# Growing HC Help!



## BJRuttenberg (Sep 25, 2005)

Having some HC issues. Some leaves are yellowing, Others are turning brown/gray and melting. Growing emersed. 10 Gal, 40 Watt, Misting with Tap H2O (KH:5 GH:8 PH:8.5) Could someone please lend some advice/assistance. Im worried that my investment is dying off and I don't know why!


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Your HC is probably developing fungus on the roots. Submersing the entire HC for 3-4 days gets rid of that.

Other possibilities:

1. Substrate is not acidic.
If you don't use AquaASoil to grow HC emersed I have nothing to say to help.

2. Light is too low.
You say 40 watts over 10 gallons. But how high are the bulbs? And what kind of bulbs make 40 watts over a 10 gallon tank? 3 x 18 watt fluorescents maybe?

3. How long of a light period?

4. Do you have a hydroponic system or it's just substrate with HC in it and misting?
If you don't grow HC hydroponically then you will face all sorts of issues. Growth wil be slow to start with. And when HC grows slow all sorts of issues take hold of the system

--Nikolay


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## BJRuttenberg (Sep 25, 2005)

Growing with Aquasoil I as a base layer and Aquasoil II powder as a 1/2 inch top layer to make planting easier

Im running an Current Satellite 40w dual daylight which sits on top of a piece of plexiglass atop the tank - photo period is 10 hrs per day. 

Not a hydroponic system, just a tank.

If I submerse should I run CO2 or can I use excel. Should I dose Macro and Micro nutrients?


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

The submersion is only temporary - 3-4 days tops. I found that it prevents fungus every time. No Excel or CO2. No added nutrients either, and don't try to get rid of the nutrients that your substrate already has. Just add water to top the HC and let it be for 3-4 days. I always had constant water flow so I suggest you put a small pump too.

The HC that you see in the following links was grown under 120 watts of T8 tubes hanging about 3 inches above the HC. That's a lot of light from only 3 inches away. Also the 4x32 watt T8 tubes where overdriven a little so it was probably closer to 150 watts 3 inches away. I think that you probably do not have enough light.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ddasega/HCMarch2008#
http://picasaweb.google.com/ddasega/HCJuly312006#

The submersion in my case meant only 1/2 inch of water above the HC. I mean there wasn't a considerable light loss due to the water column being high.

My experiment with HC in AquaSoil in a non-hydroponic setup yielded pathetic results. No matter what I tried. I suggest you find out how to make your emersed system hydroponic and you can grow HC looking better than Tropica's. The hardware is cheap, but first decide if you want to go hydroponic or not.

--Nikolay


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## BJRuttenberg (Sep 25, 2005)

Not trying to grow it hydroponically...just want a nice carpet for my tank. I suspected that I did not have enough light and this conversation more or less echos my concerns...I think Im going to double the light to 80 watts...

Also, Ill do an overnight flood and see what that does, I don't want to seriously disrupt the plants growth cycle by interfering with the gas exchange taking place.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Lots of people have been able to grow HC just using very wet substrate, no water on the surface, but with the tank covered so it remains very humid at the plants location. It should grow very well once it gets started. I tried it with glosso and it seemed to be a foolproof technique.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Ah yes, humidity is another variable. Submersed HC that has been made to grow emersed needs higher humidity. But it quickly switches to another mode and you actually need to lower the humidity by allowing more access to fresh air. It maybe that the air just needs to move, but not necesarily come from a cool mountain...

My HC is practially a house plant. I do not have any cover meant to hold moisture over it. Fungus is less likely this way too, but it still finds its way around.

One (actually 2) funny/sad experiment to add CO2 to the atmosphere of the hydroponic setup ended up with complete failure. The first time the HC just stopped growing (I think I injected about 10 bubbles of CO2 under the clear plastic dome). The second time I injected about 25 bubbles. That killed the entire culture. I guess enriching the atmosphere with CO2 in an emersed setup needs to be done consistently, not in big blasts of gas.

--Nikolay


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## BJRuttenberg (Sep 25, 2005)

So with all this in mind...I have two cultures growing in my current setup. One which started emersed (planted 2 days ago) and one which started submersed (planted 2 weeks ago)...How often should I lift the hood on the tank to let air in? 1-2 times a day? I have recently been leaving a little breathing space so air can freely move in and out of the tank...maybe this is why the plants have been dying...b/c they do not have a sufficient amount of humidity. I will try keeping the lid on things...


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

What I noticed is that stale air harms the HC more. Initially I'd open the lid for a few seconds 2-3 times a day. Then later I ran a fan in the room and left the lid barely open. I guess that way the air moves constantly, and very gently, around the HC. That made a big difference.

It's almost as if too much humidity actually is worst than too little. But definitely no air movement is a no-no.

--Nikolay


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## philfarm (Oct 10, 2008)

sorry to ask a ''noob" question and high jack, but why are you growing the HC emersed, I recently went through a lot of trouble to import HC into my country but now it has been in my tank for about 2weeks and I have not noticed any growth, the tank specs are 4w/gallon T5+T8 averaging about 6500k enriched substrate and "Seachem flourish exell" for Co2, the glosso I put in at the same time has taken off well, what am I doing wrong???

thanks,
phil..


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

The emersed method for growing HC or glosso will work best, in my opinion, if you plant tiny 2 leaf plantlets individually. Planting it as a big clump isn't nearly as effective. It is a very labor intensive planting method, but an effective one.

Several weeks (months?) ago, someone posted that they were successful just "sowing" the tiny HC plantlets on top of the wet substrate, and letting them root where they fell. I want to try that method some day. I did try it with some glosso and it worked fine with that plant.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

I forgot to mention something VERY important:

Emersed HC will not grow if the room temperature is under 75F. It completely shuts down.

80-87F is best.

--Nikolay


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## BJRuttenberg (Sep 25, 2005)

That very well may be my problem! My room temp is approx. 75F...you guys know where I can get a tiny space heater 



niko said:


> I forgot to mention something VERY important:
> 
> Emersed HC will not grow if the room temperature is under 75F. It completely shuts down.
> 
> ...


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

If your emersed setup is in a separate room where you can shut the A/C vent closed the HC will be fine.

Space heaters scare me - fire hazard and all.

--Nikolay


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## BJRuttenberg (Sep 25, 2005)

It is not, it is in my living room... It appears that I am deficient in a number of important areas (air circulation, Heat, possibly light). I'm thinking about flooding in the next few days to save the tank...I dont know how I would be able to get the air heated to 80F . I suppose the air movement could be taken care of my a small hand held fan...and I think 40 watts is enough but Im going to upgrade to an 80 watt current orbit or a catalina 76w...


Thanks so far for all the help.


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