[aweeby]

Hello!
Going to add to the list of clueless newbie questions here.
I'm looking into growing HC submersed. From what I've read, the most important aspect of emersed growth is to allow the plants to soak up as much nutrients as possible. But when I submerse, I'd like to avoid a crazy algae bloom and nutrient spike. i have a few years of experience in planted tanks and I've suffered the algae blooms time and time again. What kind of substrate is optimal? I was thinking of doing a sphagnum layer capped with some old fired clay stuff I have around, similar to SMS. I bought it off of aquarium plants.com a while ago. Should I be spraying it with NPKs? Should I scrap it all together and seek out an aquasoil dealer? In your expert opinions, what should I do?

Two things I'm kind of concerned about:

I practically live in a rainforest. Mold grows everywhere.
I'm running off a student budget. I have a job but... school.

 

[ddrfreak_tung]

I've had success w florite & stratum. Once I filled it up I threw in a ton of stem plants for a few weeks.

When growing emerse I didn't dose any ferts, just kept it moist and within a few months I was good to go.

 

[mach_six]

Why not put the tank or in a seperate tank and grow it outdoors w/ sun.

 

[Da Plant Man]

I got the perfect thing, its's what I am using: Potting soil.

I am using miracle grow moisture control, so far so good. I also have a friend (azfishkid) who is using it and he says it works

To prevent mold, when you see it starting to form, just take throw it away and replace with new soil. If you keep it in the open air (Hawaii should be humid enough), you shouldn't have a problem.