DSM, dry start method: New(?) method to make a nice rug of HC before you add water

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Dr.Tran

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Mar 31, 2008
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Yet another question about emersed HC. I am about to try this method on a 20 gal long with 100% flourite. I have a 65 wat light but since I am about to grow this emersed, can I use a 30 wat light? What is the light requriment on growing HC emersed? It seems kinda werid trying to wats per gallon when theres no water.
 

chris81

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Mar 31, 2008
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Hi Guys,

This is the first photo of my new planted setup. The tank was flooded yesterday after about a 4 week dry run with HC, Anubias ssp, hairgrass and E.tenellus.

Yesterday Vallis natans and limnophila sessiflora were added prior to flooding.

Tank parameters are the following:

Dimensions: 100cm x 45cm x 50cm
Substrate: Seachem flourite black
Light: 3 t8 tubes 30 w each ( to be fitted with reflectors)
Lights on for 10 hrs a day.
Co2: 2 bubbles per second. switched off at night.
Fertiliser: Mon, wed, sat: 5ml PMdd
tue thurs sun: Trace elements and seachem flourish

Would appreciate all your comments.

Thanks a lot

Chris

010.JPG
 

redcaptrio

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Jan 20, 2008
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chris81;25410 said:
Hi Guys,

This is the first photo of my new planted setup. The tank was flooded yesterday after about a 4 week dry run with HC, Anubias ssp, hairgrass and E.tenellus.

Yesterday Vallis natans and limnophila sessiflora were added prior to flooding.

Tank parameters are the following:

Dimensions: 100cm x 45cm x 50cm
Substrate: Seachem flourite black
Light: 3 t8 tubes 30 w each ( to be fitted with reflectors)
Lights on for 10 hrs a day.
Co2: 2 bubbles per second. switched off at night.
Fertiliser: Mon, wed, sat: 5ml PMdd
tue thurs sun: Trace elements and seachem flourish

Would appreciate all your comments.

Thanks a lot

Chris

nice healthy color on your HC.. with a little trimming and time, i think your on your way to a splendid carpet! :D
 

orion2001

Guru Class Expert
Mar 27, 2008
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Nice looking tank Chris. I think it will look great once things start to fill out. My only comment would be that the driftwood seems a little too naked. It is a huge piece which takes up a chunk of real estate in your tank, and I think it needs some green on it. Be it with mosses, or by having something taller like java fern growing around it.

Btw do you have a journal for this tank posted anywhere? I'd love to follow the progress of your tank. Good luck!

PS- How many pots of anubias did you need to buy to achieve the coverage you have?
 

chris81

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Mar 31, 2008
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Hi guys,

Thanks for the comments! Orion you are right, in fact java fern and mosses have been added to the wood. That photo was just after flooding. I am posting a journal of my tank on aquariummalta which is our local forum! This is the link to my tank

Chris's New Planted setup - AquariumMalta | Forums | Members' planted tanks

WIth regards to anubias: It didnt take a lot of pots it just took a lot of patience. WHat i did was to grow the anubias terrestially were the growth rate is faster than when they are grown submersed and than i divided the rhizone and planted in the tank when i was doing the dry run. That gave them time to establish themselves and they have now started to sprout new roots and shoots.

What i am worried is about my HC. How do you know whether it will survive the submersion. After 4 days its still looking healthy and its pearling yet u never know!

Thanks a lot for the comments.

CHris
 

Tom Barr

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If you give the Anubias some time, they will take off and grow faster emersed.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

VaughnH

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You have about a 60 gallon tank, with about 90 watts of T8 light and no reflectors, for now? That isn't a lot of light for HC, so I think getting reflectors for the lights should be a high priority now. If they are in a box-like fixture you could gain a lot by just painting the inside of the "box" with good bright white paint.

You seem to be depending on 2 bubbles per second being enough CO2, and it may be, since the HC is pearling, but a drop checker would give you better assurance of having enough, and they are cheap.

That is going to be a spectacular tank when it gets grown in a little! I really like the big piece of wood, even though it is probably bigger than most people would prefer.
 

chris81

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Mar 31, 2008
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Hi VaughnH,

Thanks for your comments. I know its really a high priority to get reflectors however i can only find the square ones locally and i would wish to have the parabolic reflectors. For the time being i think ill cover the box like fixture of the hood with aluminium foil to increase reflection until i find these reflectors!

With respect to co2 i am currently using a long term co2 indicator and its in the green range so co2 concetration seems to be ok at this rate however i am not switching the co2 off at night.

Guys i was considering to put riccia on slate and put in on the bog wood so as to soften the features of it. Do you think this is a good idea, read that some ppl had problems with riccia in their tanks in the sense that it just covered everything!

Thanks again,

Chris
 

Gerryd

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Guys i was considering to put riccia on slate and put in on the bog wood so as to soften the features of it. Do you think this is a good idea, read that some ppl had problems with riccia in their tanks in the sense that it just covered everything!

Hi Chris,

Riccia will grow quickly given enough light and nutrients.

Biggest issue (for me) is that it is extremely bouyant and gets worse as the mass increases :)

I cutup one of those mesh laundry bags used for delicates and then used this to wrap OVER the riccia on the rock or wood.

This covers it completely and takes about a week for it to grow back through the mesh. Looks goofy at first, but grows out quick. Just like a chia pet lol

But, it stays on and doesn't float away either............

Stays on much better, and when trimming, you can just grab the Riccia on top of the mesh, remove the mesh, rinse mesh and rock, and re-cover.

Hope this helps.

Good luck!
 

orion2001

Guru Class Expert
Mar 27, 2008
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I've read posts by people complaining about it taking over their tanks. I've never grown it so I have no opinion personally. Just thought I'd give you a heads up. I guess you should be careful with it, and when trimming so as to prevent it spreading in your tank.

Nice job with your tank! Btw, when you say you grew the anubias terrestrially, what exactly did you do? I'd love to know what it involved. I have another month before I submerge my tank and I wouldn't mind ordering some anubias now so as to grow it out. Thanks!
 

chris81

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Mar 31, 2008
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Hi orion,

Thanks for compliment. Tank is still relatevly new so a lot can go wrong! What i did with anubias was to grow ot emerse in compost at high humidity in plenty of light just like one does with riccia. When it was time to start this aquarium i removed the anubias from compost rinsed, divided the rhizone with sharp pair of scissors to get more plants and planted together with Hc and started the dry run. If ya look at earlier pic of my tank when not submerged anubias was already there. This gives it some time to settle and adjust to new envirolment, light intensity ect.

Hope i was of help!

May o pose a question? When is the best time to trim HC and how does one perform this feat? I must admit i am daunted by this task! ALl helo would be appreciated.

Chris
 

Tom Barr

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Update on the 180 gal using this method, this was done about 1 month ago from today:

HCin180.jpg



resizedHCweek7.jpg
 

orion2001

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Mar 27, 2008
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It's looking great Tom. One question though, how have you managed to keep the areas with pools algae free? I can't see any algae on the substrate in those regions. Any thoughts on why that is so?

PS - Thanks for the info Chris. Can't wait to see the progression of your tank. Good luck!
 

Tom Barr

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No trick really, I leave the lights on 10 hours a day.
No algae.

You can let it dry out some, then that should help.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

chris81

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Mar 31, 2008
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Hi Guys,

CAn you please tell what is the best way to trim HC and whem s the best time to do it? Should i give it some time or shall i perform this sooner rather than later? THanks a million guys!

TOm ur tank looks brilliant!

Chris
 

orion2001

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Mar 27, 2008
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Well it's time for an update. Things have been going fairly well for me. It's been a month since I added my 3rd healthy pot of hairgrass which hadn't gone through the bleach dip. I found that all 2 pots of hairgrass that went through the bleach dip had all their old blades of grass turn brown and die. This set things back by a fair bit as it took a lot longer for these plantlets to grow out new blades and then send out runners. I guess I might have had much better results if I hadn't done the bleach dip.

Here are the comparison shots.

Tank about a month back:
img2783gt2.jpg


Tank currently:
img2799rb3.jpg


All in all things seem to be going well. The only annoying thing is that a lot of the plantlets are sending out runners which come up to the surface and then loop around. Doesn't look very nice and it seems like it slows down the actual spread in surface coverage of the hairgrass. I think I made a bit of a mistake with not planting the plantlets too deep. I was worried about killing it by burying the crown too deep, but the few plantlets that I planted this way seem to be doing fine and have sent out most of their runners under the surface.

I'm going to continue with this for another 3-4 weeks and then submerge the whole setup. I plan to have Manzanita driftwood, anubias nana, anubias coffeefolia, java fern and rotala rotundifolia. Keeping my fingers crossed. This is going to be my first planted tank =).
 

VaughnH

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The hairgrass is looking great! Congratulations. Have you considered giving it a haircut yet? I wonder if that would be the thing to do with it still emersed.
 

orion2001

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Mar 27, 2008
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Thanks Vaughn. I have given it occasionaly haircuts...but not all of it, just some plantlets in little bits. The whole problem is that I don't know what to do with all the bits that I cut off. They all just fall down on the substrate and I don't know if it's bad for it to just lie there and rot. It is a pain to try and pick all the pieces up with my forceps. I guess they would all float up when I submerge it and then I could collect all of it.

What do you guys think? Should I just give it a nice haircut to promote runner growth and not worry about the grass bits that fall all around the plantlets?

PS- Btw, I took your recommendation and moved to 2x20W CFLs 2 weeks back. I think I definitely see better growth, and the leaves have been growing really long! I'll probably back down to 2x15 Watts or 2x10 Watts once I submerse it. I think 2x20 W is a recipe for algae disaster once submersed (And only Excel dosing).
 
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