# Dwarf baby tears struggling with dry start after 4 weeks



## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

How was the HC acquired? Was it grown submersed/emersed?


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## dolph (Aug 3, 2017)

I purchased them potted from aquariumplants.com. I'm not sure how they were grown, but when they were delivered, they were packed in moist plastic bags and were in great shape.


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## dolph (Aug 3, 2017)

Any suggestions? The condition has only gotten worse over the past week, and I'm pretty confident there's no mold, so I'm back to maintaining high humidity going forward (90%+).

Latest photo before upping the humidity:


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## Vohlk (Apr 8, 2016)

I would recommend using as high a humidity as you can obtain. And everyday take the saran wrap off and blow onto the substrate/plants.
You said you where keeping it air tight, but when you do the dry start you still need gas exchange.
If you want you can add water I recommend keeping the water line at least 1-2 cm below the top of your substrate.
Also what substrate are you using, does it contain nutrients?


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

id prob say flood the tank if it's getting too out of control. dwarf baby tears grows like a beast. like a foam covering your tank and swallowing your rocks.


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## dolph (Aug 3, 2017)

Vohlk said:


> I would recommend using as high a humidity as you can obtain.


It's measuring 99% today, up from the ~65% I was targeting before.



Vohlk said:


> And everyday take the saran wrap off and blow onto the substrate/plants.


I'm taking the saran wrap off for about 15 minutes each morning when I mist.



Vohlk said:


> If you want you can add water I recommend keeping the water line at least 1-2 cm below the top of your substrate.


I had a water table in there for the past month or so, but just added enough to get to that 1cm mark or so, at least at the lowest point in the substrate.



Vohlk said:


> Also what substrate are you using, does it contain nutrients?


The soil is ADA Amazonia powder.



IntotheWRX said:


> id prob say flood the tank if it's getting too out of control


That's what I was thinking. It's at least rooted really well, so I think the dry start has accomplished the most critical challenge already.


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## Vohlk (Apr 8, 2016)

dolph said:


> It's measuring 99% today, up from the ~65% I was targeting before.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If you where only targeting 65% before I would think that might be your issue. I have done a lot of emersed setups for crypts, baby tears, and s. Repens and I found that 85%+ humidity was ideal. As long as you also provide proper gas exchange each day.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## dolph (Aug 3, 2017)

Growth has definitely improved! Thanks for the tips, everyone.

The past week or so has been 100% humidity, 12 hours of lighting, 15 minutes of daily air circulation (otherwise sealed with plastic wrap), and heavy spritzing with water once a day.

There's still plenty of lingering die-off, but a lot more new growth is dark green, with far fewer yellowing leaves. The lowest part of the tank (closest to the water table) is the bottom left of this pic, and you can see that's where the growth is the best.


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## Vohlk (Apr 8, 2016)

Looks awesome, glad to see it is working for you.
Just curious is there a reason you are only running lighting for 12 hours? I say only, because for the DSM you can essentially run lighting 24/7.
A while ago I ran a lot of s. repens setups with 19hr a day lighting (had it near a window that got decent light for 5 hours a day so I had the light off for this period).

If you want you can run it more, its not necessary just faster.


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