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DSM HC Clippings Tupperware! *****Week 4 Update

6K views 54 replies 21 participants last post by  mistahoo 
#1 · (Edited)
Today it was time to mow the lawn even though it's almost December and Minnesota is FREEZING! Who said you can't mow the lawn in late November anyways? haha!

>10" x 13" x 2" Platter
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>Eco-Complete Substrate Added
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> HC Clippings Added
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> Close Up
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> Plastic Wrap Sealed
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> ZooMed CFL Fixture With Two 13w 6,500K Bulbs
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>Close Up
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> Marley Is Curious About What I Am Doing! lol
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The substrate is over just over 1" deep and I filled the unit to about 1/2'-1/4" under the substrate using tank water.

Does anyone see anything wrong with this DSM setup?

Any comments/suggestions?
 
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#31 ·
I haven’t really figured that out. LOL. I started with less penny size amount and just started growing it to preserve it. It came mixed in with some other plants. I have some growing in a little rock scape that only has about an inch of water and I am trying to figure out if I can get it to grow across the rocks and how much humidity that will take. I have some growing in the larger grow out tank and I am trying to figure out if I can grow that without co2. It is in about 8 inches of water. So I guess you could say I am just playing with it right now.
 
#33 · (Edited)
Update: Week 1

Week 1 Update:

I took the plastic off the for the first time today. To me, it seemed FAR to wet inside. Most of the HC was a dark green almost brown color. Almost looked like it was rotting/dying.

I do not want to be spraying with water daily nor do I want to be opening it up frequently; therefore, I cut 1 slit in each of the 4 corners of the plastic to let some air transfer.

Now I will wait til next week and see what happens.

Thanks for looking...

>Week 1 Picture
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>Close Up
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#39 ·
Awesome! Nice work. Give us more details. How long have u been DSMing? If you not gunna use the HC I'd start selling on the ROAK/Sell forums.
 
#42 ·
Looking good!

A couple of weeks ago I tried growing HC & UG in a DSM 10 gl, only to have everything die off fairly quickly. Spent $30 on the plants too. :(
Anyhow, this has encouraged me to try this kind of set-up and hopefully grow enough to transfer to the tank before filling.

@ player 2: did your driftwood get mouldy at all doing that? When I tried the DSM I put pieces of driftwood in the tank like too, but noticed patches of mouldy looking growth on them so I had to take them out.
 
#46 ·
No changes, the hole point to this is for me to be able to set it, and leave it. I open this up once a week and keep the tight on timer 12hrs a day. I did poke some holes in the plastic for some air exchange but it still holds plenty of moisture.

this looks great, I want to try this too
Try it, I am posting to show everyone my results and reveal how easy it really is.

Yes ur growth new growth is noticeable. Much less yellow and brown colors and a lot more bright green showing! Good start keep it going!
Thanks, I imagine that the HC will start to cover more of the substrate by the end of the week. At this rate, by week 4 it might be complete. Time will tell...

Thanks for looking everyone. Stay Tuned.
 
#49 ·
I got x2 13w mini spiral CFL's 6,500k. I'm glad you disagree because I like to hear it's progressing even if I can see it myself. I sprayed it with tank water before covering it up for another entire week.
 
#52 · (Edited)
Week 5 Update

End Of Week 5

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This DSM is doing as well as expected. If you look at the close up picture you can see the leaves are very small and some a yellowing. I apologize because it is hard to see in the picture. I attribute this partly to lack of water and neglect. I have been opening the tray only once a week and I haven't added any water beside a quick spay when it's been open. This experiment has been fun so far.

If I were to do this DSM over again I would have used dirt and a 10 gallon tank; however, I am not finished and plan to do at least another few weeks.
 
#53 ·
After 4 more week, the HC never filled in the way I wanted it to so I took all the HC out and added it to a different HC DSM i was doing.

Just filled that tank yesterday.

Experiment closed.
 
#55 ·
Hmm. I'm doing HC DSM right now. Today would be the 6th day. Mines looks great. Didn't embed the HC. I just placed it on top. At first when I got it, the HC was yellow. It's now green! All I do is remove the plastic wrap for a bit so I can mist it. Then I cover it up again. I poked several holes with a toothpick. I am using a 55w 5,500k and 75w 6,500k bulb over it (only for today). I had it on a window sill that got a moderate amount of sunlight.


Body of water Nature Vegetation Branch Organism



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