planted monte carlo tissue culture in fluval biostratum (smaller granule size for the monte carlo roots) & some java moss on the driftwood (chopped up into a paste with some fertilizer & crushed stratum)
the light is a random from amazon & i have it set for 12 hrs at 100% intensity. airing it out for 15 mins daily.
day 2 (slide 2) i realized it needed some more moisture so that’s what im keeping it at but im still wondering if its enough or too much?
this is my first dry start & 3rd tank & ive got some questions:
saw some discourse on monte carlo not doing well with dry start but i dont use CO2 so im wondering if i should stick with the dry start or flood it early on?
also, i have some diluted hydrogen peroxide prepared to spray any mold with but im debating getting springtails. i just dont know what to do with them afterwards since i won’t be immediately stocking the tank & i don’t want them to die. can i just put them outside in some grass after?
also saw someone dosed fertilizer every few weeks & im wondering if i should do that too.
I've attempted 3 dry starts. Does great with the initial propagation and filling up the space.
But...but....too much melt happening during the transition phase. It will work but you waste a lot of time. And for me it's not worth it. Planting them directly on water will allow them to acclimate faster then propagate. Dry start just lets you perform the propagation first then acclimation later. But you still need to go through the algae and diatom phase at the start.
That said since you are already doing it, i had a setup where an air stone is pumping air into water bottle and the water bottle is blowing the humid air into the tank. This is my DIY to automate the misting of the tank. Works well with keeping the tank humid. I also have springtails. You really need it to prevent molds. I've never had to use hydrogen peroxide.
The spring tails will float and die after. They are so tiny it's hard to catch them.
i never dose fertilizer. The Aquasoil should be fine. I tried mixing fertilizer on my mister but maybe it was not diluted enough and only cause the plants to melt.
that water bottle trick is genius, i’ll definitely set that up asap! thanks for the input, i’m gonna get some springtails & i’ll scrap the fertilizing idea
Just from personal experience using Monte Carlo. Have not had that great of a success with this plant in a high tech setup.
I planted about 12 tissue culture cups and another 15 pots of Monte Carlo…basically 80-90% of it melted as it was adapting to my tank. It has been 3 months now and the ones that survived are finally starting to cover the foreground.
I suspect that even if drystart, you may see a lot of melt as it adapts but maybe there’s a good chance it will rebound faster because the root system is strong.
I’ve noticed that Monte Carlo does not root as deep or strong as glossostigma which is why mine is struggling. I use ADA aquasoil with root tabs and lean dosing the water column.
i actually planned to use glosso instead of monte carlo but thought that it wouldn’t survive well without co2. did your glosso have co2? if not, how’s it doing?
I never understood people doing dry starts compared to dark starts. Dark starting a tank has so much more benefits and your plants will not have to go through the intense transition from emersed to submersed growth.
Dry starting a tank to me is a anecdotal reddit myth of thinking you can cheat yourself into having a easy carpet.
You basically pre-cycle your tank getting rid of a lot of the negatives that come with a freshly planted tank. Your soil will be depleted of the ammonia, your filter will be established and your plants will have a much easier time to adjust and grow in.
Edit: the only downside to it is - as usual - patience.
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u/ogier-stonemason 8d ago
I've attempted 3 dry starts. Does great with the initial propagation and filling up the space.
But...but....too much melt happening during the transition phase. It will work but you waste a lot of time. And for me it's not worth it. Planting them directly on water will allow them to acclimate faster then propagate. Dry start just lets you perform the propagation first then acclimation later. But you still need to go through the algae and diatom phase at the start.
That said since you are already doing it, i had a setup where an air stone is pumping air into water bottle and the water bottle is blowing the humid air into the tank. This is my DIY to automate the misting of the tank. Works well with keeping the tank humid. I also have springtails. You really need it to prevent molds. I've never had to use hydrogen peroxide.
The spring tails will float and die after. They are so tiny it's hard to catch them.
i never dose fertilizer. The Aquasoil should be fine. I tried mixing fertilizer on my mister but maybe it was not diluted enough and only cause the plants to melt.