Dry start, Annoying LFS, Manado

[Whiskyfish]

Hi all

I've been dry starting my 180l for 2 weeks now and I have just found out at the substrate (manado) has no nutrients in it. I'm pretty annoyed as I was specifically told when I went to the shop to buy soil and sand that all I needed was a big bag of this stuff.

So now I'm wondering if I'd be best just flooded the tank and dosing ferts and tabs?

Don't want my monte carlo dying from hunger...


Thoughts?

 

[GaryE]

This is the first discussion I've seen of a dry start method. I hope you find someone else working with the technique, but don't feel you are being intentionally ignored if you don't get a string of responses.

 

[GaryE]

You sent me off to get educated, and what I found was interesting. Recognizing that I just looked this up and have zero experience with this technique, one of the tanks I looked at online was using simple sand. The author talked about growth being slower with sand, but he didn't seem to think it was a lost cause. So for your question, my second hand info suggests that if you do all the misting and plastic over the tank, the Monte Carlo should take.

That, or the online guy was full of it and you already read and rejected that site!

The principle seems sound, but I'll now step away and hope someone with hands on knowledge is part of the forum.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I am sorry, but I do not get the point of a dry start. I have set up about 20 planted tanks, it is(that many because over time some came down and later a new one went up. I have used the same system for setting them all up. Substrate first, then solid decor like wood and rocks, Then plant.

But I plant in 3 waves. First, I fill the tank about 25-30% with water and then I plant the foreground. Then I raise the water level to about 50-60% and plant the midground and finally I fill the tank enough so it will be over the taller background plants which then go in. So, in basically a day or two the tank is fully set up[ and running and fully planted. I can usually add bacteria if I want/need to so I can pretty much be stocking within a day or two of finishing the set-up. This method only works if the 3 stages of plants are not all tiny. At stage 2 and 3 the plants have to be taller then those in prior stage.

Also, I am not one who likes to replace plants out of curiosity. I will do a fairly big replant on some tanks after a number of years. I will remove something that has gotten too big and replace it with something more appropriately sized.

I am getting lazy in my old age so I am not inclined to research dry starting. Can you please give a simple explanation for why one would want to use this method. TY.

 

[GaryE]

It seems to be a method for certain species of plants - ones that are hard to establish otherwise. I will never be as into planted tanks as the original poster seems to be, but it would interest me greatly if I were. It's a cool specialized technique for a specific goal.

 

[Whiskyfish]

That, and that the plants have much better access to CO2 and grow rapidly.
I'm aiming for a nice green carpet.

Thanks all for your input

 

[emeraldking]

When I read "Manado", I first thought of the Indonesian island of Manado. My grandfather from my dad's side came from Manado. But in this case, it turned out to be a soil.

I do get it why you're choosing a dry start. Most aquarium plants are raised above water anyways.

 

[Whiskyfish]

When I read "Manado", I first thought of the Indonesian island of Manado. My grandfather from my dad's side came from Manado. But in this case, it turned out to be a soil.

I do get it why you're choosing a dry start. Most aquarium plants are raised above water anyways.

Ah, interesting!

Indeed

This is my baby here. Montecarlo planted all over with weeping moss on the wooden arch. Half the moss is a blended mixture I 'painted' on to the wood and the other half I just squished on. We'll see what half performs best.

I've started to see some new shoots of MC coming up so apparently it's working. Glad I have my smaller tanks to entertain me - this is boring!

 

[emeraldking]

Looks good!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

When I did plants that needed added CO2 I had a tank with pressurized CO2 added. I kept it going for almost a decade and then took it down. I was taking too much of my fish time compared to other tanks. I am first and foremost a fish keeper. I started using live plants because they can be beneficial for the fish.

But if one can only do certain specific plants from a dry start and one is a true plant devotee,then it makes sense. TY for the explanation.

Btw when I set up my CO2 added tank I bought the tank and regulator from a beer supply company.

 

[Whiskyfish]

When I did plants that needed added CO2 I had a tank with pressurized CO2 added. I kept it going for almost a decade and then took it down. I was taking too much of my fish time compared to other tanks. I am first and foremost a fish keeper. I started using live plants because they can be beneficial for the fish.

But if one can only do certain specific plants from a dry start and one is a true plant devotee,then it makes sense. TY for the explanation.

Btw when I set up my CO2 added tank I bought the tank and regulator from a beer supply company.

Ah very good.

Yes I plan to add a little co2 once the water goes in but to be honest I'll probably just use my silly little diy co2 bottle of yeast and sugar.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The best advice I ever got about using added cCO2 in a planted was: "If you can afford it, start with pressurized." I was going yo start with the yeast and sugar method when I was given that advice. No mess, no fuss and absolute control over CO2 levels which the yeast method lacks. But I was doing it in a 50 gal. tank.

 

[Tacocat]

Ah very good.

Yes I plan to add a little co2 once the water goes in but to be honest I'll probably just use my silly little diy co2 bottle of yeast and sugar.

I'd like to see how yeast and sugar go for a true high tech tank. I've been using a cheap citric acid-baking soda kit from amazon but it runs out really fast and sometimes scares me with how high the pressure inside the bottle is.

 

[Whiskyfish]

I'd like to see how yeast and sugar go for a true high tech tank. I've been using a cheap citric acid-baking soda kit from amazon but it runs out really fast and sometimes scares me with how high the pressure inside the bottle is.

I will admit I have had one explosion in the past as the diffuser was set too tight...

The roof and walls still have some stains but somehow the tube exited the tank before released a litre of high pressure beer all over the room....

What kind of money am I looking at for a proper system?

 

[Tacocat]

I will admit I have had one explosion in the past as the diffuser was set too tight...

The roof and walls still have some stains but somehow the tube exited the tank before released a litre of high pressure beer all over the room....

What kind of money am I looking at for a proper system?

Here in canada most full systems including the solenoid, regulator, all that fun jazz average about 150-200 CAD. You can probably get gas canisters in a lot of places but the tank itself costs a lot and the gas refills for a 5lb tank in Canada are about 30 CAD.

The roof and walls still have some stains but somehow the tube exited the tank before released a litre of high pressure beer all over the room....

Did you successfully brew alcohol using an aquarium setup? I'm not of age to drink yet but I think being able to generate alcohol with my fish tank would make me pretty popular when I go to uni