I May Have Gotten the Wrong Hairgrass

[StevenF]

Yes I am talking about the same plant in those pictures. I've never had success with it and it used to rot within a week of being in the shop tanks and we had lots of light and fertiliser in the plant tanks.

it probably didn't do well due to your fertilisr. Most fertilizers on the market rely on your tap water having some of the nutrients plants need to grow. If your water doesn't have a nutrient your fertilizer is deficient in plants will quickly die. Ro my RO water tank I spent years trying to figure out my plant growth problems and after trying 4 different fertilizers I tried making my own fertilizer with all 14 plant nutrients. Now I have been able to grow most stuff I put in my tank and that includes dwarf hair grass. Unfortunately it is not making your own fertilizer is not the easy solution to fertilization. And at this time I have not found a easy combination of commercial fertilizers that I could easly solve the most common problems. Most fertilizer s are deficient in at least one of the following nutrients Calcium, Zinc, Copper, Molybdenum. OF the commercial fertilizers I used that failed were Seachem flourish, Seachem trace, Aqueon, and the Common EI fertilizer mixes.

My tank is not a high light tank. It is a medium light tank and I do have CO2 but I am operating at very low CO2 level A CO2 Drop checker will not detect my CO2 levels. Other people Use a PH probe to check there CO2 levels and even that says I am low. And yet my plants are happily producing oxygen bubbles right now.

 

[Kyle E.]

So a few questions. I am pretty sure dwarf hairgrass is a plant that gets nutrients through it's roots correct? So why are you putting liquid ferts in? Or are you talking about root tabs? I have api root tabs that I am using currently.

Also I have a gravel tank. I would rather have either sand or plant substrate as I know both are better for plants but I do not currently have the money for a complete substrate swap (also the plants are already planted, so...). Is this going to be detrimental to the dwarf hairgrass? When I found out about it a website or two said that it would do alright in gravel it just wouldn't grow as fast.

Also while we're at it my amazon sword seems to not be growing. It grew a lot of new leaves when I planted it but they are still slightly shorter than the originals and I am not sure they are getting any longer. Like I said I use root tabs and amazon sword is a rooted plant.

Again I think it might be my light...

A fluorescent light came with the tank . It's really alright though because I got the tank, filter, gravel, light, and hood for around $40 from a friend. I still don't have more money for a plant LED though... I used it all up on all the other supplies.

R.I.P.

 

[Kyle E.]

Oh and also you mentioned that fertilizers are often lacking in copper. Isn't this a good thing as copper is toxic to inverts? I have 2 amano shrimp and 1 nerite.

 

[Colin_T]

Yes copper is toxic to all invertebrates including shrimp, snails, starfish, seahorses, corals, etc.

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We used a liquid fertiliser that was based around iron but also had trace elements in it. The guy that helped set up the plant section had a Dupla plant tank and it was really nice.

Aquatic plants get their nutrients through their leaves and roots, mostly through the leaves.

Terrestrial plants take in most of their nutrients through their roots but can take in nutrients through their leaves.

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Aquatic plants will grow in sand or gravel, it doesn't make any difference at all.

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Amazon sword plants need lots of light and nutrients if you want them to become huge. It also depends on the species, some are bigger than others.

Amazon sword plants are normally grown hydroponically with their leaves out of water. These conditions let the plant build up some reserves and they usually do well for a month or so and then start to waste away. They use the reserves during the first month developing new leaves and if there are insufficient nutrients in the tank water or substrate, the stop growing or only grow slowly.

All my Amazon sword plants grew bigger in pots outside than compared to in the aquariums. The plants outside in pots were grown in regular potting mix and given a liquid plant fertiliser (Thrive) once a week. They had a plastic tray under the pots and that was filled with either fertiliser solution or tap water when it dried out.

When I had my plant tank, I had red clay mixed with the gravel and I added fertiliser every day or two depending on what the iron level was. I worked on 1ppm of iron and tried to keep it there. The fertiliser was an iron base with trace elements, the same as we used in the shop. I also had six x 36watt light globes above the tank and they were on for about 14 hours per day. The plants did pretty well in that tank. The tank was 4ft x 2ft x 2ft.

 

[Kyle E.]

Hmm. I guess I will have to look into a good fertilizer and lighting. What would you guys recommend would be a good budget friendly led light that would grow my plants well?

 

[CassCats]

Honestly I've had good results with the cheaper end of Nicrew.

 

[Kyle E.]

I was just reading a lighting article and thought that they looked pretty good! I would also have to figure out what to do with my hood because it is black plastic with a small square of clear plastic where the flourescant light sits. I would love to have it hoodless but I have heard that bettas can be jumpers.

 

[CassCats]

I use the submersible nicrews, secured them with the suction cups they come with to the underside of the lid

 

[Kyle E.]

Ooh. I haven't seen those. I was looking at the adjustable bracket ones that go on top of the tank. Interesting. Do you happen to have a link to them?

 

[CassCats]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0868LFL9Z/?tag=ff0d01-20

They come in a couple different sizes too and are really affordable.

 

[Kyle E.]

Thank you! Most of the other ones I have looked at have said they are designed for plants. This one does not but you said you have had success with it? And the biggest size is 15 inch. Would that be enough for a 30 gallon aquarium or would I need 2?

 

[CassCats]

Measure the size for your tank, whats the length?

I'll get you some photos if mine with the submersible once I get home.
I use the ones just the blue light, but the rbg would be best for higher need plants. But I grow hygrophila and ludwigia with these as well no issues.

 

[CassCats]

My ludwigia was dying before I got this light, now its perked right back into health and is growing fuller and redder

 

[StevenF]

Oh and also you mentioned that fertilizers are often lacking in copper. Isn't this a good thing as copper is toxic to inverts? I have 2 amano shrimp and 1 nerite.

i dose 0.01 part per million of copper. My Nerit a blue dream shrimp are fine. The shrimp are even breading. Note I have gone up to 0.02 PPM with no negative effects. Shrimp have copper based blood. So they need copper to live.

Most fertilizer have only 0.001ppm or less of copper. Most of the copper in your tanks doesn't come from the fertilizer. Instead it comes from the copper pipes in most homes. I use RO water. I don't use my tap but I did test my tap water in the past and it was at 0.05ppm. EPA allows up to 1.3ppm in tap water.

So a few questions. I am pretty sure dwarf hairgrass is a plant that gets nutrients through it's roots correct? So why are you putting liquid ferts in? Or are you talking about root tabs? I have api root tabs that I am using currently.

If you dose the water column the fertilized water will penetrate into the substrate. Faster in porous gravel and slower in sand. So the fertilizer will get to the roots. And my observations with Dwarf hair grasss is that the roots stay close to the surface of the substrate. With root tabs they nutrients they contain may dissolve slowly or quickly depending on the brand and you don't really know how long they will last. With a liquid fertilizer all the nutrients are available the instant it is added to the water.

Note API root tabs and there liquid leaf zone fertilizer only have iron and phosphorous. Only 2 of the 14 nutrients plants need. So API fertilizer products depend on your water or fish to provide 90% of the nutrients your plants need. With API products you are likely to have several nutrient deficiencies which will cause algae issues. When there are no nutrient deficiencies algae issues are generally minimal or easily controlled.

 

[CassCats]

i dose 0.01 part per million of copper. My Nerit a blue dream shrimp are fine. The shrimp are even breading. Note I have gone up to 0.02 PPM with no negative effects. Shrimp have copper based blood. So they need copper to live.

Most fertilizer have only 0.001ppm or less of copper. Most of the copper in your tanks doesn't come from the fertilizer. Instead it comes from the copper pipes in most homes. I use RO water. I don't use my tap but I did test my tap water in the past and it was at 0.05ppm. EPA allows up to 1.3ppm in tap water.



If you dose the water column the fertilized water will penetrate into the substrate. Faster in porous gravel and slower in sand. So the fertilizer will get to the roots. And my observations with Dwarf hair grasss is that the roots stay close to the surface of the substrate. With root tabs they nutrients they contain may dissolve slowly or quickly depending on the brand and you don't really know how long they will last. With a liquid fertilizer all the nutrients are available the instant it is added to the water.

Note API root tabs and there liquid leaf zone fertilizer only have iron and phosphorous. Only 2 of the 14 nutrients plants need. So API fertilizer products depend on your water or fish to provide 90% of the nutrients your plants need. With API products you are likely to have several nutrient deficiencies which will cause algae issues. When there are no nutrient deficiencies algae issues are generally minimal or easily controlled.

API root tabs also have potassium and nitrogen