Will HC Grow in Sand?

[JRagg]

Subject pretty much says it all. I don't have eco-complete. I've got a black sand substrate.

10gal with 26W of CF (considered "medium light" by the calculator I used) and about 20ish ppm CO2. I've found some reasonably priced HC, and I'm wondering if I should go for it or not. Will it grow in my tank?

Plantgeek says it is a medium light plant, but I know what I read there isn't always 100% accurate. I'd rather have the opinion from someone who has had experience growing it.

TIA

 

[malkore]

tahitian moon sand? it should do ok in that, and you probably have enough light, though I wouldn't be afraid to push more CO2 and hit 30-35ppm.

 

[JRagg]

I don't have the tahitian moon stuff. I've got Seachem's Grey Coast natural calcite. It's probably a little sharper than your average sand and looks more like broken stones. I didn't have too many options when I bought the stuff and in retrospect would probably have done better with something else, but this is a learning tank.

I'd love to hit more CO2, I'm working on my DIY setup to get it higher but that's another story for another day.

 

[hashbaz]

I get the impression that HC is a little risky, so I would suggest not spending too much. Tropica also says it should grow in your conditions - so it is worth trying.

 

[JRagg]

I'm going for it. The reading I've done said it's not too difficult to get it to grow. It "thrives" in high light with high CO2, but will do ok without it.