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Help please - DSM vs vacation

scubalove

Seedling
Joined
4 May 2018
Messages
14
Location
United States
I'm a newbie, planning to set up my 1st planted tank next week. I want to do DSM for 22 gallon long iwagumi with HC cuba and hairgrass carpetting.

The problem is I'm going to take 2 week vacation in mid July. What should I do to keep the plants alive until I'm back? I have a friend who comes clear my mailbox once a week, that's all I can get.
 
Postpone the start. Or start right now. By the time you’ll need to go on vacation it’s gonna be filled up ;)


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I can't start right now because I just ordered tank, seiryu, aquasoil. Haven't decided which light I should get yet, debating between Twinstar 900e or Fluval 3.0.
I'm thinking of postponing it and start Aug 1st when I come back but I'm leaving for another 2 week-vacation mid Octorber :(. I don't know why I want a planted tank so bad, I wish I could stop myself from getting into this expensive hobby :(
 
Thank you. It would be great if I could do that. Should I put anything special in order to avoid mold or algae before I leave?
 
I did not face algea during DSM that I did for a week with Cal Labs black earth soil. But when I was growing Eleocharis separately on ADA Amazonia, there was some green/blue slime at the bottom. So I guess this depends on the soil you will use. If you leave it moist enough and tightly sealed, it should be ok.


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If you start tank august (or soon for that matter) that's plenty of time to have it established before your holiday - just adjust lighting down a bit, reduce photoperiod (5hr), run low CO2 24/7 if you don't have a solenoid (or don't trust it 1000%), have your friend look in on it & top up water (or run with glass top) as needed

Any fish, shrimp will manage with no food or weekly food from your friend (portioned out by you) - just have livestock in good shape before you leave
 
I would wait. It may be fine as FoxFish says but I would like to see each part of the journey keeping my eye on it, esp the first DSM.
Plus with DSM I did which went well, high areas did need wetting and did need to air tank towards end as mold came in few places, bit of algae here and there but once flooded had clean up crew in within a week. Pre cycled filter with bin full of water and bit of organic waste.
 
Thank you guys so much for your advices, I really appreciate your help.

I'm thinking of starting DS in August then flooding the tank a week before I leave in Octorber. I just got 30lbs of seiryu stones delivered so now I have plenty of time to play with scaping. I have another question, is it ok for the aqua soil to be left outside without water, plants....for that long?

Set up the DS with one pot of HC & one pot of hair grass ... what's to lose o_O ;)

It's a greattttttt idea, since I'm a newbie maybe I should start with 2 pots of each :p
 
In case you've not seen
GlassAqua's DSM blog

(found a forum post on this tank mentioning a time when the tank was well into its dry start, then left for weeks without misting (vacation perhaps) - unfortunately I don't recall how I came across the discussion or which forum :oops: )
 
I'm thinking of starting DS in August then flooding the tank a week before I leave in Octorber.
I'd either flood a month before leaving or wait until you return - once flooded, anything can happen from ridiculously smooth transition to chaos ;)
 
I wonder if a misting system for a reptile tank would keep everything moist enough to allow you to leave it alone. Personally I wouldn't fill it up till I was back.
 
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