Unhealthy Hairgrass

[blue33]

My experienced on HG is if starting you plant too deep, grow is slow and BBA starts to grow, so what i do is when i plant it in i'll put them upwards till i see the slight rooting and trim the tips, but again the fauna occasionally disturb the HG and it starts to float.

Planting needs alot of patience in the initial stage and later maintaining is another thing again, this is really part of the hobby cycle. Almost everyday i'll look at the plant and see what is happening inside cause plants do tell you something is right or wrong.

[Verminator]

I think you've just solved my HG issue there StanChung I havnt trimmed in for the month its been planted. Would it be worth me pushing them all in so the top 1-2cm is showing, then trim it off to the level of the gravel? Hopefully fish won't dig them up then and thus new leaves/roots shall form?

Just a suggestion, would it be worthwhile doing so?

[alechim]

I did plant normally and trimed them till 1-2cm from the gravel. Growth is slow and BBA starts to infest. I did try all the methods many bros here mentioned, high lightings, high CO2, proper circulations, low current, ferts. They just do not work. Maybe its just how to work out the magical % mixture of these to achieve a good HG growth

[torque6]

I don't understand this decomisioning of tanks. Why can't people just create a tank and admire it for years to come. Sure its fun to create new tanks, and indulge yourself further and further into the aquatics world but honestly...

I'd rather create a beautiful scape and maintain it for years and years, as a permanent home for a breeding pair of stunning fish. With a maintenance crew of otto's and shrimp. Living in perfect harmony for years to come. Ahhhh, thats bliss.

Hi verminator, i agree to some extent to your comment. However, with 4 blackouts, 2 EM dosing, putting effort into EI dosing, co2 and have little or no growth compared to some here with low tech really eats into your confidence. I'm however not decommissioning tanks at whim and fancy, but seriously after 7 months of maintainance... nothing mate. No improvement. And ironically seems alechim and myself have identified this problem with a hairgrass+ moss combo. True or not, we really dont know.

I find myself staring at the tank and listing down the stuff i should have done initially. With this in mind, wouldnt you want to decommission it and restart over with what you have learnt, hoping whatever additional new experience you have learnt be finally put to good use?

[Verminator]

I suppose put in that perspective i fully understand your desire to restart. Maybe after 24 months now i aught to do the same. Who knows haha. I was refering to the decomissioning of tanks in the way Jervis seems too haha. Perfectly good tanks he creates, if only he kept all of them instead of remaking new ones from old ones ect.

With regards to your tanks, i dont want to sound patronising as you may already know/do this. But sometimes its little things such as water hardness. Also i have found that certainly here in the UK atleast, water parameters vary up and down the country. Tap water from one place can contain more of one substance and less of another to that of a house 5 miles down the road. As i said, don't want to sound patronising

[alechim]

What I really want to do now is probably to rescape but I will never give up on HG. Maybe I had made some mistakes during the initial start which caused such poor growth.

[Verminator]

I know my problem. Using a fully established tank with 20+ fish in. Fish with bad habbits for digging and i thought it would be a good idea to try and grow a lawn of HG, its definately not happening. Very little growth in 3 weeks and a hell of a lot of replanting daily.

Can tropical fish be placed with goldfish, even if its temporary for a month do you reckon? If thats possible i may be ok, and can grow my plants fish-free initially.

**SIGH**

[naturalmystic]

This is a very educational thread.
I'm replacing my Glosso with Dwarf HG soon.
Hopefully, like the name implies, it would not need constant trimming

Been reading this thread and saw somewhere that a bro here left the pots for a week (?) in the tank (?) before actually planting the HG.
Could not pinpoint the exact post and this is a long thread!
This is interesting and I will definitely try it out on a pail of water first.
Will this escalate the plants acclimatisation from emmersed to submersed form?

[StanChung]

Hi Verminator,

It's always a good idea to let the lawn grow before introducing digging fish like loaches and cories. Plecos are definitely not a good idea unless everything you plant is secured with wire or string! [or plastic!]

Old leaves always get BBA in my tanks and SNIP! Looks great after a simple trim. Some people do so little maintenance and expect beautiful tanks. That's not how it works with planted tanks. You can get away with reasonably nice tanks with minimal maintenance but you still have to check on it once awhile like how you would your outdoor garden.

Anytime you add in a fish, you're upsetting the ecological balance. Every bit of extra food etc. That's why it's always a good idea to reset the tank with a nice 30-50% WC and dose accordingly. You can dose weekly, bi weekly, tri-weekly, daily- EI, PPS, ADA, whatever style but essentially, if something's not right, a good 50% WC to reset the tank. Unclog the filter if you haven't touched it for more than 2 months.

Ooops! Rambling-but it's all connected. You can't add more of anything without consequence. Even if you're not, the hunger in the tank is growing exponentially as it grows. You, as the owner, is the stabiliser!

[blue33]

Hi Verminator,

It's always a good idea to let the lawn grow before introducing digging fish like loaches and cories. Plecos are definitely not a good idea unless everything you plant is secured with wire or string! [or plastic!]

Old leaves always get BBA in my tanks and SNIP! Looks great after a simple trim. Some people do so little maintenance and expect beautiful tanks. That's not how it works with planted tanks. You can get away with reasonably nice tanks with minimal maintenance but you still have to check on it once awhile like how you would your outdoor garden.

Anytime you add in a fish, you're upsetting the ecological balance. Every bit of extra food etc. That's why it's always a good idea to reset the tank with a nice 30-50% WC and dose accordingly. You can dose weekly, bi weekly, tri-weekly, daily- EI, PPS, ADA, whatever style but essentially, if something's not right, a good 50% WC to reset the tank. Unclog the filter if you haven't touched it for more than 2 months.

Ooops! Rambling-but it's all connected. You can't add more of anything without consequence. Even if you're not, the hunger in the tank is growing exponentially as it grows. You, as the owner, is the stabiliser!

Absolutely the way to go!

[alechim]

The problem is "striking" that balance. After all these while I have not find the nice combi yet

[torque6]

I suppose put in that perspective i fully understand your desire to restart. Maybe after 24 months now i aught to do the same. Who knows haha. I was refering to the decomissioning of tanks in the way Jervis seems too haha. Perfectly good tanks he creates, if only he kept all of them instead of remaking new ones from old ones ect.

, some of us setup new tanks and maintains them, jervis dedicates his time to create them thus the frequent decommission and new tanks . There are 2 ways of look at this hobby, both equally enriching and enjoyable.

[blue33]

The problem is "striking" that balance. After all these while I have not find the nice combi yet

Every single tank setup, the needs and supply is different, also different people maintaining it is different also. It takes a while, trial and error what best for your plants and setup. Thats part of this hobby and make it enjoyable, the return is good.

During my first setup of my planted tank, my wife and son would tell me the plant is not growing well and is dying. Now they dont! Now they start to enjoy the beauty of this hobby. A mini water garden in the house.

[alechim]

Update Update : HG growing like "wildfire" finally!

What I did :

1. Maintained 15ml Lushgro & 6ml KH2PO4 twice a week with extra dose of ADA Brighty K everyday

2. Lifted HG up a little to loosen substrate

3. Lowered T5 lights to only 48watts with 8hrs photoperiod and 2hrs siesta in between.

4. Trimed HG infested with BBA to my best effort. Still has alot though.

p.s. guess the extra dose of brighty K did the work. Let me maintain the same regime and see if everything turns out well

I am starting another Nano tank growing HG emerse. Doing extremely well.

[blue33]

Update Update : HG growing like "wildfire" finally!

What I did :

1. Maintained 15ml Lushgro & 6ml KH2PO4 twice a week with extra dose of ADA Brighty K everyday

2. Lifted HG up a little to loosen substrate

3. Lowered T5 lights to only 48watts with 8hrs photoperiod and 2hrs siesta in between.

4. Trimed HG infested with BBA to my best effort. Still has alot though.

p.s. guess the extra dose of brighty K did the work. Let me maintain the same regime and see if everything turns out well

I am starting another Nano tank growing HG emerse. Doing extremely well.

Good to hear that bro!

[torque6]

So the trick is daily dosage of K ??

[blue33]

So the trick is daily dosage of K ??

K is important as i've mentioned, but too much there's side effect to it. The old hobbyist people call K as "make plant open the mouth" to consume. Anyway glad to see another successful case.

[route]

great! i just bought seachem K today.. just made the first dose today.. will continue with the dose since i dont have any live stocks in the tank currently hopefully my HG grows well..

[blue33]

great! i just bought seachem K today.. just made the first dose today.. will continue with the dose since i dont have any live stocks in the tank currently hopefully my HG grows well..

If you need to dose often, get dry fert Lusgro Potassium Sulfate, unless you have deep pockets.

[route]

is that better than the seachem potassium ?
how much does it cost and where can i get it ? thanks