# Dwarf Hairgrass Care



## duckyser (Oct 4, 2009)

Just got some hairgrass from James. I currently have t5 lighting in my 50 gal and use flourish comprehensive supplement.(I use pool filter sand as substrate.) Anyone have any tips on how i can carpet my tank?


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## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

*what light?*

How many watts of that T5 do you have?


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## duckyser (Oct 4, 2009)

21w x 2 bulbs


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## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

This is not a lot for a big tank. It have less that 1WPG.

Draft hairgrass requires high light to grow well. But I saw some people in Internet grow it with in a low light. The problem is that it can grow and spread slowly and waiting for a carpet will be boring to you.
Try it. CO2 injection and fertilization will help.

For having carpet you need to separate bushes that you have got into small clumps and plant them with tweezers having 1/2-1" in between clumps. This work could take some time 

Then, you need wait and bury new runners that can stick out of the sand. Grass blades that you have now can rot after in a week or two, don't worry about this. More important that clumps grow roots, then they will grown blades again.
You can take a look how I plant it in a Shrimp cube tank.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

As igor.kanshyn mentioned, you have less than 1 WPG (on a side note, don't forget that the WPG guideline was designed with T12 bulbs in mind; T5 bulbs are quite a bit more effective than T12 bulbs, so the WPG guideline cannot be strictly applied).

However, you still have relatively low light, and you may find that will be difficult to get Dwarf Hairgrass to carpet at any appreciable speed. Most people can get it to carpet under higher light conditions, but getting it to grow under low light conditions is also possible.

Many people seem to agree that a stable level of CO2 is more important for the health of Dwarf Hairgrass, however...


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## duckyser (Oct 4, 2009)

Anyone know a way to cheaply increase the lighting? Would using a reading lamp or something help boost it?


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## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

Have you seen how I'm using a reading lamp in a shrimp cube? 
But you need more that one lamp for your tank.

Look at the picture attached. There are two lamp on the top on a tank.
I was using two 1-Light Clamp Lamp before I switched to a DIY LED light. They added me at least 40W. This light is not distributed so well as flourescent tubes, but it's quite a good thing for that money. 
That two clamp lamps with energy efficient 'cool white' 26W bulbs cost me $49 including taxes


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Yes, you could use a reading lamp to supplement your current lighting, but as igor.kanshyn mentioned, you will need more than just one bulb if you want to increase your light to any significant degree.


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## arinsi (Mar 14, 2010)

a window helps


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

arinsi said:


> a window helps


It would also be a great way to start a potential algae farm!


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