Quote Originally Posted by LegoMan View Post
Hi Urban Aquaria, recently just started the DSM with HC on my nano tank 13L, exact same setup as yourself with ADA Amazonia Powder Substrate and Pro Z LED with no coverage. Natural Air and Misting a few times per day with 14 hours light period. It has been almost a week liao and I can see that the HC has browning (not completely) but at the same time, there are runners as well.

Question is, is there such thing is misting too much? I did not flood/pond the substrate but mist it like with 10 squeezes from the bottle so that the top soil is very wet.
Is the HC browning common and to wait for the new growth as suggested in your blog?
Yeah, its normal for portions of the HC to brown during the initial period of DSM, those are just the old or damaged leaves melting away.

In my case, i only started to see the browning end and the overall healthy growth accelerate after the 2nd week, thats also when the roots can be seen growing and establishing into the soil.

As long as the soil is damp, then the misting is fine, just make sure not to mist until the soil is submerged in stagnant water (which will tend to result in fungus and mold issues).