# Dry Start HC



## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

Hey everyone,
I am attempting a dry-start HC carpet. I planted all of my HC last Friday, I'm using Aquasoil as the substrate. Let me know what you think!


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

Looks great man! I wish you the best of luck.

Currently I'm getting a tank ready for HC dry start.

Do you have any suggestions for me?

How did you plant your HC & where did you get it?


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## beedee (Jul 1, 2010)

nice start, you shouldn't have to wait very long for it to fully carpet. just watch those areas towards the front, make sure they dont puddle up.


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## papaj10789 (Oct 28, 2011)

Where did you get all that HC from?


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## Colorful (May 14, 2012)

I wish I could get an HC carpet. Too bad my tank is low light, low teach.


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## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

tylergvolk said:


> Looks great man! I wish you the best of luck.
> 
> Currently I'm getting a tank ready for HC dry start.
> 
> ...





papaj10789 said:


> Where did you get all that HC from?


Hey guys sorry I've been busy the past few days. I suggest using Aquasoil Amazonia. It's been two weeks since planting and I can already see a ton of growth. Some of the roots have almost reached 1" in length. I mixed a couple of drops of Excel into my spray bottle, and I uncover and mist the HC every two days or so. I bought 5 pots from liveaquaria, separated them into individual plantlets, and used tweezers to plant them in the substrate. Hope this helps.

I'll upload some updated pics tonight when I get off work


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## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

*Updated Pics*

Here are some pics I just took of the HC. I tried to get the best shots I could but it was hard with the saran wrap/ humidity lol. There wasn't very much growth the first week, but it really took off the second week.










You can see how it is starting to spread:









Here is a close up of the roots I was talking about:


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Man you went hardcore with the planting. 

I wouldn't imagine it will take long at all with how densely you planted those HC stems. That's great.... makes me want to purchase more and plant mine like that for DSM :biggrin:


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

Nice work, I hope to get that kinda growth soon. My DSM has been 4 days now.


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## sayurasem (Jun 17, 2011)

cant wait till its all carpeted!


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

I would recommend lowering the water level a bit. You don't need it to the top of the substrate.


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## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

csmith said:


> I would recommend lowering the water level a bit. You don't need it to the top of the substrate.


Thanks. I'm just waiting for it to evaporate but it seems to be taking forever. I haven't misted it in about 4 days, but it seems to be growing and healthy. 

I'm leaving for a cruise on Friday and will be gone a week... I'm wondering if I give it a quick mist before I leave if it will be fine for that week? I have a friend who can come over and mist them while I am gone otherwise. Let me know what you guys think


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

I would keep the water just below the substrate, mist before your go, and keep is covered all week.

Have your friend keep an eye on the plants to make sure they stay looking healthy.


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

I mist mine once every 2-3 weeks, and that's when I'm on top of it. The humidity in the tank will sustain it just fine.


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## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

Thanks guys! I'll upload pics when I get back from my trip... hopefully things go well with the HC lol


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## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

*Oh no...*

Alright so I got back from my vacation last night and found out that a good amount of my HC has been taken over by that white stringy fungus... the affected HC is brown/dead-looking. I've read different suggestions. Some say to flood the tank for a few days to drown the fungus, some say to dry out the tank to kill the fungus, and others say to mist with excel solution (which I've done). Has anyone run into this problem and overcome it? If so, please help! I'll try and put up a couple pics tonight after work. Thanks in advance


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

1 part H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) to 4 parts distilled water. Mist with that, it'll kill all of the fungus/mold. You'll hear that "fizz" you normally get when you put the peroxide on cuts.


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## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

csmith said:


> 1 part H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) to 4 parts distilled water. Mist with that, it'll kill all of the fungus/mold. You'll hear that "fizz" you normally get when you put the peroxide on cuts.


Thanks csmith. Should I remove all the dead HC or will it eventually grow back?


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## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

*Pics*

Here are some pictures of the HC now. Can't see it in the pictures but there are tiny white hairs on a lot of the plants. I misted with H2O2 solution and am going to let it dry out for a few days, hopefully that helps


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

Your substrate looks too wet. I'd let it air out a little.


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

deepghosh said:


> Thanks csmith. Should I remove all the dead HC or will it eventually grow back?


I'm not sure if it'll come back, but I'd leave it. When mine looked like that I left it and it did bounce back.


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

Here's a side shot of my water level. Notice how low it is in in comparison to the substrate. Soaking your substrate is very counterproductive.


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## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

Thanks, it's been airing out I'm going to give it another day or two before covering it back up.


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

Don't leave it open non-stop, you still need to keep the humidity up.


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## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

Got it. I removed a lot of the water from the substrate, the water level is maybe half an inch below the substrate now maybe a little more. I put the saran wrap back on... hopefully it bounces back and starts growing again soon!


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## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

*Update*

Alright, its been a month and I'm finally seeing some improvement. I siphoned out a lot of the water so that the water level is about half an inch below the substrate. I then misted the whole tank with a pretty strong H2O2 solution. Its been doing really well since then, I let in fresh air daily and mist every 2-3 days. Hopefully another month and I'll be ready to fill it up! Here's a pic:


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## deepghosh (Jul 2, 2012)

*Update*

Well, after a very long 3 months, I finally got the HC carpet I wanted. Just gotta fill up my 5lb CO2 tank and then I can finally fill up my tank! I also replaced those square rocks with some nicer looking ones, and added a bit of dwarf hairgrass in the back. I removed the HC in the back as well since I will be adding a bunch of assorted stem plants back there.

Day 1: 










3 months later (sorry about the condensation):


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## chou (Feb 23, 2012)

damn 3 months. long wait


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## Brian041 (Sep 10, 2012)

chou said:


> damn 3 months. long wait


Anything fish related all boils down to patience lol. But you can't argue with the results. Nice job man.


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## beedee (Jul 1, 2010)

Nice job man, I'm hoping my dry start does that well (minus the funky white stuffs).


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