How do i carpet foreground plants?

[Mystikboy]

i have a tank just 18cm tall, with Pro Z LED lights. and about 3 cm of substrate.
that means that the distance from lights to plants is at the most 15cm away.
however, my plants insist on growing upwards, instead of carpeting.

does anyone have any idea why?
i dose EI and Excel everyday and i use ADA amazonia substrate
plants are HC/UG/Marsilea.

thanks so much for your advice (:

[David]

Check your CO2 levels in your water column.

[atolylica]

Remember to do aggressive trimming for plants growing upwards. This will encourage them to grow horizontally.

[milk_vanilla]

And be patience

[David]

Yup, agreed...my dwarf hair grass is now 6 to 7 weeks in and still it is spreading ever so slowly....I can ZZZZZZZ!!! HAHAHAHA!!

[felix_fx2]

got any alternate light source when non lighting hours? plants reaction to it may have caused that.

but please let us know how long has the setup been, if just 3-4 days just follow post #4 that's expert advice

[Mystikboy]

Haha about 3 months? Plants don't grow very tall either. They just grow slowly, if at all.
I use excel, so no co2.

[felix_fx2]

no co2? it makes sense now.. haha....IMO quite a waste if your dosing EI if having no co2.


Reminds me of giving a weight lifter weights to train everyday on a diet of only instant noodles, lean muscle and size don't grow. Maybe even shrink...

[David]

start injecting CO2....carpeting plants like Glosso and HC grow upwards not only because of insufficient light...a lack of CO2 has that effect as well.

[Mystikboy]

actually mine is not EI, sorry. it is actually dry ferts that i bought because it is a lot cheaper than liquid ferts.
i see other low tech tanks that have managed to carpet HC without CO2 injections. am i doing something wrong with my current set up?

[David]

I may be wrong, I think it starts off with DSM for HC.

[felix_fx2]

which Pro Z LED light you using? how many units of it?

how did you plant the HC & Marsilea (which Marsilea, quadrifolia or hirsuta?)

[Mystikboy]

UP pro Z. 45cm for my 40cm tank

I bought the tissue culture, cut it into 8, planted them 2 cm apart.

I was under the impression that DSM was to help the plant take root faster and acclimatize better underwater. But after 3 months, surely I should be seeing some effect? =/

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions! (:

[David]

You got one of the points of DSM. The other is to give slow growing plants a head start by letting it spread and establish itself emersed.

[felix_fx2]

how was the growth before you flooded?
most of the folks would see obvious growth & spreading before flooding.

if it stuck only grow up and not sideways, stunt growth liao. got once i planted microsword 6months and only grow upwards and never sideways... that was a old t5 tube...

[Mystikboy]

Maybe I have a faulty pro Z.
Hmm...
I never did use the DSM. What I meant is, I thought DSM is only for the initial phase; to help the plants grow before flooding. Since my tank is 3 months old, it should be sufficiently long enough to see as much growth as a DSM freshly flooded. Hence any problems cannot be due to the lack of DSM

[Urban Aquaria]

15cm from the plants is really close... lights shouldn't be the issue.

The plants are just limited in growth by Co2 availability, hence sparse and leggy growth, it does take alot longer (like 6 months vs 6 weeks) to grow without Co2 injection.

I tried but was never able to grow a HC carpet without DSM. Even after flooding, without additional Co2 injection, the HC only maintain but didn't grow further.

[Urban Aquaria]

Low tech tanks truly need the most ultimate skill of all... patience!

[David]

UA...low tech tanks are meant for the really skilled....

[Ingen]

All my carpeting attempts on my low tech tank failed (Even the most recent ones I got from Teo with Felix haha). Perhaps Shadow can share more insights on how to do it. His low tech office tank has a nice carpet if I remember correctly haha.