4 months of this hobby,
3 tanks, with 6 attempts..
finally decide to do a 2ft as a finale..
tank specs: normal glass, 2ft x 1 x 1ft
2 bags of ada soil
rocks
lots of fertilizer, root tabs, monster root.. ( a layer of soil, a layer of fertilizer)
the back breaking session (tribute to my wife who had helped and supported my interest)
phase 1:
Attachment 44907
Attachment 44908
phase 2:
plant HC, only manage to get 2 box from seaview.. sold out..
cut them into 1x1cm size and plant them.
wet the soil
i keep the tank in my spare room, temperature is high and humid.
hopefully, it operates like a greenhouse.
photo period is 8 hours, from 7pm to 3am.
using LED light with high lumens, but only 4w..
hopefully it works as the tank height is low and i actually raise the gravel depth.
Attachment 44910
Attachment 44911
please comment if i done anything err, thanks
Bean + Kurt
For dry start method (DSM), get more powerful lights (20-30W or higher) and bump up the photoperiod to 14 hours, and buy more HC to plant.... otherwise it'll take forever for the HC to establish and carpet.
Btw, also regularly mist all of the soil to keep it damp (there shouldn't be any visibly dry areas of soil), but not too much until the plants get submerged.
Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 4th Nov 2014 at 12:34.
How many tanks do you have now??
Originally Posted by Urban Aquaria
For dry start method (DSM), get more powerful lights (20-30W or higher) and bump up the photoperiod to 14 hours, and buy more HC to plant.... otherwise it'll take forever for the HC to establish and carpet.
ok, i also have the ready light in place.
as for HC, got to wait till weekend.. after i end work, most of the LFS already close..
i actually pour water directly into the soil instead of spraying on them, but no flooding. is that fine?
Bean + Kurt
with this new additional, will be 4.How many tanks do you have now??
once completed and cycled, i will remove my 1ft with this.
Bean + Kurt
That could work, but it may result in some areas being too damp while some areas being too dry, so the overall hydration of the soil and plants may not be consistent.
Just get a small spray bottle from Daiso or any neighborhood hardware shop, it'll really help create a nice even misting coverage across the tank.
Some folks cover the aquarium top with transparent plastic wrap, in order to hydrate the chamber.. this should minimize water spraying frequency and also train plants to handle more humid state before transfer into fully submerge condition.
yeah, initially was thinking of that but our Guru, UA adviced me not to.
in case, i have insects, dirt etc or even that white stuff (moss? can't recall the name)
actually why are we covering the top? is it to isolate the air, moist?
will that speed growth?
i place the tank in the room, whereby windows are all closed, during daylight, sunlight penetrates.
hopefully thats help a bit.
now, is to curtivate patience in me, while growth in the plants..
Bean + Kurt
Yah, it is really good idea to overcome those pests and fungus as suggested by UA
Covering up will only enhance humidity and provides green house effect for the plants, also it provides transition from emmerse to submerse state. Because most of the time these HCs are grown in emmerse state...
Good luck to you...please share your outcome to educate rest of us here...
Thanks for the kind words.
I wonder can we do dsm for stems plants like nana and others?
Will they dry out?
Bean + Kurt
Yeah, covering the tank helps to retain moisture and humidity inside it... it all depends on the surrounding conditions in the room and how regularly you mist the soil and plants.
Some people find that covering and sealing the tank helps, some only cover partially, while some find that no need to cover, just have to try and see.
Though if there is fungus or mold starting to grow amongst the plants, then its a sign that too much humidity is building up in the tank, so have to let the tank air out abit more and adjust the misting amount accordingly.
update, adding more hc..
Attachment 44974Attachment 44975
some concerns and questions:
- i added some nana in the DSM, will that be fine?
- i got the hc from a seller who claimed HC are extremely difficult and sensitive.. apart from demanding of high light and other parameters, only a few like himself and UA actually succeed. please share your inputs if you ever had experience with it.
i don't want to have a scenario whereby i float the tank and end up failure.. had to redo from scratch.
- using T5 light, no doubt it may seem to be effective and cost saving, it does generate that amount of heat..
- again, thinking of led option.. with a 1ft width and height, what are the options that i could consider?
Z series? evo?
Bean + Kurt
Anubias Nana can grow emersed as well. I believe they are usually already in the emersed state when we get then from LFS so it shouldn't be a problem.
Cheers,
JJ
HC are more demanding as compared to others like MC.
i started DSM too with HC using 2x 2ft Z series on 12 hrs photoperiod for almost 2 months before flooding.
but the transition from emmerse to submerse was not successful and most of the HC just wither away.
wishing you have a better success than mine..
noted, thank you JJ for the confirmation
Bean + Kurt
my god.. i think better to have alternative backup plan..HC are more demanding as compared to others like MC.
i started DSM too with HC using 2x 2ft Z series on 12 hrs photoperiod for almost 2 months before flooding.
but the transition from emmerse to submerse was not successful and most of the HC just wither away.
wishing you have a better success than mine..
afterall, i still a rookie..
i don't have the perfect parameters too, T5 (24wx2), hang on filter only. Co2, weak distribution.
i probably will input some mc as a backup. Thanks!
Bean + Kurt
If the nana is tied to rock, I will suggest that you add the nana after you have flood your tank.
Thats a very good amount of HC planted in the tank, it'll really help establish the carpet much faster.
Yeah, HC is one of the most demanding plants to keep in tanks... the main reason is because they require more optimal conditions to do well (ie. the right combination of ample light, Co2 and nutrients) than compared to most other plants.
In DSM conditions, Co2 is not a limitation and their growth is only affected by light and nutrients (which most setups can supply plenty of), hence its much easier to achieve a fast and healthy growth rate.
But after flooding the tank, if there isn't anymore unlimited Co2 to sustain their growth, they revert back to growing very slowly and the old growth will tend to melt away faster than the new healthy growth can replace it, so they tend to deteriorate very quickly over a short time in low-tech tanks.
In your case, if you plan to use Co2 injection for the tank, once the HC carpet grows in densely during DSM and you subsequently flood it, blast lots of Co2 (drop checker hit yellow color is okay) to help the HC transition to submersed state for a few weeks (that will reduce melting and sustain the same fast growth as during DSM), once you see the HC has adapted well to the flooded conditions and the tank is fully cycled, then dial the Co2 back down to moderate levels and then you can add in livestock. Thats the best way to ensure your HC carpet continues to thrive after DSM.
As for the anubias, they can be grown emersed in the DSM too, you just have to ensure there is sufficient humidity for them in the tank (regular misting is usually sufficient).
For the lights, all of the common ones you mentioned can work well for that tank dimension (just depends on which features and design you prefer), the tank height at 30cm tall is quite standard so it doesn't require exceptionally special lights.
haven't been updating on this thread for some time..
anyway, i have done the following changes... (i'm so indecisive..)
- change the tank to ANS opticlear tank.. 60by30by36.
- Redo the whole scape..
- remove the hc and plant MC instead since i got luck with it.
- purchased some hairgrass and plant them on the hill, with a transparent wall to block unwanted crawling..
- recycling the tank, still very cloudy and dirty.. afterall, i reused the water from my weekly water change
- only have 3 snails and a betta as pioneers..
- intend to get repens, mini red and downoi, having them on the hill..
- light, changed to maxspect G2.. damn power and too overkill for me.. will probably change once my u series is here.
- full blast of co2..
I didn't have much luck with DSM, either dry up or melt..
hence decide to proceed with the flooding..
Attachment 45339
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Bean + Kurt
Attachment 45682
new light, u series from up aqua.
added
downoi corner..
mini red..
some plants from a bro here, Mr P.
carpet MC yet to grow.. hopefully when i'm back from wedding, they will start some growth
Bean + Kurt
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