Help growing dwarf hair grass

[zacattack4210]

Hi all,
Just looking for some advice for growing dwarf hair grass in my 65l (~17.7 gallons) tank. Lighting is an 18w unit set to max intensity white red and blue LEDs on a 12 hour on 12 hour off cycle (I know higher wattage lighting is recommended for dwarf hair grass but thought I'd try it anyway). There is CO2 but it's just a cheapo plant growth system 60 tropica kit so not sure if it does masses (but probably helps to a degree).

Any and all advice would be appreciated thanks in advance 👍

 

[Fishfur]

I think with 12 hours of light daily you’re going to find a lot of algae showing up - even at the equator submerged plants don’t get nearly that many hours of direct sunlight - though depending on their situation they may get a little more than 8 hours of it.

I would have the lights on no more than 8 hours daily especially at maximum intensity.

If you have Eleocharis pusilla, it’s native to Australia & NZ and doesn’t care for temperatures over 25C - it likes it cooler.

If it’s E.parvula it’s native to North America & a few areas in South America & a few South East Asian countries like Vietnam but not equatorial countries.

So unless the tank is very deep, which would make a difference, blasting the hairgrass with this much light isn’t going to make it grow better.

 

[zacattack4210]

Thanks! I've switched the lights to an 8 hour a day cycle and turned the temperature down to 24°C. Is there any need to trim the blades down at this stage to encourage the carpet to form? Also roughly how long will it take for the hair grass to root properly?

Thanks again 👍

 

[zacattack4210]

There is also this slimy film (possibly algae?) on the glass, any ideas what it could be?

Thanks 👍

 

[zacattack4210]

Photo attached

 

[Fishfur]

The slippery feeling coating on glass & every other surface underwater is a bacterial biofilm that’s normal, but in any case cannot be prevented from forming.

Snails & some shrimp & some fish eat biofilm. It’s surprisingly nutritious for them though they need other food as well.

New wood is notorious for the fungal slime that typically grows on it once it’s been submerged long enough.

Some snails eat this rather disgusting looking stuff readily, but it can be scrubbed off. It may or may not come back after an initial scrubbing.

Boiling or baking wood first for long enough can prevent it from growing & so can prolonged soaking in bleach water - a few days should suffice.

Then use lots of water conditioner in a fresh change of water to make sure chlorine is neutralized.

Or you can do nothing and it will eventually go away but it can take quite some time & it’s not very attractive to look at in the interim 🙂.

 

[zacattack4210]

Thanks 👍

 

[MoFish]

Don't be discouraged by poor initial growth, my carpet took a few months to properly grow in. I think you might struggle to get the look your after with the kind of lighting your using, at the very least I would switch the side you've put your light on to the left side since it looks like it is a spotlight type of light and you've put it on the side with the least amount of hairgrass. Secondly, as you've mentioned your light is fairly weak so CO2 injection may actually promote algae growth. I would advise against CO2 in a low energy type tank.

 

[zacattack4210]

Hi, the light is one that goes across the whole tank but it isn't the fanciest haha. Tank seems to be algae free for the time being but if it flares up I'll take the CO2 system out.

Thanks for your help 👍