Here for the knowledge. New to Bonsai.

[Ground_zero298]

Hello. Just finished up my new meditation/yoga room. I’ve done successful marine fish tanks for years but am now starting into bonsai, mangroves, and succulents.

Everything is in a blacked out room under a bench I have built. For lighting I went with what I am familiar with. Which are 3 Kessil a360x tuna suns, they have the red and amber leds in them also. Have then set to start at a sunrise then ramp up from noon to 3 then move towards a moon phase by 8.

I bought some cutting off Amazon from cz. Got an Australian willow, dragon willow, and a dwarf Australian weeping. So I was expecting 3 stalks. I ended up with 10, some being smaller.

I put them in cups of water per the instructions, roots were ready to plant in 3 days. I had only ordered 3 pots which were smaller than expected when I got them, so I ordered a couple more to separate some of the bigger cuttings. To my surprise the roots had already taken the shape of the bowl and growth has been really fast. I thought they would grow slower.

So the pics include are 14 days from bare stalks in water til now. I planned on buying a couple books and watching some videos but it seems I may need to fast track a little.

So besides the introduction I’m looking for a little feedback on what to do with the growth for now as the are growing a 1” a day. I am going to start scouring the site for info in the mean time but figured someone may have some advice for now. Such as am I suppose to do anything yet or just let them grow for now?

I am working with 24” for height. It builds heat with the lights during the day time so I do have a hot cold cycle going with the bench setup. My co2 averages 1000-1200 in the winter months like now with the heater I use in the basement. Will be around 450-550 in the summer. I know the bench is low but I like the challenge. Mangroves will be fun with this also. I have no issue putting in the time and effort as I like my hobbies. Just got a little thrown off by how fast they are growing. I was not expecting this. I thought I’d have more time. If there’s something smaller I should look into for my space I’m open to suggestions.

So any input on some good books or vids would be appreciated, also any insight would be valuable too. I am a quick study and pick up and retain info very well. I’m good at noticing minute changes in details as well.

Last question. Should I keep the large cuttings as they are or cut a couple limbs off and start over with something smaller? I also purchased another 10 types in seed form I was going to grow but I’m at limit now for pots. So I won’t be doing any seedlings. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you

Jayson

 

[Eckhoffw]

Welcome!

 

[19Mateo83]

Welcome to the nut house! I’ve always wondered how the a360x tuna suns would do for trees. I don’t see why they wouldn’t work, you may end up with some par hotspots directly underneath them. Do you still have your tank?

 

[ShadyStump]

Welcome aboard!

Mind letting folks know where you are? You'll get asked this allot because climate really impacts care.
Willow of any sort will want to be outside. All the lights in the world do not a sun make.

 

[Eckhoffw]

Growing plants of any sorts, is rewarding in its own right.
At the same time, I would first ask myself, what kind of tree do I imagine these to become?

From there, a game plan can be made.

 

[Ground_zero298]

Welcome to the nut house! I’ve always wondered how the a360x tuna suns would do for trees. I don’t see why they wouldn’t work, you may end up with some par hotspots directly underneath them. Do you still have your tank?

Reef tanks were taken down. The sump setup is still in the basement. It runs a single 10 gallon in the kitchen. I’m running the 3x reflectors on the tunas. 5x was too tight of a pattern, no reflector was too wide. Only peaking at 65% Kessils are usually good for even par but time will tell. I can rotate stuff around if need be.

Here’s a pic of the sump, the 45 I took down and the 10 gal in the kitchen.

 

[Ground_zero298]

Welcome aboard!

Mind letting folks know where you are? You'll get asked this allot because climate really impacts care.
Willow of any sort will want to be outside. All the lights in the world do not a sun make.

Thanks for the reply. I’m in Michigan. The setup they’re in right now gets down to 70 at night, 80’s during the day. I’m trying for an all indoor grow so these may not be the right ones for my setup then. I can adjust the kessils to follow the sunrise sunset patterns so they can follow the season cycles for light. Won’t work for temp though.

 

[Ground_zero298]

Growing plants of any sorts, is rewarding in its own right.
At the same time, I would first ask myself, what kind of tree do I imagine these to become?

From there, a game plan can be made.

That’s what I’m going to have to research as I know nothing but they go in soil at this point. But I start all my hobbies this way. I’m picturing a little mini canopy more wide than tall. I did order some tools and wire. Would like to keep them around 12-14” if possible then let the mangroves fill in behind that.

 

[The Barber]

Welcome, I use to have reef tanks as well. Dealt with enough crashes I finally quit the hobby. Here's my last 250 gallon.

 

[Ground_zero298]

Welcome, I use to have reef tanks as well. Dealt with enough crashes I finally quit the hobby. Here's my last 250 gallon.

Looked great! I never had any crashes, was good for a solid 4-5 years. Just became way too time consuming and demanding with my work schedule. I was afraid of the crashing and all the money lost with that. Had to have everything automated with my schedule then a back up eps on that circuit. That would give me a hour to get home if the power was out. Was setup just to run the return pumps. Nutrients had to be automated along with feedings, salt mix tank, and auto top off. Had to have a copepod hang on tank as well to feed the mandarins. I was out of town for a week or 2 at a time back then. Had a camera setup on the top f the aquarium. It worked but it stopped being fun after a while.

 

[19Mateo83]

Reef tanks were taken down. The sump setup is still in the basement. It runs a single 10 gallon in the kitchen. I’m running the 3x reflectors on the tunas. 5x was too tight of a pattern, no reflector was too wide. Only peaking at 65% Kessils are usually good for even par but time will tell. I can rotate stuff around if need be.

Here’s a pic of the sump, the 45 I took down and the 10 gal in the kitchen.

Very nice tanks. Here’s my current tank, it’s 50g with a 20g sump. I run a single ap9x on it. Kessil lights are nice.

 

[Ground_zero298]

I did leave the sump setup and kept all the equipment, still have a new pair of 40 gal cubes down stairs I was gonna put on each night stand in my bedroom, even have the second pump plumbed in for it still. So I’m set if I ever decide to expand again. Skimmer, heater, all the animations stuff, lights, ozone and wave makers all cleaned and stored upstairs just in case.

 

[Ground_zero298]

On the kessils I do use matte black aluminum tape to adjust the light patters for cut off and direction. It’s like the aluminum furnace tape they use. Like a mirror on the back. Good for moving light around. I usually just get it off Amazon. Just black aluminum tape.

 

[ShadyStump]

Thanks for the reply. I’m in Michigan. The setup they’re in right now gets down to 70 at night, 80’s during the day. I’m trying for an all indoor grow so these may not be the right ones for my setup then. I can adjust the kessils to follow the sunrise sunset patterns so they can follow the season cycles for light. Won’t work for temp though.

I suggest adding your location to your profile. Helps ALLOT.

Trees really are meant to be outside, but many species adapt well to life indoors. Pretty much anything ficus will, and they're really forgiving of noob mistakes.
Plenty of folks around here from Michigan, so you're in good company and have lots of support getting going.

 

[crab apple]

I used to grow copepods to feed the madarins. Phytoplankton to feed the copepods. Fun for awail but got to be too much. Bonsai is more relaxing.