holding down plants

[Quatro]

Hey,

I picked up some red combomba at the last meeting and it keeps getting uprooted and floating around the tank.  Any suggestions to keep it in place.  I am looking at this product and would like to know other peoples thoughts.  Thanks

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19343&category_id=1577&pcid1=3349

Mike S

[PaleoFishGirl]

Hey,

I picked up some red combomba at the last meeting and it keeps getting uprooted and floating around the tank.  Any suggestions to keep it in place.  I am looking at this product and would like to know other peoples thoughts.  Thanks

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19343&category_id=1577&pcid1=3349

Mike S

Yep, those are lead.  IMO they work great.  Opinions seem to vary as to 'toxicity' of these strips, but the term 'non-toxic lead' seems a bit of an oxymoron to me.  However, we drink our wine from pewter goblets and I'm not crazy at all  :roll:

[mseguin]

That's debatable  :twisted:
If ur worried about them harming the plants, you can use th strips just gently wrapped around the stems, so they just touch enough to hold them down but don't hold them together.

[luvfishies]

I thought those things weren't made of lead any more?

[DonCorleone]

Fishing line will work. So will cotton thread. I've used both to attach java fern and java moss to driftwood and slate, and its cheaper and safer than plant weights.

[apistome]

If you let Cabomba float, it will grow roots which it can use to
anchor itself down.  or just cut off the bottom shoots and bury the stem in 3" of substrate which has been working for me. I bend them slightly so they hold in place better.

There is also an article on  Cabomba in this months Tropical Fish Hobbiest magazine.

[BigDaddy]

I didn't think it was lead.. I'm pretty sure its zinc

If they won't let you paint with lead, they sure has hell aren't going to let you handle it in an aquarium

[babblefish1960]

The cabomba I grow in my tanks all stick after a while, I just patiently  replace it each day until it floats no more.

Quite honestly, cabomba doesn't really grow from roots in the conventional way, and whatever is happening down there seems to resolve itself after some time.

You may also wish to try a simple stone, or the like, to pin it a little better without introducing toxins or sharp objects that would only serve to rot the plant at the weight point.

Good luck and happy patient replanting

[Aiglos]

Plants will also take in the heavy metals from the metal plant clips.

[Quatro]

Thanks everyone for the info.  It says on the package that it is made of "soft lead" but thats its "non-toxic".  Sounds like a contradiction to me.  I'm going to try using some thread to tie it to a piece of plastic or something and then bury it.

Mike S