Could i grow dwarf hairgrass

[tlef316]

title speaks for itself. I would really like to try dwarf hairgrass in the foreground of my tank. however, I'm worried that the light is too low and the ferts arent sophisticated enough...

75 gallon freshwater
2x54 watt T5HO lighting
Kent freshwater fertilizer twice a week plus flourish root tabs near my swords and other root feeders.
Sand substrate

So, does anyone think i could grow a decent carpet? I'm not optimistic, so i figured i'd just ask. No Co2 by the way. Thanks for any responses.

[stev0205]

i'm fairly interested in anyone here has grown a thick carpet of dwarf hairgrass... pics/the whole experience would be nice

[mistergreen]

never had much luck with them... They're growing great in my garden.

[Oscar17]

Originally Posted by stev0205

i'm fairly interested in anyone here has grown a thick carpet of dwarf hairgrass... pics/the whole experience would be nice

I have some Eleocharis acicularis (not sure if this is "hairgrass" or not). It's not exactly a "thick carpet" as you say... But, I first planted 1 bundle on 29 Feb 08 and I recently planted a second bundle on 18 July 08.

I don't have any CO2.. other than "Easy Life - Easy Carbo" I dose daily. My gravel has "Dupla Root". Lights are: x2 18w fluorescents built into the canopy (no glass between bulbs and water).

Picture: The grass on the left (the shorter one) is the one planted earlier and the one on the right is the later planted grass.

I'm also wondering whether I'll be able to sustain this plant or not.

[NwFishinfool]

I have Dwarf Hairgrass established in my 26g bowfront. I am running a 65w Coralife light for 10 hours/day. I run pressurized C02, keeping the dropchecker very light green with 5dkh water. I dose the EI recommendation for a 20-40g tank.

When I initially set up the tank I had inert gravel for a substrate, plastic plants, castles…. You know, all the crap!. Once I saw the planted aquariums people were growing I realized that's what I wanted to do. I did not replace the gravel with a real plant substrate but I mixed a 20# bag of eco-complete into the existing gravel. It took a couple months for the hairgrass to really start growing but it is now a very thick carpet. I just mowed it down yesterday. Unfortunately I do not have a current picture of it. The picture on this website is probably 6 months old but you can see where I have the hairgrass planted on the right side. It now covers almost the entire front of the tank and goes back about 4 inches toward the back glass. I will try and get a more recent photo, although now it looks like a 60's crew cut since I just trimmed it. It was so thick my corie's had a hard time burrowing down into it.

Ok, my link did not work. It is the same pic that is in my sig below!

I also have a 75g that has been set up for about 6 months. I just planted hairgrass in it about two months ago. The hairgrass is just now starting to really take hold and thicken up. I took some pics of it this weekend and I will try to get one posted of that. It was set up from the start with planted tanks in mind. Eco-complete substrate, pressurized C02 and EI dosing. It has a 260w Coralife. Right now I am running the 1st row of lights (130w) for 10 hours and the 2nd bank comes on for 3 hours.

My first attempt at planting hairgrass in the 26g was a failure. I broke the pot into 5 or 6 clumps and planted the large clumps. It did not take hold and spread. I got another pot and broke it into 4 or 5 strands and planted them individually. It made a huge difference in the growth.

Mike

[Oscar17]

What about without CO2? ... anybody?

[mistergreen]

they don't grow thick in a non-co2 tank.. I have some in a low-tech tank. It looks like your tank oscar17

[Oscar17]

I do have runners and new growth..but very slow. Maybe if I just put in enough bundles..

[ColeMan]

I've got a very dense e. acicularis carpet, but I dose EI and dump a ton of CO2 into the tank. The result? It's invasive and grows like a weed. I've noticed too that growth tends to stagnate when I limit light; in most instances I run 108w T5 for 9hours/day, with a 3 hour, 108w T5 noon burst. When I forego the noon burst (like on days when it's hot and I'm trying to control temps) for days on end, the growth is insignificant.

Something interesting to note, however. When i originally planted, I planted tiny, tiny plugs - as small as I could possibly manage; I used a 3"x3" section to cover the entire fore ground of a 90g tank 5" deep (ie towards the back of the tank). A few weeks ago I removed a chunk in the foreground which appeared to have some clado stuck in it, and replanted 2 larger sized clumps in its place. I have noticed very limited growth and runner production from these two clumps, and can, with a fair amount of certainty, suspect that if (or when rather) I separate these clumps into smaller plugs the growth rate will increase exponentially.

[Choco]

I have dwarf hairgrass (eleocharis parvula) in my tank, didn't have much luck with them and I even made a thread complaining why it wouldn't grow... (http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/pl...-question.html)

Weird thing I find about the plant is...it actually sends out A LOT of roots and runners down the substrate, but instead of sending new shoot up closer to where the original clump is, it send its root all the way across the tank. I originally planted the hairgrass at the back of the tank, and now I can see roots and shoot coming up right on the front glass on the tank.

I think the eleocharis parvula is different from the others that it doesn't grow tall (3.5" max?), and it doesn't form a "tip" at the end.
Btw, I also have the eleocharis vivipara (some other sort of hairgrass), and it grows a lot faster and taller than the parvula under the same condition.