hair grass

[anton srsen]

What website can I get dwarf hair grass on ??

 

[Crepe]

Check aquabid... You may be able to find a decent deal there. Most LFS carry it though so make some calls and look around. In about 1-2 months I'll have extra hairgrass that is up for grabs for only shipping.

 

[fort384]

try
AquaBid.com - Sell or buy aquarium related equipment and fish in an auction format!
AquariumPlants.com Largest online sales / service site for the live aquarium plants & aquarium products community.
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

You could also post a "wanted to buy" add on the classifieds section of the forum here.

Are you aware of the requirements to grow dwarf hair grass? You were asking a lot of basic questions about java moss before, so I am guessing your tank is not setup to grow dwarf hairgrass... there are lighting, fert, and CO2 requirements to grow this fairly demanding plant. It isn't like growing java moss...

 

[anton srsen]

What's fert

 

[fort384]

fertilizer... nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, iron, boron, magnesium, etc. You should do some more reading before you go and order plants like dwarf hairgrass... you will pay an arm and a leg for the plants + shipping only to have them slowly die back in your tank if the conditions aren't right.

 

[anton srsen]

I'm currently performing water changes every other day ..my nitrates are alittle high though

 

[fort384]

It isn't about water changes... there is a lot more to learn before you put medium high/high light plants in your tank.

Check out the sticky in the plant forum "resources and references". It has a lot of links to really great information about understanding planted tanks... lighting, CO2, fertilization, algae control, substrate, etc. There are a lot of plants suitable to very low light setups, and not much extra maintenance is required. But when you start looking at iwagumi type scapes like that one you posted the pic of earlier, it takes a lot more than just plopping some plants into the tank.

 

[anton srsen]

I have two 10 watt coral life lights, in my 20 gal tank. Would this be considered high/low lighting.

 

[Crepe]

That would be low bordering insufficient lighting for anything.

 

[fort384]

watt kind of bulbs are they?

T8 / T5/ CF / incandescent?

Unless they are incandescent I would call that low lighting. If they are incandescent, I would call it extremely low (probably won't support any plants) lighting.

Any way you slice it, definitely not enough light to keep hairgrass alive, much less get it to grow in a carpet like you want.

Also important in the color temp of the bulbs. Even if it looks bright if the color temperature is wrong all you will grow is algae. You want the bulbs to be somewhere between 6500-10000K. It should say somewhere on the bulb.

 

[mfdrookie516]

that would be super low lighting... to grow something like that, you're talking a minimum $300 addition in lighting and co2 alone. I just spent over $500 on my current setup, and I dont even think I have what it takes for this stuff (but I'd like to give it a try).

 

[fort384]

that would be super low lighting... to grow something like that, you're talking a minimum $300 addition in lighting and co2 alone. I just spent over $500 on my current setup, and I dont even think I have what it takes for this stuff (but I'd like to give it a try).

I think you could do it for less than $300... DIY CO2 would be pretty easy on a 20 gal tank and you could put together a DIY LED fixture for less than $100 that would grow hairgrass in a 20.

The big issue here for me is the knowledge level. You need to walk before you run... I just don't want you to get ahead of yourself... it will end in frustration. Nothing good happens quickly in an aquarium. Take your time, look around, read up on growing aquatic plants, understand the requirements, realize what you may need to upgrade if you decide the work is for you, and go from there. A lot of people go out and buy whatever they think looks good, and then get frustrated when it turns brown and is covered in hair algae.

 

[Conneralbrecht]

i was looking around on the forums,and i saw this thread. i recently converted my Nanocube to freshwater. its a 28g with 150 watt metal halide. i emailed jbj and they send me a light that they saidwas appropiate for growing plants. I was wondering would my light be to bright.. is there a light that is "to" bright.

Sorry i didnt start a new thread just thought i'd ask here

 

[Crepe]

that would be super low lighting... to grow something like that, you're talking a minimum $300 addition in lighting and co2 alone. I just spent over $500 on my current setup, and I dont even think I have what it takes for this stuff (but I'd like to give it a try).

I wouldn't say it's that demanding of a plant. Just wait until you try to keep something like R. Macrandra alive (dear lord...so many dead leaves....). ANYWAYS... yes, you will have to upgrade your lighting.

The stuff will "live" in medium light but won't carpet and grow like crazy unless you have lots of CO2 and lots of light. I've been growing this stuff like mad... for almost a year.

And at the above poster...yes there is very much too bright and you have....too bright lol. Suspend your light at least 24" above the surface of the water and you should be at high-very light and you'll also need some co2. If you had an old calcium reactor or something that'll work.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc.html

Here you go.

too much light means: too much PAR which means more maintenance, more co2 (dangerous for fauna) more ferts (costly) and more algae and things will happen faster and you'll have more problems.

 

[fort384]

Yes, you can have too much light.

Are you injecting CO2 and dosing fertilizer conner? If not, that is way too much light. Even if you are doing those things, that is probably too much light, especially if you are new to the hobby. I ran 96W of T5HO over a 29G tank for awhile... I don't think I would ever want to put more than that over that size tank. I would send it back, and look at T5HO lighting solutions instead. That 150W of MH is going to frustrate you pretty quickly... assuming you will even be able to see what is going on in the tank through all the algae

 

[fort384]

I wouldn't say it's that demanding of a plant. Just wait until you try to keep something like R. Macrandra alive (dear lord...so many dead leaves....).

Agreed... DHG is fairly midrange on the difficulty / light requirement scale. It is pretty easy to keep going if you just keep the conditions close to right.

Macranda... loved growing that stuff. If it is healthy and the leaves aren't melting off, it is a real sense of accomplishment!

I was proud of my macranda when I was growing it... here it is:

 

[Crepe]

Wow...really nice. I could never get my ferts balanced right...it'd go greenish pink and then melt away into nothing.

 

[fort384]

I kept it successfully for about 5 months... even grew enough to send trimmings to some other folks... then I had to break down my tanks and move across country. Never set the 29 up again, so haven't tried it since.

 

[anton srsen]

I'll stick to fake plants for now , read up and hopefully upgrade in 1-2 years.

 

[fort384]

anton, it doesn't have to take that long... but give yourself a few weeks and gain an understanding of the requirements.