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HC DSM Plants browning and slow growth

6K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  foxfish 
#1 ·
I started this tank a a few months back using DSM. I had too much water at first and had high light and grew lots of BGA. So after treating the BGA I let the tank get drier and leave a small opening in my tank to let air/moister out. The humidity has been from 70-90% with the opening. My lighting is 2x 24" 24w 6700k lights with excellent reflectors. I only use one of the bulbs daily now, for photo period of 8-12 hours. Sometimes less. The growth has been very slow and the leafs are starting to brown. I really want to just fix it and keep moving forward. It's been over 5 months of dry start.
 
#5 ·
so sad... 5 months and still no good growth of hc? i had mines for about a month or a month in a half and never had any dying issues... only stupid shrimps pulling them up before they can root so i put sand over the hc to hold it down and it still grown out of the sand with no dead spots... u dont need anything crazy for co2... a diy would help or if your lazy go with paintball co2 and flood the tank with co2 as you dont have any live-stocks in it anyways, avoid algae with water... plus it helps cycle your tank at the same time you are growing the plants out... i say its a win/win, after 5 months you should have your HC carpet already...
 
#6 · (Edited)
Brian I can't flood or use co2 methods atm. I can't afford the co2 system atm ( I already told you this ). Dry start method isn't really a hassle, but the BGA infection from the increased light intensity (thanks to bryans advice) really set me back. Had to start from square one. Replanted all the hc one by one. It's been 3 weeks in now and the roots haven't dug in properly yet either. Although the browning is happening often I want to know if that's normal. I see alot of browning and then some new growth. Should I trim the browning leafs and trim the hc to promote the hc spreading? As you can tell I've had a lot of patience with this tank since the start. I would love to start filling it, but the plants health is more of a concern to me. I just want them to be thriving.
 
#7 · (Edited)
like you say "the plants health is more of a concern to me" when added water the light intensity drops due to water densaty and reflect of the water and how deep it need to go under to reach the plant... etc, the browning is due to plant melting (dying) you can trim the dead but if they are dying as is just means there is something wrong... i tryed the dry start like you did and turns out i get more death of hc from dry start then when using just low - med light and water... (co2 is not needed) use fertz. to give the plants something to eat.. and with the light i'm not sure whats the watts on your bulb and what bulb type you are using... with water in your tank it helps keep the plant "wet" and away from to much light intensity, no co2 doesnt mean dead HC, just means slow growth but at less it stops dying and starts growing, i'm giving you personal advice from what works and what doesnt... and i bought mines the same place u got your's so what i am doing is nothing u cant do your self... stop killing the plant and losing more and more per day and start growing it out, ur HC death rate is like 60/40 (60% death 40% new growth...) the longer you wait the more you lose, rather then gain...


do as you like, your plant, your money, i'm just giving you personal experience on what works and what doesnt for me...

my thread on the HC growth...
Dry Start - More death then growth...
Low - Med light (no co2) with liquid fertz (Scheam. Comp.) - Slow growth but no brown or dead spots
Co2 Enrich tank with Med-High light (with Scheam Comp. Fertz.) - Max growth rate with new runner daily and spreading nicely...


you decide what you want to do... (i'm not telling you to do anything, the risk is all your's, dont come crying when your plants die out cause you did something wrong or think i told you to do anything, i'm only telling you what works for me)

P.S. keep in mind about your lighting... with water involved there is always that chance of algae growth... if you have to much lighting... even with low - med light there is still that chance of algae growth but at a controllable rate, i'm using co2 in my main tank and i have med-high light and still get algae but slow growing and controllable (nothing noticeable unless your face is on the tank...)
 
#9 ·
I am not sure what you are doing wrong but I have never had any problems growing HC immersed, if it helps you this is how I do it....

No water at all above the substrate, completely covered top with cling film or a tight fitting lid, 12 hours of moderate light, heat mat under tank, no misting, no opening the top.
Works every time for me, I use ADA substrate but have used others with success.
The very best results I have had was when I grew a tank of HC outside in the summer, the tank was in the shade of a tree but, we get 18 hours of light mid summer & the temp is around 25c.




 
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