# Dwarf baby tears lifting off in mats!



## hoody123

So, I've read elsewhere that UG has a bad habit of lifting off in mats after a while, but I don't recall having seen that said of dwarf baby tears. 

Unfortunately, mine is coming up in large sheets. My tears have grown prolifically and I LOVE how they look in my tank, but the roots they put down seem negligible (bordering on none at all), when they start to pearl, the actually lift off. I've taken to weighting them down with some substrate, but that certainly isn't optimal (IMO).

My UG on the other hand, is also doing really well, but it's putting down a great set of roots, so it seems very unlikely that it will lift off.

This is in a high tech, medium light tank.
Any suggestions appreciated.


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## coldmantis

They both need to be trim every few months so that it won't left.


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## iBetta

whats your substrate? the finer it is, the less likely they will lift off. if you're using those fluval stratum or that nadakama (sorry about that spelling) it will be more likely. you can try adding a layer of finer sand on top and see. trim about one every two weeks (depending on their growth but i do that for my low tech).


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## coldmantis

+1 on finer substrate my UG lifted from my shrimp stranum and cuba lifts from netlae.


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## xriddler

what if we use the smallest size for netlea lambo do you think it will lift?


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## coldmantis

xriddler said:


> what if we use the smallest size for netlea lambo do you think it will lift?


I think when iBetta and I refer to finer substrate we also mean heavier substrate like sand, is netlea lambo light like fluval shrimp stranum. I know my stranum was pretty light.


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## hoody123

Yeah, I've got the aquasoil from Aquainspiration, (admittedly not sure of the brand). Good to know about the sand, I had no idea.

Thanks!


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## FlyingHellFish

Just get real ADA AquaSoil, it pretty much the same price. My Flourite Black was around the same price. Anyways, behold....


























KA BOOOM!

Start trimming when it looks like theesssseeeeee


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## iBetta

yes finer and heavier susbtrate! thank you coldmantis!  
on my low tech, i first put about a thick layer of fluval stratum (3inches?) then i cap it with about 1/2-1inch sand (medium size particles so its not too fine like aragonite sand) .

bc my tank is low tech, i never get HC as thick and lush as flyinghellfish. i get about half the height of his last picture then i trim 

if you see my signature, that was my OLD tank in medium tech. i get about the same thickness now in low tech but a bit more lush then i trim


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## xriddler

your hc grows and spreads in low tech? i always thought they needed high light and light co2


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## coldmantis

xriddler said:


> your hc grows and spreads in low tech? i always thought they needed high light and light co2


It can be done but it will take a long long time for it to carpet. I have done it on a 2.5gallon with a desklamp, no co2 just excel and fertz took forever though and will never look as lush or thick as high tech.


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## iBetta

coldmantis said:


> It can be done but it will take a long long time for it to carpet. I have done it on a 2.5gallon with a desklamp, no co2 just excel and fertz took forever though and will never look as lush or thick as high tech.


Yep just as coldmantis said it can be done. it takes forever though. Since i've successfully grown a HC carpet in medium tech, i wanted to see if it could be done in low tech. it takes forever and it's still in the process of carpeting the entire tank but so far i'm pleased. it's extremely low maintenance which is great for a person like that's still in school! ......however it will never be as lush as those with C02 and constant ferts 

here's a current pic after a trim. no ferts, excel maybe once or twice a month, a trim every 2-3 weeks


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## xriddler

iBetta  can you post your set up specs hehe... pretty please


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## coldmantis

iBetta said:


> Yep just as coldmantis said it can be done. it takes forever though. Since i've successfully grown a HC carpet in medium tech, i wanted to see if it could be done in low tech. it takes forever and it's still in the process of carpeting the entire tank but so far i'm pleased. it's extremely low maintenance which is great for a person like that's still in school! ......however it will never be as lush as those with C02 and constant ferts
> 
> here's a current pic after a trim. no ferts, excel maybe once or twice a month, a trim every 2-3 weeks


that's actually pretty damn good for low tech


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## Zebrapl3co

I agree, a very nice job iBetta. I am pretty good with HC, but have to admit, it's not easy to pull off with HC on a lowtech. My grip is that they don't grow long roots. Then, there will always be certain blank spots where they refuse to grown on.
And yup, I agree with the rest of those guys. You need a heavier gravel, but not sand. Won't give you the bloom you're looking for.
And for a high tech, you need to trim every 2 weeks to keep it nice. 3 weeks is ok, but 1 month or more, your design (scape) will break apart.

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## iBetta

Thank you for you kind words everyone .

To be honest, I don't know what I did right, I"m still experimenting and it's all about finding the right "equilibrium". I do have algae from time to time (right now I have some stringy some brown algae but i haven't changed water in 3 weeks since I got busy/lazy).

Anyways, my specs are:

-15g standard (24"x12"x12")
-DIY LEDs (3 rows) at "daylight" spectrum (the LEDs never gave the K value but I'm assume its close to 10000K)
-no heater
-1-2"fluval stratum then capped it with medium-fine pebble/sand from Home Depot (have to pre-rinse)
fauna: endlers and some cherries
-undergravel filter/powerhead (i think it's a fluval 300 or something)
-OPTIMALLY water changes once a week (but now i'm getting busier/lazier so I do it once every 2-3weeks which gives me some algae from time to time)
-trimming once every 2-3 weeks
-about 8hrs of light
-excel and nutrient dosing once or twice a month (whenever I feel like it lol)-I create my own solutions using dry ferts

That's about all I can say. It took this HC about 2-3months to carpet like that (I started off with 2 pots) and it didnt cover the entire tank yet so with low-tech you need A LOT of patience . but to people who don't want lots of maintenance/uni students it's great!  it's kinda self-maintained!

-i started off being a pure shrimp tank and the HC grew very well but then it started to brown and yellow a bit (I assumed it was the lack of nutrients since the tank is always so clean with just shrimps). I then decided to switch it and put endlers in there and the HC did much better (growth rate, deep green colour all around) with the extra nitrates. but now I got a bit of stringy and staghorn algae so i might turn it back into a shrimp tank and see if more frequent trimmings will be better instead. I tend to try to balance things out naturally with fauna than using too much dosing . I try to create self-sustaining ecosystems if I can....but that's a personal preference


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## irminia

From my experience, if you don't keep HC cuba trimmed, the bottom layers not exposed to light will melt and cause the top layer to lift off. HC cuba is also very finnicky.. My first attempt at growing it was very successful. After tearing down the setup (due to neglect/carpeting lifting off) and replanting, my second attempt was not nearly as successful. Lots of browning leaves and melting in spite of proper co2/fert dosing. I assume it's likely poor water circulation in the tank..


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## lovevc

this is off topic! flyinghellfish where did u buy Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides?


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## iBetta

lovevc said:


> this is off topic! flyinghellfish where did u buy Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides?


to my knowledge, only AI (aqua inspiration) has it right now in the GTA


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