# HC substrate



## sailfaster (Mar 14, 2014)

bit of a noob here, forgive me, but I've been trying to grow an emersed hc carpet in my 20 long, and i'm struggling. it's a dirted tank with miracle grow eco and a sand cap, plenty of light, and it's misted a few times a day, but after three weeks, no signs of growth. I've been debating starting over with a more normal substrate. is there one that people seem to like for HC?


----------



## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

Do you cover the tank with any clear plastic wrap at all?


----------



## bpizzuto (Apr 22, 2013)

Need to have plastic wrap over the top, i had my CO2 in tank before water and would turn it on few times a day when lights were on to get co2 levels up under the plastic wrap.


----------



## sailfaster (Mar 14, 2014)

the tank has been all wrapped up nicely, plenty of condensation on the glass and plastic wrap.


----------



## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

I would leave the back corners just ever so slightly cracked open and air the tank out once a week for like 30 min and then spray down again and rewrap.


----------



## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

I wouldn't cover it at all. If it's truly emergent, then it wouldn't matter how moist the air is. Also, air circulation is important, as well as a fertile substrate. It doesn't seem like it's fertilized based on your descriptions or there may be too little substrate flow so nutrients aren't being transported to the roots.


----------



## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

I would keep it wrapped. I've grown HC emerged successfully and found the best method was to cover it well, with rich substrate (aquasoil) and plenty of light. I just started a DS about two weeks ago and the HC is growing well, lots of growth and tons of new shoots. It might be the roots are not able to get to the MG through the sand cap. What kind of light are you using?


----------



## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

exv152 said:


> I would keep it wrapped. I've grown HC emerged successfully and found the best method was to cover it well, with rich substrate (aquasoil) and plenty of light. I just started a DS about two weeks ago and the HC is growing well, lots of growth and tons of new shoots. It might be the roots are not able to get to the MG through the sand cap. What kind of light are you using?


I was thinking the same thing. I've never seen HC successfully grown with the DSM using a substrate capped by sand...sand is pretty much glass and highly reflective I would assume. That could definitely be a bad thing. I've never used a sand capped media for DSM, so I don't have any story of personal success or failure, but perhaps someone who has, could chime in on that particular part of it.


----------



## sailfaster (Mar 14, 2014)

Ended up totally redoing the tank yesterday. I replaced the miracle grow with Flourite, and I'll squirt it with a water/liquid fert mixture a few times a day. We'll see how this goes.


----------



## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

Is it still capped with sand?


----------



## sailfaster (Mar 14, 2014)

the flourite isn't capped, no.


----------



## DSP (Apr 8, 2014)

Sand is definately the best substrate for hc to grow on as long as there's nutrient rich substrate underneath,Hc will spread way faster in sand because it roots better in sand same with all the other carpet plants, I won't put a small carpet plant in a tank unless there's sand as the cap, And the first layers you had(dirt and eco capped with sand) is one of the best layered substrates there is for this, But I see you changed it up?fluorite is a good one to but i would cap the fluorite with fluorite black sand(preferrably) or black diomand.

-Seafari-


----------



## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

Instead of hearsay, I figured this is something that could be of proof and use in your trial. 

http://fishtankprojects.com/aquascaping/dry-start-hc-dwarf-baby-tears-dsm.html


----------



## DSP (Apr 8, 2014)

Yes do what that link says but use sand instead of the stratum if u want it to spread quicker,stratum is just meh lol

-Seafari-


----------



## sailfaster (Mar 14, 2014)

Already spent the money on the standard stuff, and really don't feel like dropping another $30 on another bag of sand. The HC is planted in individual stems, but a bit sparse for what I'd like, so we'll see how it goes.


----------



## DSP (Apr 8, 2014)

sailfaster said:


> Already spent the money on the standard stuff, and really don't feel like dropping another $30 on another bag of sand. The HC is planted in individual stems, but a bit sparse for what I'd like, so we'll see how it goes.


What do you have over the fluorite? It needs something capping it if you use it otherwise your tank will be cloudy every time your hands go in the tank lol, its so so messy so when you decide to fill the tank up I would add some kind of sand over it, It's a great substrate just best used as a bottom layer because of the mess, You can get 50 lbs of black or natural colored sand for $5 if you want of course.

-Seafari-


----------



## sailfaster (Mar 14, 2014)

in the past, i've used it rinsed and never had a problem, but i left the dust in for this tank. I have some white sand filling in the gaps where i don't want plant growth, but I don't like the looks of it that much. i suppose a trip to homedepot is in order to find some tan sand. I don't have a good LFS, and my nearest petco is a tiny, worthless one that doesn't stock anything useful. Getting what I need is a bit harder than I'd like.


----------



## DSP (Apr 8, 2014)

sailfaster said:


> in the past, i've used it rinsed and never had a problem, but i left the dust in for this tank. I have some white sand filling in the gaps where i don't want plant growth, but I don't like the looks of it that much. i suppose a trip to homedepot is in order to find some tan sand. I don't have a good LFS, and my nearest petco is a tiny, worthless one that doesn't stock anything useful. Getting what I need is a bit harder than I'd like.


If you want black sand go to tractor supply and find black diomand sand blasting sand it's like $5 for 50 lbs, And yes Lowes and home depot have the tan sand called playsand, if you find a pool supply store then you can checkout pool filter sand as well.I personally would go with the black diomand because it just makes everything look better and colors pop! I'm Acually In the process of replacing all the gravel at our store to black diomand, Also doing a 700 Gallon planted tank soon and I'll probably be using it for that as well lol, It's awesome sand.

-Seafari-


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

DSP said:


> Lowes and home depot have the tan sand called playsand, if you find a pool supply store then you can checkout pool filter sand as well.


Pool filter sand didn't work out in my tank. Been told by others too that it is not good for compresses. Lowe's and Home Depot carry pool filter sand. It isn't as white as it is from a pool supply store but of similar grand.


----------

