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Our most popular and versatile product--use it to grow many kinds of riparium plants!

The Small Hanging Planter holds Riparium Planter Gravel and hangs from the rear pane of aquarium glass. It situates the tallest plants in the aquarium background and provides a sturdy platform for plant support.

Each Small Hanging Planter 3-pack bag contains the following components:

• THREE Small Hanging Planter cups with mushroom-head fasteners (arrow)
• THREE plastic pot labels
• SIX heavy-duty vinyl suction cups
• ONE bag small (4-8 mm) expanded clay pebbles
• Instruction sheet

The planter screen prevents Riparium Planter Gravel from falling through the suction cup keyholes in the back of the planter. Lightweight, reusable clay pebbles line the bottom of the planter, also preventing gravel spillage and encouraging water circulation around plant roots. If kept clean, the heavy-duty vinyl suction cups can maintain suction for a year or more. Mushroom-head fasteners hold Trellis Rafts (sold seperately) securely in place against the planter cup in the rear of the composition. Use the plastic pot labels to document plant variety information and keep it with each plant.

Each planter cup measures 3.75" across and will accommodate most kinds of riparium plants. Use three Small Hanging Planter 3-packs (9 cups) to plant a 24-inch wide riparium. 

Assembled in USA - Patent Pending

We have updated our popular Nano Trellis Raft 3-pack. The new design has a more curved, vegetative shape and it is easy to hide in the planted riparium layout. The curved teardrop form hugs the planter cup, so it occupies less water surface area and works well in smaller aquariums.

Because it supports plant stems in the aquarium midground, the Nano Trellis Raft helps to create visual depth in the riparium layout. Sprawling stem plants (Bacopa, Ludwigia, Hygrophila and others) will root in a hanging planter, then grow forward to cover the raft and create an attractive floating carpet of foliage. You can also root small stem plants that grow well with their roots suspended directly in the water (Pilea, Fittonia, Oplismenus and others) directly on the raft for a movable foliage accent.

Each Nano Trellis Raft 3-pack bag contains the following items:

• THREE Nano Trellis Rafts with puzzle piece floats and mushroom-head fasteners
• Instruction Sheet
• Black Water-resistant Rubber Bands

Cut from a stiff, closed-cell foam, the Nano Trellis Raft is durable and highly bouyant. Its asymmetrical form and dark charcoal coloration help it to blend in with the riparium layout. As large growing plants begin to bog down the Nano Trellis Raft, puzzle-piece floats (upper right of photo) provide additional flotation. Mushroom-head fasteners (arrow) hold the Nano Trellis Raft tight against neighboring rafts and Hanging Planter planter cups. Use the Water-resistant Rubber Bands to hold small rhizome plants (Anubias, Java fern) against the Nano Trellis Raft as they grow roots down into the water.
Made in USA - Patent Pending

Each bag of Riparium Planter Gravel contains 6 cups  of material, enough to fill 6 Small Hanging Planter planter cups.

Riparium Planter Gravel creates an excellent rooting environment for most kinds of riparium plants. The fired clay granules have a beneficial chemical property, cation exchange capacity, meaning that they can capture nutrient ions from the water and then make them available to plant roots. The gravel has an even consistency with few fine particles, so it resists compaction.

Our Riparium Planter Gravel is comparable to some other products used for planted aquariums. However, prior to packaging it is triple-rinsed, then allowed to air-dry until slightly moist. Most other planted aquarium gravels are packaged wet and are difficult to use with planter cups because they clump and stick to fingers. Riparium Planter Gravel pours easily and has little dust.

Made in USA

Each replacement pack of heavy-duty vinyl suction cups contains 10 pieces, enough for FIVE Hanging Planter planter cups

The suction cups that we package with our Hanging Planters keep their hold much longer than those used with many other kinds of aquarium accessories. We suction cups here in our shop that are still working well after more than one year of service. However, the vinyl plastic does eventually begin to lose its resiliency, so it's a good idea to pick up a replacement pack or two while shopping for other riparium accessories

The Riparium Island I Combination Pack includes most of the items that you will need to plant a small riparium island area in your tank. This is a great way to get started with a few riparium plants while planning a larger setup. 

The package includes the new Nano Trellis Raft design, which holds plants in the riparium midground. The attached picture shows a Small Hanging Planter with the Nano Trellis Raft attached, substrate and some rooted Bacopa stems. This is essentially 1/2 of the items in the package, minus the live plants.

The following lists everything in the Riparium Island I Combination Pack:

• TWO Small Hanging Planters
• TWO Nano Trellis Rafts with mushroom-head fasteners
• FOUR water-resistant rubber bands
• Double-portion Riparium Planter Gravel
• Double-portion clay pebbles substrate
• Instruction sheet
• Reusable zip-closure poly bag

You can use two or three Riparium Island I Combination Packs to plant most of an 18" or 24"-wide tank. Just one pack planted with plants will fill much of the space in smaller (5-10 gallons) setups.

Assembled in USA - Patent Pending

The Tank Planters Large Planter 2-pack works well for taller background foliage, centerpiece plants and other large specimens. Fish hobbyists will find this planter size well-suited for planting Amazon swords and similar plants in setups for discus, angelfish or other prized fish. Use the Large Planters to add plants to bare-bottom breeding tanks! The Large Tank Planter works well with plants that grow to about 24" tall.

Each Tank Planters Large Planter 2-pack includes the following items:

• TWO Large Tank Planters (2.5" wide) with planter screens
• Tank planters substrate
• Nutrient pellets
• Instruction sheet
• Reusable zip-closure poly bag

Plants can remain healthy in the Large Tank Planter for a long time. During our product tests, we have kept crypts (Cryptocoryne) rooted in Tank Planters for more than one year. Although many roots eventually grow in the Tank Planter, you can keep the plants well-nourished by adding nutrient pellets to the planter cup every few months.

Assembled in USA

The Tank Planters Foliage Kit 4-pack includes FOUR of our Medium Tank Planters. Hobbyists using Tank Planters in bare-bottom tanks and other fish setups will find this combination pack especially useful. The Medium Tank Planter works very well with aquarium plants that grow 6-14" tall. It will control the sizes of certain plants that can grow too large, such as Amazon sword.

Each Tank Planters Foliage Kit 4-pack includes the following items:

• FOUR Medium (2.25" wide) Tank Planters  with planter screens
• Tank Planters Substrate
• Nutrient pellets
• Instruction sheet
• Reusable zip-closure poly bag

The Medium Tank Planter works well in combination with a wide variety of plants, but the following lists several of our favorites:

• crypt wendtii (Cryptocoryne wendtii), 'Green', 'Mi Oya', 'Bronze' and other varieties
• crypt lutea (Cryptocoryne walkeri)
• pink crypt (Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia)
• Amazon sword (Echinodorus amazonicus)
• melon sword (Echinodorus osiris)
• crinum lily (Crinum natans)
• aponogeton (various Aponogeton species)

Assembled in USA

Each clay pebbles substrate bag contains 6 cups  of material, enough to fill 6 planter cups.

Clay pebbles substrate is a lightweight material that is useful for lining the bottoms of riparium hanging planters, where is enhances water diffusion into the planter cup and prevents the spillage of Riparium Planter Gravel through the planter cup drain holes.

Certain kinds of riparium plants require more water diffusion around their roots. These plants grow best if most of the planter cup is filled with clay pebbles substrate that has a thinner cap of finer Riparium Planter Gravel on top. The following lists several plants that benefit from this kind of planting:

• sweetflag (Acorus gramineus)
• peace lily (Spathiphyllum)
• anubias (Anubias)

The rounded shape of clay pebbles substrate creates a maximum amount of open space between particles in the rooting zone. Leaving plenty of room for the root development and water diffusion.

Specifications

• Botanical name - Cyperus alternifolius var. gracilis
• Geographic origin - Madagascar
• Form - Live plant rooted in rock wool plug
• Function - Grassy Background plant rooted in Hanging Planter
• Riparium style - Open Top
• Mature height - 12-24"

Details

The Cyperus umbrella sedge is perfect for developing a grassy riverbank feeling. It creates a strong vertical dimension for the riparium layout, but its fine leaves do not cast very much shade, so there is still plenty of light for riparium midground plants and the aquarium underwater area. For use as a background plant we recommend using it in several planters, then mixing in a few more planters with accent plants for additional visual interest.

Dwarf umbrella sedge is a horticultural variety of C. alternifolius. This plant is originally from Madagascar, but similar-looking Cyperus species grow in aquatic environments all around the world, so you can use it in biotope representations with many different kinds of fish and plants. It is easy to grow and highly resistant to insect pests. It can grow to 24" tall, but you can control its size by trimming leaves that get too large.

Specifications:

• Botanical name - Ruellia malacosperma
• Geographic origin - Southern United States & Mexico
• Form - Live plant rooted in rock wool plug
• Function - Blooming accent rooted in Hanging Planter
• Riparium style - Open Top
• Mature height - 12-18"

Details: This selection is similar to the familiar blue or pink-flowered tall bluebell (Ruellia brittoninana) but it is a more compact plant with snow white blossoms. It has a shrubby growth habit and it is easy to control its size and shape with pruning: you can cut it back to just a few leaf nodes above the roots and it will quickly grow again. For blooming it requires good root fertilization and bright-moderate lighting.

White ruellia is a very good choice for biotope aquarium setups featuring fish and plants from the Southern United States, Mexico and Central America.

Ruellia spp. plants are moderately susceptible to spider mites and some other plants pests that can damage leaves. It is a good idea to give them an overnight dunk underwater once every 8 weeks—you can sink the plant and its planter right in the fish tank—as a preventative measure to discourage insect pests.

Specifications

• Botanical name - Pilea cadierei
• Geographic origin - Southeast Asia
• Form - Live plant rooted in rock wool plug
• Function - Riparium Midground planted through holes in Trellis Raft
• Riparium style - Open Top or High Humidity
• Mature height - 4"-12"

Details

This is one of the best choices for planting on riparium Trellis Rafts to develop the riparium midground. Most riparium plants are "heavy root feeders" and grow best rooted in clay gravel with extra root fertilization, but aluminum plant is less demanding and will grow very well with its roots suspended directly in the aquarium water. The white variegation of this plant creates a wonderful contrast against the solid green of taller background plants, such as Cyperus umbrella sedges or Spathiphyllum peace lilies.

Each rock wool plug holds two rooted aluminum plant cuttings, enough to plant one Nano Trellis Raft. Aluminum Plant is easy to propagate: just take cuttings with several leaf nodes from the top of the plant, then plant back into Trellis Raft.

Specifications

• Botanical name - Ruellia brittoniana
• Geographic origin - Mexico
• Form - Live plant rooted in rock wool plug
• Function - >Blooming Accent rooted in Hanging Planter
• Riparium style - Open Top
• Mature height - 18"-36" (prune to size)

Details

While there are several horticultural varieties of the species Ruellia brittoniana, the vigorous tall bluebell is the wild species form. It has a shrubby growth habit and it is easy to control its size and shape with pruning: you can cut it back to just a few leaf nodes above the roots and it will quickly grow again. For blooming it requires good root fertilization and bright-moderate lighting.

Since it grows so quickly with a dense root system, tall bluebell is an especially good choice as a riparium biofilter plant; it can rapidly uptake fish wastes and other aquarium pollutants. It is also a very good choice for biotope aquarium setups featuring fish and plants from the Southern United States, Mexico and Central America.

Ruellia spp. plants are moderately susceptible to spider mites and some other plants pests that can damage leaves. It is a good idea to give them an overnight dunk underwater once every 8 weeks—you can sink the plant and its planter right in the fish tank—as a preventative measure to discourage insect pests.

Specifications

• Botanical name - Hygrophila salicifolia
• Geographic origin - Southeast Asia
• Form - Live plant rooted in rock wool plug, emersed-form foliage
• Function - Blooming Accent rooted in Hanging Planter
• Riparium style - Open Top, good for Nano Ripariums
• Mature height - 8"-24" (prune to size)

Details

Willow hygro is a common semi-aquatic aquarium stem plant. The underwater-form leaves are slender, wispy and bright green, while the emersed-form foliage is more compact with wavy leaf margins and purple-green coloration. When this plant reaches about 12" tall in emersed growth it may begin to bloom with snapdragon-like pink flowers in the leaf axils.

With it's fine foliage and slender stems, willow hygro is a good choice for nano riparium setups. It can grow to 24" tall, but it is easy to keep it shorter and tidy with occasional pruning. You can propagate this plant by suspending the cut stem bases in water, where they will root after 1-3 weeks. Plant a whole cutting underwater in the bottom of the aquarium for easy-care aquatic foliage.

Specifications

• Botanical name - Phalaris arundinacea 'Strawberries & Cream'
• Geographic origin - North America, Europe, Asia
• Form - Live plant rooted in rock wool plug
• Function - Grassy Background rooted in Hanging Planter
• Riparium style - Open Top
• Mature height - 12"-24"

Details

Ribbon grass is a fast-growing wetland plant that has become a problematic invasive weed in some natural habitats. The horticultural variety, 'Strawberries & Cream', has white and pink-variegated leaves and it is shorter and less aggressive than the wild-form plant. Nevertheless, we recommend keeping this plant only in your aquarium setup because it can spread rapidly in an outdoor garden.

This plant will look best in a riparium if rooted in several riparium planters as grassy background foliage and combined with a few other kinds of plants used as accents. Ribbon grass can grow spindly in shady conditions, so the riparium setup should be illuminated with bright-moderate lighting. Some of the leaves of newly-planted 'Strawberries & Cream' ribbon grass may also be soft and flop out of place, but once established you can trim these older leaves away for a more fresh appearance. You can also cut a well-rooted plant all the way back to the substrate and it will regrow with vigorous new grass foliage.

The grō soil tab is a new concept in aquarium plant nutrition. With forest topsoil, red art clay and other natural ingredients, the grō soil tab provides plant macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus & potassium) and micronutrients (iron & many others). The grō soil tab also conditions the substrate, infusing the gravel rooting area with humates and clay particles to promote plant nutrient uptake. Use the grō soil tab to replenish soil-based substrates or to enrich inert sands and gravels. The grō soil tab is shrimp-safe and fish-safe when used as directed.

Directions

1. The grō soil tabs are rich in nutrients, so bury them deep and keep covered with at least 1” of substrate. Tab particles can promote algae if dispersed in the aquarium water.
2. Established tanks: To treat a whole aquarium, bury grō soil tabs with centers on an approximate 3” X 3” grid (about 1 1/2“ between tabs). The 18-piece bag will cover the bottom of a 12” X 24” tank or similar enclosure with this spacing. It is not critical to use exact spacing.
3. New tanks: Situate tabs on the empty tank bottom with 3” X 3” grid spacing, then cover with substrate and fill the aquarium with water.
4. Nourish individual large plants by burying one, two or three grō soil tabs near the plant crown.
5. The grō soil tabs will feed your plants for 2-6 months. Use in combination with appropriate lighting, water column fertilization and CO2 injection for best results.
6. Avoid disturbing substrate near the grō soil tabs.