# Growing DHG Emmersed, Am I doing it right?



## madhatter4 (Dec 13, 2007)

I planted a lot of hair grass about a month ago to grow them out emmersed. 


Just planted









One week later










Forgot the two week pic, but this is three weeks later.










Close up










The substrate is Eco-Complete. I put a thin layer of Osmocoat Plus under it. I was expecting some die off, but does this seem like too much? I am seeing some new growth though. I mist about every other day, should I do more? I try to keep the water level just under the surface but I wonder if I should raise it a little bit.

Am I heading for trouble or do you think Im ok and the DHG will start growing good soon?

By the way, my lighting is a custom DIY LED fixture running at about 120 Watts. I would think this should be bright enough. I will post a 4 week pic tomorrow.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

I think if you trim it low it spreads faster... well underwater it does...


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

If you want it to fill in much faster, you should try to split the bunches even more. Here's a pic of my DHG dry start.

Definitely raise your water level to just below the surface. It looks pretty dry. Make sure you cover the top with saran wrap and lightly mist it once or twice a day.


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## madhatter4 (Dec 13, 2007)

I raised the water level to the point where a have a small pool at the lowest substrate level and I put my glass tops on. Is humidity important for emmersed grow out? I am also going to setup a auto mister where my spray bar would go. Ill let it run for 1 minute twice a day, or longer to keep my water level up.


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## joonho (Nov 18, 2008)

Yes, humidity is very important for growing plants emersed. It does look kinda dry in there. You need around 90-100% humidity, so the glass tops will help.


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## madhatter4 (Dec 13, 2007)

Cool, that's good to know. 

Should I worry about the white fungus growing in the tank? It popped up around the two week mark but it seems to be slowly going away.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

I wouldn't be too concerned about the fungus. If it's still there by the time you flood it, being submerged underwater will kill it all off.

Be careful not to have any water above the substrate level. If you do, algae will grow (which might not be too obvious during a dry start, but will be very visible once water is added). If you have uneven substrate, you can slightly tilt the tank so that the water level is constant throughout.


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## gillie (Jun 13, 2010)

I started a nano emersed and liked the way it looked so much it turned into a terrarium.

Fungus will kill the plants, if you start getting too much just leave a 1'' opening in the back for circulation, you can make it larger as needed, but start small to avoid drying.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

Once you increase the humidity, your grass should start sending runners through the substrate. I keep the water level a centimeter or so above the substrate and Ive kept the emersed setup for about a year now. My crypts and dwarf hairgrass are thriving.


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## madhatter4 (Dec 13, 2007)

Here is a 4 week update.











After putting the glass tops on I now get a foggy tank in the morning, but when the LEDs ramp up to full bright, the fog on the glass goes away.


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## Sharkfood (May 2, 2010)

I would keep the substrate very soggy if not slightly underwater. I grew some DHG as well as microsword (Not at the same time) in the fountain of a Fluval Chi where they both grew like mad. DHG leaves melted off when I moved some to immersed, but even if that happens, you'll have enough roots to replace them very quickly if you carpet the tank before flooding.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Should the dead leaves/blades be trimmed?


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## madhatter4 (Dec 13, 2007)

Would mowing the grass short help to spur growth? Should I wait a bit longer to mow?


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## madhatter4 (Dec 13, 2007)

Here is week 5 and 6. Still not recovering like I was hoping for. The humidity is high in the tank, its stays foggy nearly all the time now. I also keep the water level right at the substrate. 

Any ideas?









^Week5









^Week6

I do seem to be able to grow millipedes though. I found about 8 of them hanging out on the drift wood the other day :icon_eek:


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## madhatter4 (Dec 13, 2007)

Well, week 7 and still no recovery. I trimmed some of the grass and added a two bulb T8 shop light to see if a light boost will help. If I see no improvement by next Friday, I'm gonna rip out everything not green and try again.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Well. Its still green, just doesn't seem to be growing. Are you providing ferts?
You may want to add some more water to the tank. Diffusion might work better then, otherwise roots aren't getting food/energy.

-Gordon


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## scags (Sep 22, 2003)

From the looks of it, too much moisture and not enough air current. Or you could alway try more water, DHG does good with the water just slightly above the substrate. Plus you have a pretty insane mold outbreak. Mold will kill you plants.

To get rid of the mold you either need more water or more air current, or even higher lighting. T8s are pretty weak and will let other organisms like mold thrive. I would try A T5 strip (6500k or 6700k)
You can find them on ebay for pretty cheap.

Once you get this all cleared up this tank will look amazing. Kudos on your awesome scaping technique!


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## madhatter4 (Dec 13, 2007)

gordonrichards said:


> Well. Its still green, just doesn't seem to be growing. Are you providing ferts?
> You may want to add some more water to the tank. Diffusion might work better then, otherwise roots aren't getting food/energy.
> 
> -Gordon


Well, I am getting new growth that is nice and green but it looks like the majority of the originally planted hairgass is dead and may need to be pulled out. The only ferts I have right now is the Osmocote Plus I spread out on the bottom of the tank before I added the Eco-Complete. I should be getting my dry ferts in this week so I may try to add some to the water I use for misting.




scags said:


> From the looks of it, too much moisture and not enough air current. Or you could alway try more water, DHG does good with the water just slightly above the substrate. Plus you have a pretty insane mold outbreak. Mold will kill you plants.
> 
> To get rid of the mold you either need more water or more air current, or even higher lighting. T8s are pretty weak and will let other organisms like mold thrive. I would try A T5 strip (6500k or 6700k)
> You can find them on ebay for pretty cheap.
> ...


I was wondering about air flow as my tank is kinda tall, 21.75" from the top of the substrate to the glass tops. I attached an 80mm PC cooling fan to the bottom of my glass tops and wired it in with my LED lights. As the lights dim, the fan will blow less air and it will be off at night. Maybe this will help a bit.

I also added a humidity gauge in the tank. Its showing about 80% humidity, lights are on full bright.


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