Eleocharis Parvula/Dwarf Hairgrass Growth

[archangelvk]

Hey all,

I bought 3 cups of the Eleocharis Parvula/Dwarf Hairgrass from Tropica and put it in my 33G long LOW TECH. Im using the following

3 inches of ADA Aqua Soil Substrate
Current Satellite Plus which is around 10 inches from the substrate giving it a par rating of 45 (according to aquarium co-ops video) medium lighting
Dosing Thrive and Seachem Excel
Temperature is 24 C/75F

My two questions are

1) How long will it take for the Hairgrass to carpet with my setup

2) Will changing my light to the Finnex Planted Plus 24/7 be too strong (it will have a par of around 90-100) causing insane algae? or will it make the grass carpet faster?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Hey all,

I bought 3 cups of the Eleocharis Parvula/Dwarf Hairgrass from Tropica and put it in my 33G long LOW TECH. Im using the following

3 inches of ADA Aqua Soil Substrate
Current Satellite Plus which is around 10 inches from the substrate giving it a par rating of 45 (according to aquarium co-ops video) medium lighting
Dosing Thrive and Seachem Excel
Temperature is 24 C/75F

My two questions are

1) How long will it take for the Hairgrass to carpet with my setup

2) Will changing my light to the Finnex Planted Plus 24/7 be too strong (it will have a par of around 90-100) causing insane algae? or will it make the grass carpet faster?

Thanks in advance.

You should be ok using the 24/7 despite how shallow the 33 long long is. It is a bright fixture, but a step down in intensity from the planted+. If you run into problems it shouldn't be too difficult to suspend the light to add more distance from the fixture to the tank. You can find full par ratings for the fixture on the planted tank.com. As far as how long it will take the hair grass to carpet your tank, it really depends. I try and plant hair grass in tiny pieces throughout the entire tank to ensure it grows in evenly and quickly. I have noticed that co2 injection really seems to be the secret to success with dwarf hair grass. I have personally never had success growing hair grass at a reasonably fast rate without it.

 

[archangelvk]

You should be ok using the 24/7 despite how shallow the 33 long long is. It is a bright fixture, but a step down in intensity from the planted+. If you run into problems it shouldn't be too difficult to suspend the light to add more distance from the fixture to the tank. You can find full par ratings for the fixture on the planted tank.com. As far as how long it will take the hair grass to carpet your tank, it really depends. I try and plant hair grass in tiny pieces throughout the entire tank to ensure it grows in evenly and quickly. I have noticed that co2 injection really seems to be the secret to success with dwarf hair grass. I have personally never had success growing hair grass at a reasonably fast rate without it.

Thanks for your help. The distance between my light and substrate is around 11 inches. The distance from light to Plant is around 9.5 inches.

WHen you were talking about the lights, do you mean I should continue using the Current Satellite Plus or Finnex 24/7 cuz you mentioned the Planted+ which is the finnex 24/7.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Thanks for your help. The distance between my light and substrate is around 11 inches. The distance from light to Plant is around 9.5 inches.

WHen you were talking about the lights, do you mean I should continue using the Current Satellite Plus or Finnex 24/7 cuz you mentioned the Planted+ which is the finnex 24/7.

The satellite and the 24/7 will be pretty similar as far as light intensity goes. When I refer to the planted+ I am referring to the fugeray planted+. The fugeray planted+ is a more powerful light than the 24/7 in my experience. I would say you can't go wrong with either the 24/7 or the satellite on the 33 long since it is nice and short. You will have good light penetration and light should not be a limiting factor.