Silk Plants??

[chris521957]

Hin all. I have just set up a plec tank and tried a few plants over the last 2 weeks. My anubias are thriving(apart from all the muck on the leaves, but i put in some elodea densa and it has gone filthy and rotten looking, full of fish poo, so i have binned it. I was thinking of a few tall silk plants for the corners to hide the filter intakes and heater, but i am not sure if these would look "false" or if they look realistic. Does anyone have them and can anyone post pics of theirs, or give me any pointers as to the most realistic. Thanks Chris.

[Justaerin]

While not using silk plants you may find this useful http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/c ... p?sid=4189 it's a tank set up with only plastic plants. Also gives brand name for research into costs etc

[chris521957]

Yeah, seen that one thanks. Not really the effect i was looking for. I just want something tall in the corners. Cheers Chris.

[Viktor Jarikov]

To my eye, they don't look too bad, better than plastic ones for sure. Their big problem (in my usage) is short lifetime - some hold up but many, especially with long and narrow leaves, start separating thread by thread and shredding too much too soon.

[chris521957]

Ok Thanks for that Viktor. Looks like i will have to think of something else. Cheers Chris.

[zeebo]

[img]http://i1184.photobucket.com/album ... .jpg[/img]

hi, as you can see, I have a few silk plants (the plastic on left has been replaced with another silk plant since this pic was taken )but there are some nice silk plants out there. It is also a matter of personal taste. I use them because I have not green thumb, but like the look of a few "plants" in my tank. This is just to give you and idea. Tank is 54g trigon/corner tank. HTH, Georgie

[chris521957]

That looks ok. I may just buy a couple of them to see how they go. Cheers Chris.

[Viktor Jarikov]

Ok Thanks for that Viktor. Looks like i will have to think of something else. Cheers Chris.

Not necessarily. Depends on fish too. Mine should not have bothered any plants, fake or live but my tanks were heavily stocked with medium size catfish and others.

I don't keep plecos. IDK if they can destroy the silk by constantly rasping.

I like the pic above.

[zeebo]

I posted the picture above. I keep 2 L128's-one is 5", in that thank, and a farlowella. They never bother the plants but I suspect the farlo has cleaned the alage off some of them because before I got him everything turned brown, and within a day everyting was clean ,and the silk plants are fine. If they ever get ratty looking, I won't mind replacing them, much cheaper than live plants I tried in past , and lost to lousy green thumb.

and thanks Viktor
Georgie

[chris521957]

I have 4 anubias tied to my large piece of bogwood and these get covered in brown gunge afte a few days. I suppose silk plants would be much easier to clean than real ones.

[zeebo]

right, I have tried same .

One note, if you are going to get silk plants, get them from a fish store so you know there are no toxins in the dye. Aquarium safe silk plants are easy to clean, just ask my farlowella ,but seriously, yeah i am sure a light scrub with old tank water would do the trick.

The store I use has so many different kinds now, seems they are getting more popular. The plastic ones were nasty looking in my tank so I tossed them and replaced with a few silk. Does the trick to hide stuff and adds a bit of color for hopeless plant killers like me.
Georgie

[Richard B]

I am wondering why the Anubias get covered in brown gunge after a few days? This doesn't seem natural & suggests something else in the tank needs looking at

[chris521957]

Maybe i worded that wrong. The "gunge" is jusr fish poo or a bit of brown algae. I have 12 small plecs in there, 30 cardinals, 12 rummynose and 4 small angels.I think i must have the lights on for too long(approx 9hrs a day). my water stats are fine, filtration is at least 10x. temp is 80. I am going to cut down on the lighting and maybe give them 1 day a week with no food to see if this helps.