Indoor Pond Question

[landey1230]

I'm dividing my lilies and placing the divisions in an indoor mini pond.  Is the grow light supposed to stay on 24 hours?  I'm not sure if it would be too much light for the lilies.  Also, what do you fertilize small divisions with? 

[karen J]

Wow, I'm not sure about Arizona, but I'd say 12-14 hours of good light. Plants need a dark stage to complete the Krebs cycle (please correct me about this if necessary).

[marla]

I leave my grow lights on 24/7, I've often wondered if it's necessarry thought about putting them on a timer, so maybe we will get an expert opinion on that.  I do not fertalize and I do not heat the water, they really don't grow stay fairly dormant but alive.  

[EagleEye]

Seriously, I'd like to know how much this cost per month to do this.
Am I cheap?-------yup

Steve

[Vickie]

I have an indoor 100 gallon pond. I keep a light on it for about 12 hrs a day. It is on a timer. I also have a small pump and a heater and fish. I bring in tropical fish for the winter. I also have aquariums set up. I bring in my tropical lilies that made no tubers to try to keep them alive. Sometimes they make tubers but I try to keep the plants too on my special lilies. I do not feed the lilies while they are inside for the winter, I just try to keep them alive. As for price to run this stuff I have no idea but with 11 ponds and with 7 of them having pumps going it costs me a lot of money. Plus the aquariums and pond in the basement. But it is worth it and I will do it as long as I can.

[landey1230]

I'm cheap, as well.  The light is energy efficient and uses 17 watts of electricity.  I'm also running the small pump 24 hours.  So, is it too much light?

[tenuki]

Ignorant person here asking questions.  This year I brougt 2 tropicals in and put them in a tub of water with a light to try to overwinter.  Some posts suggested doing that and it sounded easier than packing them in sand, etc.
Vickey - How do you know if a tropical has formed a tuber?  Especially if the plant is totally root bound?
Landley - are you dividing tropicals or hardy?  Should one try to divide a tropical or a hardy this time of year?
Karen - what is a Kreb cycle?
Anyone -how do you keep your water "fresh", like not smell?
When you think about it, I buy about 6 - 7 tropicals a year because they are so pretty, but toss them out come fall.  Thats about $240 per season.
Where the heck do you buy "grow lites"?
Thats enough silly questions for now
GOOD TOPIC!!!

[PondmaninAL]

Tenuki, you could always do as one of the other members have done, send your tropicals to me to over-winter and have me send you babies in the Spring. This way, we all win. In my area, we can leave them in the pond.

[landey1230]

You know when to divide the tropicals when the tuber is big enough.  Just rinse of the soil and check.  Sean has a tutorial on this forum on how to.  I bought my grow light at Wal Mart.  I know other hardware stores carry them.  It's a type of florescent light.  This is my first year doing this.

[Sean]

read my full tutorial at this link,
http://www.americanponders.com/forum/index.php?topic=134.0
it will clarify most of your questions. If you still have questions after reading the tutorial reply here and I will try to help further.

Cheers,
Sean

[tenuki]

Sean- I read your tutorial last week.  It is quite good and I printed it out.  Which is what prompted me to jump in on this topic.  However, there is no dirt left to rinse off, just tons of hair like roots and it weighs about 10#.  My hardies get this long tuber that looks something like a very long corn cob.  I have had some success dividing them.
I looked at grow lites online and the cost of those would supply me with tropicals for a couple of years.  I shall check out Walmart.  Thanks

[karen J]

 Tenuki,
Sorry! It's not the Krebs Cycle, it's the Calvin cycle. My mind is not what it used to be and I get all the names mixed up. It's when the plant uses the energy collected from the sun to make sugar. It can happen during the day, but happens more at night. In people it's the Kreb's cycle. 

[landey1230]

Thanks, Karen

[LeeAnne151]

It is not necessary and may even be harmful to leave grow lights on 24/7

[marla]

Alrighty then, my lights go off tonight, and I will turn them on in the morning....Will find a timer so I don't forget to turn off and on, however the walking up and down the stairs would be good exercise