Hey guys, for my botany class that I'm taking we have to do a semester project so I decided to do mine on HC/planted aquariums. I don't have a ton of money to spend on a nice co2 system and i didn't want to go through the trouble of getting a filter and everything else needed for the tank to run with water so i decided to go emersed. For the visual aid portion of the project i planted HC throughout the tank and i'm just going to document the growth. I'm really not sure if im going to end up submerging the tank or not so i didn't really do a crazy rock layout....just went as generic as possible and did a little slope just because i want to be able to see/document the growth of the HC as clearly as possible.
Equipment:
2.5 gallon tank
Ada Aquasoil
26 watt CFL bulb
As of now I just have the top saran wrapped and I spray the tank down once a day when it looks kind of dry and unwrap the saran at the end of the day for a couple minutes to get some gas exchange(not sure if this is good or not). For lighting duration i've only had it up for a day and yesterday i kept the light on for 12 hours when i was at class, so is that a good amount? or should i take the lighting duration down?
I'm looking for as much advice as possible on the dry start/emersed method so any input would be great! Ill post pictures with updates when things start to get rolling along
I'm pretty sure that lighting will not allow the HC to grow, it needs a better Kelvin rating. The gas exchange is good I think. Spray more often, but not as much. Nice start, good luck and hope this helps.
I'm doing DSM with HC in my 5.5g tank, journal is below. I started it 4 weeks ago. I think my progress will be a good indicator for your HC. I have my lights on a timer for 12 hours a day, misting with tank water from my 20g and added a pinch of KH2PO4 and KNO3 into the spray bottle. I'm spraying just before I leave work every day, which requires me to lift up the saran wrap and spray, so I am getting gas exchange for a couple of minutes there. The thermometer in the tank shows it at 70F when the lights come on, then eventually stays at 73-75 for the rest of the day. In addition to good lighting, I don't think you will want the HC to get below 70F.
I've been leaving my light on for around 12 hours. I've been misting a couple times a day when the plants look dry. Some of the plants on the top of the slope are starting to get a little yellow so i've been highering the light so its not so close, or should i lessen the lighting period?
Regardless its somewhat hard to tell from the picture but things are coming along slowly but surely. Seems like the bulb i have in my desk light seems to be doing the job and the tears are enjoying it!
I know it gets to be a tough situation. I probably shouldn't have made the slope so significant because the plants on top are dry if anything and the ones on bottom are practically submerged. So I try to spray the stop ones lightly throughout the day
I had the light very close to the tank at first but then the plants on the top of the hill were starting to get tannish/yellow and looked like they were getting burnt so i set the light a little bit higher so the light wasn't as intense
Yeah im surprised how it easy it has been. I didn't know if a desk light would do it but it seems like the plants are doing pretty decent
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