seem to generally do well. If you run into algae issues might need trimming and waiting for it to grow can be a pain.

Hydrocotyle tripartita (cup size: short) - This will work fine for TC - It might take some time to pick up, but it is a wild one can be hard to keep in control. It tends to wrap itself around other plants if you miss trimming its tentacles.

Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini' UNS Tissue Culture - You get a lot of plants with the TC, although it is a mini it is still a pretty big plant so would keep that in mind when planting.

 

[Kwyet]

I’ve had pretty good luck with TC, except for Crypt Sindoor. I think the main thing is to add them to the tank AFTER it has completely cycled but before you have snails. Snails don’t usually bother healthy plants, but they do like tender tissue cultures.

 

[Koan]

open to other plant sellers, i prefer not to ship cross country

Aquatic Arts is Indiana

Cuboid is in Pennsylvania and ships free to the East Coast. I haven't used them before, have my first order coming from them this week.

AquaticMotiv is New Jersey, Flip Aquatics is Ohio, they're more well known for their fish and shrimp.

 

[BranchScape]

Aquatic Arts is Indiana

Cuboid is in Pennsylvania and ships free to the East Coast. I haven't used them before, have my first order coming from them this week.

AquaticMotiv is New Jersey, Flip Aquatics is Ohio, they're more well known for their fish and shrimp.

thanks will look to see your experience and possibly try one of them next time or Burr who I saw on here.

 

[BranchScape]

Looks great. I don't have any experience with UNS Controsoil, but I have heard that it does't leach too much ammonia so i think you should be fine with TC. That is assuming your tank is cycled, maybe dark start. In my limited experience i have found that survival of TC depends upon the plant. My rotala BR, Rotala indica bonsai TC plant thrived even when there was ammonia in the tank while the L.arcuata completely melted off.

Anubias TC - Not much experience with this, but they seem to generally do well. If you run into algae issues might need trimming and waiting for it to grow can be a pain.

Hydrocotyle tripartita (cup size: short) - This will work fine for TC - It might take some time to pick up, but it is a wild one can be hard to keep in control. It tends to wrap itself around other plants if you miss trimming its tentacles.

Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini' UNS Tissue Culture - You get a lot of plants with the TC, although it is a mini it is still a pretty big plant so would keep that in mind when planting.

UNS has zero ammonia that I have seen. But as part of the dark start I did APT Start. I started with somewhere between 2 and 4ppm ammonia per my api tests. After a week its down to 1 ppm and 1 ppm nitrite. I will hopefully have the cycle done by the end of the week. I may even start adding .5 ppm.

Good shout on it being plant specific. I have had Eleocharis Parvula mini, Weeping and Christmas Moss and Rotala Orange Juice with zero issues. I have a pink flamingo that I think will melt horribly.

 

[ElleDee]

Availability and I had never tried it. Started to doubt that choice seeing other threads on TC melt, which is one of the reasons I posted this and I have a few plants new to me. As far as TC I have really only used it for moss and Eleocharis but with good luck. I just checked again and I can get everything for much less as a non TC. So likely doing that from Buceplant. But open to other plant sellers, i prefer not to ship cross country. ​

Gotcha. I like TC plants more than a lot of people, but I think it's mote challenging to start a tank with only tissue culture plants. They just don't give you a lot of the plant mass you need to quickly balance a tank, and they are more likely to completely succumb if there are issues in the tank. Species that are hardy and adaptable in general are also the easiest to grow from tissue culture and are the lowest risk options if you just want to try something new.

Also, I find that for a lot of plants a single cup is so, so many plantlets for small tank. The exceptions might be for carpeting plants or species where the cup is just a single plantlet. But properly grown stem plant cups have roughly one billion tiny stems. You probably don't need a second cup of most of the ones on your list.