# Bootstrap Monte Carlo Carpet



## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)

Well, I have had marvelous luck with Walstad tanks in the past. But, I tried setting up an 80 (4'x2'x16") with backyard dirt, black diamond cap, and some hair plugs of Monte Carlo. My well water has some nitrates (darn), and the same dirt worked fine in the past, but usually I flood the tank with plants. Anyway, I got a cyano disaster stink bomb, and am rebooting. A little Flourish Advance might have accelerated the disaster - hazards of working at a LFS.

So, I help at a LFS, and can get plants products very reasonably. I am determined (which may be an error) to have a mostly Monte Carlo carpet tank, with a few groves here and there of stemmy plants. Not so excited about floating plants. Maybe some pothos flowing over the sides could work for me. Tiny fish, shrimps, and so on.

I can get large mats of Monte Carlo on coco fiber mats from Florida Aquatic Nurseries via my vendors. In general, they ship very nice stuff. We sell a ton.

Lighting is not a problem. No CO2, unless somebody really twists my arm.

Mats or dry start plant plugs? Or...?

Help me!


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## jatcar95 (Oct 30, 2019)

I haven't grown Monte Carlo before, but I think it has a pretty shallow root structure right? If that's the case, maybe a shallower-than-normal substrate layer, to avoid anaerobic conditions? Dry start seems like a good bet as well. Anyway, interested to see how this goes for you


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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)

Hmm. Can you plant mats like sod? Or are they just big packages of loose plants that need to be teased out, and planted one by one


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Good luck planting such a large and deep container with a tiny plant. There won't be enough plant growth/biomass to process nutrients, unless you add emergent plants or floating plants. 

You'll also need to use *a very thin layer *of soil, maybe 1/2" or less and covered with sand. I would use ordinary dirt (garden soil), not potting mixes. Dry start is a good idea. I don't know why you couldn't space out the mats and let plant growth fill in the space. 

I hope you have read my article, 'Small Planted Tanks for Pet Shrimp.' That was a doable project. Yours is going to be much more challenging. Article is on aquarium page of my website


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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)

Hrrm









The mats are pretty big.


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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)

Pretty glued to the mat.


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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)

Ripped the plants off the wire. Half came off as roots. Half came off as plant flesh.


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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)

Dwarf hair grass looks like Don King’s Hair. Creepy.


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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)




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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)

Not sure how to put a sand cap on it.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

I don't think you need to put a cap on it at all. You've already got it covered!  

I've had several tanks without any gravel or sand cover over the soil.

If you do a dry start and get these plants growing, you might do okay. Once you submerge the plants, I would add floating plants. Floaters won't compete with the submerged plants for CO2, but they will protect them from algae.


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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)

Nooooooo!


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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)




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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)




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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)

This is not working out.

Smelly too.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Not surprised. When you have a large, deep tank like yours with tiny plants, you have a severe disconnect. Your plants cannot possibly grow fast enough to keep the rich substrate sufficiently aerated and purified. For big tanks, I recommend large rosette plant species--Echinodorus, Aponogeton, Red Tiger Lotus, etc. Imagine what this tank would look like filled with magnificent plants filling all that empty space. 

Sadly, aquascapers have restricted plants for their 'scapes to tiny plants, rocks, and driftwood. So sad!


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## ethermion (Feb 28, 2012)

Hmm. I was dry starting. There should have been plenty of air.

I have another mat of monte carlo that I can patch in. 

I am inclined to just flood the tank, and come what may. I can get floaters for free, and stemmy things for almost as cheap. Not want I was hoping, but maybe 8 square feet of Val isn’t the end of the world.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

ethermion said:


> Hmm. I was dry starting. There should have been plenty of air


Sorry, I didn't realize that you were still in the dry start phase. A large tank like this provides an _opportunity_ to grow larger plants and have a variety of plant species. It doesn't have to be a choice between a tank with a Monte Carlo carpet or a Val jungle.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

I'm seeing mold & fungus on the dead plants. That seems like a symptom of stagnant air. I tried dry start a couple of times. It seems to work better when I had it grown outside in the partial sun. I then transplant the plants into an indoor tank.


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