# Help my monte carlo and dwarf hair grass won't grow



## ILikeRice (Jul 9, 2017)

Are you dosing EI? 

https://rotalabutterfly.com/nutrient-calculator.php
https://rotalabutterfly.com/aquarium-plant-deficiencies.php


----------



## Nr6281 (Aug 20, 2017)

Hi I haven't been dosing anything yet because it's a new set up been only a month. Do i need dosing even thou it's a dirt tank just been setup?


----------



## Tnalp (Mar 25, 2017)

I've learned that bps do not mean anything to be honest. i bought a ph meter from amazon for about 15$. you will need to drop your ph from 7.9 down to 6.9. this will let you know that you're at 30ppm of c02 in your tank. i would suggest dosing extra nutrients. whether it be ei or pos pro method.


----------



## gaurav (Jun 19, 2017)

Same problem with my tank, it's 4 months old but grass and monti Carlo is not growing. I tried all the options suggested to me.


----------



## Nr6281 (Aug 20, 2017)

I really thought I dint have to do any dosing already for 6 months since it is a dirted tank. But yea I guess I'll try dosing some pros and I have also added an additional light to see if it promotes growth because as per few research learned I had very few lumens. I'll try to post few progress. But it is really worrying to see that a low plant won't grow and a high plant seems to be doing fine

What have u tried yet?



gaurav said:


> Same problem with my tank, it's 4 months old but grass and monti Carlo is not growing. I tried all the options suggested to me.


What have u tried untill now


----------



## RyRob (May 30, 2015)

In my experience, dhg really needs good pressurized co2 to do what you want it to do. Your clumps you planted could also stand to be separated more. Literally into individual nodes. 

Monte Carlo has been great for me. It carpeted under a mat of cyano for me. It's been pretty resilient. Your lighting looks a little dim to me (visual evaluation is a horable way to guess par though). 

How are you on water changes?


----------



## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Test your degassed PH, Let some tank water or tap water sit for a few hours and see what the PH is. If it's about the same as the tank your not getting much co2. DIY on a 55G is very tough.


----------



## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

dont expect much to happen after 10 days. it takes about 10 days for the plants to adjust to their new environment and get comfortable.

once they get comfortable they will grow and grow and grow. Wait about 1-2 months. sometimes it takes two weeks to a month for the the melting to complete its process. 

im guessing you're going to experience melting for the first 2-3 weeks and the new growth wont come out till a month later. just so you can have a scope of how long to wait.


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Nr6281 said:


> Hi all I really need some help....
> 
> It's been 10 days since I planted I'm very patient when it comes to planting. But now I'm quite have no clue as to what's going on. My monte carlo won't grow a lot of the leaves seem melt and my DHG won't grow too
> 
> ...


Hi Nr6281,

Welcome to TPT!

I believe that @ILikeRice is on the correct path, a lack of nutrients. Coir has no nutrients, it is sort of like peat moss but made from coconut fiber. Obviously the sand has no nutrients. The old Amazonia may have some nutrients if it was used for less than a year but after that it is mostly depleted.

You've got 80 watts of light on a 55 gallon tank, you are dosing DIY CO2, and you are not providing any nutrients. I would start slow, maybe Seachem Comprehensive 3X per week and see if there is improvement in growth after a couple of weeks. If so, then decide what dosing method you plan to use.

Your photoperiod of eight hours may be a little long, when you start adding the Seachem Comprehensive I would suggest running a six (6) hour photoperiod and slowly increasing 1/2 per week watching for algae.


----------



## gaurav (Jun 19, 2017)

1) I have tried frequent water changes up to 50%
2) increase co2 level to 3bps
3) root tabs
4) increasing light


----------



## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

what is your degassed PH?


----------



## klibs (May 1, 2014)

dose the water column root tabs are not really going to do anything for monte carlo.

all you need for those plants is medium light, ample CO2, ample ferts (i would dose less than EI but make sure you cover all your bases)

you have close to 0 overall plant mass so it might be difficult to avoid algae

I have owned HC but not monte carlo. assuming they are very similar but could be wrong... HC in my experience just needs decent amount of light, CO2, bit of nutrients and it should grow pretty quickly. CO2 supply is key. I have owned DHG before and it really needs CO2 to start taking off. Dirt helps a lot too. but if it doesn't have medium light and ample CO2 then it won't do too much and just sit there or start to slowly die. also takes a while to take off... '10 days' and 'patient' don't really make sense here. DHG can take a lot longer than 10 days to take off even under ideal circumstances. once it gets going it will spread pretty quickly. I assume monte carlo should be able to start off faster and will also grow quickly once it gets going.

frankly 10 days is not much time so you might want to chill before doing anything drastic

no clue how powerful your lighting really is... but if your plants need more light it could be difficult. higher light is a LOT easier when you have a lot of nutrient-sucking healthy plants to handle it. you might want to consider packing in some fast growing stems in the bare areas, even if only temporary. keep them trimmed low so your monte carlo and DHG get ample light and slowly phase them out as your carpets grow in. It will take quite a long time before you have a full carpet and it will not be an easy journey if this is your first attempt at something like that.


----------

