# Emersed Iwagumi - Angel's Landing



## Storms (Sep 12, 2011)

Hey Ke, I'm trying your swampy dry start method for HC. At least I think it was you who proposed it. Basically, filling the water a little higher than normal dry start so it is swampy, and injecting Co2 into the plastic wrap. Keeps a very humid, swampy, and Co2-like atmosphere. I'm creating my own mini-greenhouse.

Inspiration:










HC Planted:









Emersed growing for the next couple of months:


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Neat! I love petrified wood scapes 

What're you going to put in it when you eventually fill it up?


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## Storms (Sep 12, 2011)

Thanks! I think I'll just put about 6 danio margaritatus (celestial pearl danios).


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## Storms (Sep 12, 2011)

Some of the HC is turning a bit brown in spots. I'm keeping the substrate very moist with water by spraying it every day or two. Is this the HC normally going from submersed to emmersed form? I purchased the HC on eBay and it came in a small pot with rock wool. I guess it's hard to know if it was grown emmersed or submersed.


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Even pre-emersed HC tends to brown out a bit when transplanted. Give it a chance to settle in before you change anything - a little bit of browning doesn't hurt, so unless entire patches are dying off I wouldn't worry.


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## Storms (Sep 12, 2011)

I actually made a couple small changes (sorry, couldn't leave well enough alone). I cut the photoperiod from 12 hours to 10 hours. A 26 watt CFL only 8 inches from the HC might be melting it a little, and I removed the Co2 injection. I was concerned that maybe the Co2 was making a hypoxic (oxygen free) environment and I think plants need to respirate oxygen at night.

I poked some holes in the top of the plastic wrap to facilitate gas exchange. I think air probably has plenty of Co2 already so why mess with mother nature?


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Air does have plenty of CO2 LOL - otherwise we wouldn't have plants at all 

The thing to keep in mind with CO2 is that it's actually heavier than the other molecules that make of air (mostly oxygen and nitrogen). So unless you have airflow to encourage diffusion, it'll tend to pool toward the bottom of a glass enclosure... as such, in a sealed environment, you could very well be getting somewhat hypoxic.

*Fun Experiment:* make a balance using two paper bags and a stick (yardstick, bamboo pole, broom handle, etc). Use the oldschool vinegar & baking soda combo to produce lots o' CO2 quickly and "pour" the resulting gas into one of the paper bags - the CO2 filled bag will weigh more than the unmodified one.


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## Storms (Sep 12, 2011)

asukawashere said:


> Air does have plenty of CO2 LOL - otherwise we wouldn't have plants at all
> 
> The thing to keep in mind with CO2 is that it's actually heavier than the other molecules that make of air (mostly oxygen and nitrogen). So unless you have airflow to encourage diffusion, it'll tend to pool toward the bottom of a glass enclosure... as such, in a sealed environment, you could very well be getting somewhat hypoxic.
> 
> *Fun Experiment:* make a balance using two paper bags and a stick (yardstick, bamboo pole, broom handle, etc). Use the oldschool vinegar & baking soda combo to produce lots o' CO2 quickly and "pour" the resulting gas into one of the paper bags - the CO2 filled bag will weigh more than the unmodified one.


Interesting. Yeah, I read that air has something like 380 ppm Co2, where we strive for 20-30 ppm Co2 in our aquariums, so there is probably no need for Co2 injection in an emersed setup, although I think people inject Co2 in some hydroponic setups, but then again, they are probably not in a small glass box...


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## Storms (Sep 12, 2011)

I think it'll be ok because I noticed some new small leaves forming, but it sure does seem like a lot is melting. Do you think maybe I burned it by adding half a cap of Excel to my misting bottle? Or maybe too wet/too much water?


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

You don't need to spray it with Excel. You're just wasting money doing that. It is also too wet inside. You want the top of the substrate a little more dry. It's about humidity, not moisture. When I converted my HC to emergent growth it all looked like it was dead before it came back in new growth. If you do see new leaves, rest assured the transition will be fine.


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

Also, if you still have the CO2 tank running into the aquarium, take it out. It's not needed. Like Asuka said, there's plenty in the air. You really don't need to poke a hole in the saran wrap, either. Just pop the top every few days for a few seconds and you're fine. There's not an animal in there that needs huge amounts of oxygen, just plants. 

Here's a picture of my 55 gallon, been dry since last January. It's completely sealed, and not nearly as wet as yours. The tank started with a dollar bill size of HC on the left hand side and filled in for me.


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## Storms (Sep 12, 2011)

csmith said:


> You don't need to spray it with Excel. You're just wasting money doing that. It is also too wet inside. You want the top of the substrate a little more dry. It's about humidity, not moisture. When I converted my HC to emergent growth it all looked like it was dead before it came back in new growth. If you do see new leaves, rest assured the transition will be fine.


Thanks! Yeah, I was worried the Excel made it melt, so I've been just misting with plain water now. I'll try to let it dry out a bit.


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## Storms (Sep 12, 2011)

csmith said:


> Also, if you still have the CO2 tank running into the aquarium, take it out. It's not needed. Like Asuka said, there's plenty in the air. You really don't need to poke a hole in the saran wrap, either. Just pop the top every few days for a few seconds and you're fine. There's not an animal in there that needs huge amounts of oxygen, just plants.
> 
> Here's a picture of my 55 gallon, been dry since last January. It's completely sealed, and not nearly as wet as yours. The tank started with a dollar bill size of HC on the left hand side and filled in for me.


That's a really nice tank! Are you going to keep it emersed like that? I guess if you have it sealed you never need to add water, right?


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

Storms said:


> That's a really nice tank! Are you going to keep it emersed like that? I guess if you have it sealed you never need to add water, right?


I mist every week or two, no set schedule. When I mist, though, I spray the glass and not the plants. I do plan to fill with water again, eventually. I had to break the tank down this past February due to deployment and just haven't had the motivation to get the tank back up since I've been back. I'll probably start in January.


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## Storms (Sep 12, 2011)

1 month and it's coming along. The brown parts are where it died off, but all the green is new emersed growth that is thick. I'm sure it will really take off in the next few weeks:


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

Patience is all it takes.


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