Hc 'cuba'+Sand=?

[Carlovel1]

I have a nice pot of HC cuba waiting to be planted( ) But my substrate is just plain old sand. Can the HC be planted onto the sand without floating to the surface or do I need gravel/planting substrate? Also, how do I plant it, its still in the pot
Carlovel1

 

[stevereade]

I planted 4 pots worth in sand and it all died lol. Gone for Riccia now

 

[MikeyUK47]

Carl, you can grow HC in sand but...it's not easy. On the plus side, planting it is easier in sand. You need to get the plant out of the pot, I presume it's in rockwool? If so split one half of the rockwool away & leave the other half attached. Next cut the rockwool so that you have about 1.5 cm of it still attached below the roots. Then cut vertically into 6-8 strips & then push the rockwool down into the sand. Plant at 1 inch gaps, i've found that if you place it like the number 5 on a dice face it fills in faster & more uniform. HC needs light to carpet & lots of it, the more the better. I am using 3.5W per gallon. It also sucks nutrients & CO2 up for fun so once it starts to grow feed it well. The only other plants I have in the tank are Pogostemon helferi & I don't get algae even though i'm using double dose EI. It gives you some idea of how nutrient hungry this stuff is. Good luck, let me know how you get on.

 

[RadaR]

HC in sand is fine. Concentrate on more important factors such as nutrients, CO2 and flow. You'll be fine.

 

[Carlovel1]

I planted 4 pots worth in sand and it all died lol. Gone for Riccia now

Thanks for sharing that. I will probably change the sand for a plant substrate. Any recommendations available in the UK for under £15?

HC in sand is fine. Concentrate on more important factors such as nutrients, CO2 and flow. You'll be fine.

OK, what do you mean by flow

 

[Carlovel1]

Carl, you can grow HC in sand but...it's not easy. On the plus side, planting it is easier in sand. You need to get the plant out of the pot, I presume it's in rockwool? If so split one half of the rockwool away & leave the other half attached. Next cut the rockwool so that you have about 1.5 cm of it still attached below the roots. Then cut vertically into 6-8 strips & then push the rockwool down into the sand. Plant at 1 inch gaps, i've found that if you place it like the number 5 on a dice face it fills in faster & more uniform. HC needs light to carpet & lots of it, the more the better. I am using 3.5W per gallon. It also sucks nutrients & CO2 up for fun so once it starts to grow feed it well. The only other plants I have in the tank are Pogostemon helferi & I don't get algae even though i'm using double dose EI. It gives you some idea of how nutrient hungry this stuff is. Good luck, let me know how you get on.

OK thanks. I don't think the HC cuba will form a very good carpet with sand so I will use a plant substrate. This is what I info about my tank
Light-1.2 WPG
co2-Yes, DIY method
Fert- Yes, will buy some TPN+
Is this enough for the HC cuba to form a carpet.
Also I will add some LED lights (strip) and moonlighting dunno if it will make a difference though?
Carl

 

[RadaR]

I planted 4 pots worth in sand and it all died lol. Gone for Riccia now

Thanks for sharing that. I will probably change the sand for a plant substrate. Any recommendations available in the UK for under £15?

HC in sand is fine. Concentrate on more important factors such as nutrients, CO2 and flow. You'll be fine.

OK, what do you mean by flow

Generally we reccomend a flow rate of atleast 10x. (10 times the volume of the tank turned over every hour). So for a 60litre tank, that would equate to 600litres per hour.
This flow rate should then be used effectively so that you achieve good circulation around the whole tank. You can quickly check this by observing the plants and noting whether they sway in the current.

 

[Carlovel1]

My tank has a hood filter so it doesnt really create circulation

 

[RadaR]

My tank has a hood filter so it doesnt really create circulation

If you dont have much faith in your circulation then dont even think about adding more light.
More light increases the demands of the plants. They need more resources and they need them quicker. Failing to meet these standards equals unhealthy, unhappy plants. This in turn opens the gates for algae

 

[ian]

a little tip regarding HC, you may want to superglue it to a pebble and put the pebble in the substrate. It will take hold that way, i always find it a pain to plants and get started. This is the best way i have found.

 

[MikeyUK47]

Carl, you can grow HC in sand but...it's not easy. On the plus side, planting it is easier in sand. You need to get the plant out of the pot, I presume it's in rockwool? If so split one half of the rockwool away & leave the other half attached. Next cut the rockwool so that you have about 1.5 cm of it still attached below the roots. Then cut vertically into 6-8 strips & then push the rockwool down into the sand. Plant at 1 inch gaps, i've found that if you place it like the number 5 on a dice face it fills in faster & more uniform. HC needs light to carpet & lots of it, the more the better. I am using 3.5W per gallon. It also sucks nutrients & CO2 up for fun so once it starts to grow feed it well. The only other plants I have in the tank are Pogostemon helferi & I don't get algae even though i'm using double dose EI. It gives you some idea of how nutrient hungry this stuff is. Good luck, let me know how you get on.

OK thanks. I don't think the HC cuba will form a very good carpet with sand so I will use a plant substrate. This is what I info about my tank
Light-1.2 WPG
co2-Yes, DIY method
Fert- Yes, will buy some TPN+
Is this enough for the HC cuba to form a carpet.
Also I will add some LED lights (strip) and moonlighting dunno if it will make a difference though?
Carl

It will grow in that light but not carpet, at least not compact carpet. At lower light it grows taller rather than spreading out sideways. Radar is also right about the flow. This is one of the most overlooked things in planted tanks. You need good circulation all through the tank. Without this you get 'dead spots' where excess waste & nutrients build up & the result is always algae. You can never have too much filtration. I wouldn't recommend using TPN+ with low circulation & DIY CO2. You need stable 30ppm CO2 when using phosphates & nitrates so I would stick to the basic TPN & see how it goes.

 

[ian]

N and P are fine with DIY, as long as you have the DIY running well and steady. Have a read of the sticky about DIY at the top Micky. I'm sure Carl is using a nano tank as well, which will make DIY more feasible. I do think you'll struggle to get it carpeted, it may grow a leggy (for HC anyways).

 

[Carlovel1]

Thanks everyone, and thanks for the tip Ian
Does it mean I hold no hope for growing a nice carpet?
Regarding the last post about the dead spots, I clean the dead spots usually every 2 days to keep the sand looking nice so I havent had algae...yet!

 

[ian]

dead spots are where the tank isn't getting any flow, Carl. So in turn the plants in the dead spots don't get what they need, in turn they die off and cause small ammonia spikes, leading to algae outbreaks.

 

[Carlovel1]

Thanks for clearing that up
I still have the HC Cuba in the pot and everyday, its growing upwards and outwards, and I'm not even dosing. Will try my best to form a carpet