Hc? - Page 2 - Aquarium Plants

Generals · 08-11-2008, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ccLansman

i have heard this on other forums and want to know its validity and what the deal is, goes something like this.. "i grew my hc emersed but when i filled the tank with water it melted."

What is the deal with swapping from air to water and does it actually melt every time or only some times?

well.... i have practically no experience in this since im just starting out, but ive read a lot that if you overdose co2 after flooding (without fishes of course), the leaves won't melt

but i think we have to ask the more experienced aquascapers here=)

digiSalero · 08-28-2008, 09:03 AM

Seems to me like the only difference between going from emmersed HC to submerged HC is the exchange of CO2. Emmersed HC gets it's CO2 from the surrounding air. Submerged HC gets it from the water. If the HC is having trouble taking in the CO2 in the water, my guess is that it would have some trouble maintaining it's emmersed form and may "melt" away.

I would say increase your CO2/water circulation.

custom240g · 10-10-2008, 12:42 AM

I do it all the time, as long as the trimming have a root or two they should survive. From my experiences the more i trim my hc the better it spreads

Tom Barr · 10-10-2008, 01:42 AM

Well, here is the answer about HC going from Emergent to submersed:

4 weeks after:

1 week after flooding:

Day of flooding:

1 Week before flooding:

This definitely shows there's some other issues with the melting other than transition from emergent to submersed culture.

That was one of the criticisms that where levels against my initial promotion of the DSM, and some theories I'd mentioned prior. Rather than arguing with these clowns, I went the other way and did a simple test to show it worked.

But now I know what the main issue was in order to apply the theory.
It's mostly gas exchange. Which is what I've said for some years.

If anything, the plant's growth rate accelerated, due to water column uptake of nutrients and less support, more buoyancy. This allows more light to penetrate the mat and makes it fuller/fluffier.

This as well as many other folks, (so it's not just me, or that I'm somehow "special") suggest that it cannot be due to submersion, the melting is very likely due to poor CO2.

It is a very easy plant to work with as it is very easy to grow large amounts in hydroponic like culture like I detailed in this tank above. So you can grow plenty of it and torture and test all sorts of treatments.

This DSM makes it very easy to grow.
It will never save you from poor CO2 or poor aquatic conditions however........

Regards,
Tom Barr

Regards,
Tom Barr