# Sand + dwarf hairgrass=one happy plant?



## Shovelman (Jan 2, 2011)

Does dwarf hair grass grow more aptly when provided with a sand substrate? Or will they do just as well in a fine gravel?
Any opinions would be great! Thanks!


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

Finer sand substrates can compact and may be difficult for plant roots to burrow into past the first inch or two. They're also more likely to create anaerobic pockets. Finer gravel is more suitable for plants, but coarser-grained sand will work fine as well. Either way, adding root fertilizers can help.


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## Shovelman (Jan 2, 2011)

allright sounds fine if im using a fine grained gravel anyways


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## Steve001 (Feb 26, 2011)

kevmo911 said:


> Finer sand substrates can compact and may be difficult for plant roots to burrow into past the first inch or two. They're also more likely to create anaerobic pockets. Finer gravel is more suitable for plants, but coarser-grained sand will work fine as well. Either way, adding root fertilizers can help.


I see all through the late Spring-Fall this plant growing in only a mixed sand size substrate sometimes even a clay/sand substrate. I wonder how nature does it.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I just got a mat (3 x 5) of Dwarf Hairgrass from AP.com, I cut it into 15 pieces and planted it in the front of my tank as to spread, my substate is 75% Flourite Red and 25% of a brown river stone about a 1/4 to 3/8 inches around. My lighting is kinda low (?) at 260w cf on a 150g tall tank, I'm hoping the HG will be ok until next month when I can afford to replace bulbs in my other fixture (384w) and then I will be blazing in at 4.29 wpg and I can cut back on the lenth of light time, do you think the HG will be ok at my current 1.73 wpg @ 14hrs. until next month???? This is the first time I have ever tried this plant.


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## Quesenek (Sep 26, 2008)

Steve001 said:


> I see all through the late Spring-Fall this plant growing in only a mixed sand size substrate sometimes even a clay/sand substrate. I wonder how nature does it.


The mixed size is what helps it. What I would recommend to the OP is to mix sand with another type of substrate.


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## Jericho199 (Mar 18, 2011)

I use pool filter sand as my substrate and my hairgrass has been doing really well.


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

I use silica sand with soil and some certs under (3 inches or so). My hair grass spread and grew for days. It was hard to get it to stop spreading.


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## Steve001 (Feb 26, 2011)

Quesenek said:


> The mixed size is what helps it. What I would recommend to the OP is to mix sand with another type of substrate.


What I was wondering is how anaerobic and compaction are avoided in nature yet is a concern in planted tanks ? There seems to be an ongoing concern here about compaction and anaerobic conditions setting up if sand particle size is too small. What I know is plants transport o2 via their root system into the substrate. The root system of plants also create a very slow flow of water via the main tank volume into the substrate by proccess called _guttation_. With this fact I suspect that anaerobic conditions don't arise in established tanks. As for compaction it's observable that the plants I've seen growing in a clay/sand subtrate show know sign of compaction of the substrate. If compaction in the aquarium does in fact occur but not in nature then what is the mechanism that prevents the latter and not the former ?


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