{"id":19145,"date":"2015-04-15T06:24:09","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T05:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/?p=19145"},"modified":"2015-04-15T06:24:09","modified_gmt":"2015-04-15T05:24:09","slug":"fusion-aquascape-flooding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/2015\/04\/fusion-aquascape-flooding\/","title":{"rendered":"Fusion Aquascape Flooding"},"content":{"rendered":"

As promised, on our return from Dorset it was finally time for the ‘Fusion’ Aquascape flooding. I’d been working on the new aquascape for a couple of months and started this out using a method called the Dry Start Method<\/a> that I had never tried before. Essentially you grow some of the plants, especially those that are supposed to create a carpeting effect, in an emmersed state for several weeks before flooding\u00a0the tank. This allows them to get established, send out lots of roots and generally gives them a head start in life as they have an unlimited supply of CO2<\/sub> to get them growing.<\/p>\n

I don’t know how well it will work yet, but the tank was ready for flooding before we went away. I thought I’d leave it another 10 days or so though so that I could keep an eye on it once it was flooded, so left the final aquascape flooding until we returned from our holiday.<\/p>\n

I’ve posted several updates about the progress during the Dry Start Phase, and the plants were growing well<\/a>, I was even sure that the slow-growing Eleocharis<\/em> had some new shoots showing too<\/a>. Things seemed to survive 10 days or so while we were way as well.\u00a0Some of the Eleocharis<\/em> had turned brown while we were away and there were also some bits of moss or liverwort growing on some of the rocks. There’s nothing wrong with this though, they may even survive once the tank is flooded an add extra vegetation to the aquascape.<\/p>\n

\"Growth<\/a>

Growth on the Rocks<\/p><\/div>\n

I ordered a few new plants from Aqua Essentials<\/a> on Monday and they arrived on Tuesday as planned so everything was ready for the big day and the first filling of the tank with water. The new plants went in. These included:<\/p>\n