# Dsm with inert substrate



## Gikas1 (1 Aug 2021)

I'm planning on making a carpet out of MC but the substrate I'm planning to use for that (due to ease of use (I think)) is seachem flourite which if I understand correctly is an inert substrate... Will it be better to add another substrate or will misting/spraying some water with some drops of liquid fertilisers do the trick? (without mold killing my plants of course) 

Many thanks for any advice!


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## zozo (1 Aug 2021)

If you water with sufficiently fertilized water then you are good to go... No need for extra and different substrates... Imagine the plants you buy in the lfs are grown on Rockwool or sometimes on Coconut fibre which is also inert. If not on Rockwool or coco it's grown invitro on sterile and inert Agar-Agar, this is a moist gelly. In all cases, the required fertilizers are added to the water. 

Mould is not caused by any fertilizers it's caused by insufficient ventilation.


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## Zeus. (1 Aug 2021)

Well I have two DSM going ATM in sand 

Eleocharis acicularis 'mini' - carpet
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis 'micro swords' - carpet
Well when I say DSM, there more of keeping them going for when I am ready
this is what they was like in May after planting




Looking much better now, but it did fry the micro swords a bit when I left them in direct sunlight 😬, I am just taking a bit of tank water out and adding 10ml when I remember, more ferts would help but in no rush.


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## Gikas1 (1 Aug 2021)

zozo said:


> If you water with sufficiently fertilized water then you are good to go... No need for extra and different substrates... Imagine the plants you buy in the lfs are grown on Rockwool or sometimes on Coconut fibre which is also inert. If not on Rockwool or coco it's grown invitro on sterile and inert Agar-Agar, this is a moist gelly. In all cases, the required fertilizers are added to the water.
> 
> Mould is not caused by any fertilizers it's caused by insufficient ventilation.


Many thanks for your quick response! Is there a specific amount I must add or will just 1-2 drops work? The ferts I am planning on using (not only for the dsm but even after flooding the tank) are the green aqua micro and macro ferts btw


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## zozo (2 Aug 2021)

Gikas1 said:


> Is there a specific amount



I'm not familiar with the fertilizer you are referring to... But with the DS method, we always should take transplant shock into consideration. This means you kinda rip a young hopefully healthy plant from its pot, hurt and damage its roots by putting it in a new substrate. The plant will go into a short resting period to recover from this and will not take up a lot of fertilizer. How long it takes for a plant to recover from this and starts new root growth depends on several factors we can't know and is not written in stone. There are many different routes you could take in this period, in my personal experience it's best to wait 48 hours before adding any fertilization to the water and see how the plants take the transplant. Depending on the overall health of the plant, it might go limp for a day or 2 and slowly recover and erect again. As long as it is limp it will not take up any water thus also no fertilizers. If it goes limp wait for the plant to erect again and then start with a very lean dosage and wait till you see new growth before increasing the dosage.

What a lean dosage is with the fertilizer you are planning to use I can't say because I'm not familiar with this product. For this, you need to wait for someone who is and knows the answer. My best guess is, keep it at around ¼ of the recommended dosage provided by the factory. But it's a bit of trial and error, knowing to read the plants. A dry start is quite different from a flooded start since with a dry start the plants will have atmospheric CO² provided and this might make them recover a tad easier, grow faster and can take up more fertilizer accordingly.

In a flooded start, the plant not only needs to recover from the transplant but also needs to go into submerged transition immediately after that.


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## Gikas1 (2 Aug 2021)

T


zozo said:


> I'm not familiar with the fertilizer you are referring to... But with the DS method, we always should take transplant shock into consideration. This means you kinda rip a young hopefully healthy plant from its pot, hurt and damage its roots by putting it in a new substrate. The plant will go into a short resting period to recover from this and will not take up a lot of fertilizer. How long it takes for a plant to recover from this and starts new root growth depends on several factors we can't know and is not written in stone. There are many different routes you could take in this period, in my personal experience it's best to wait 48 hours before adding any fertilization to the water and see how the plants take the transplant. Depending on the overall health of the plant, it might go limp for a day or 2 and slowly recover and erect again. As long as it is limp it will not take up any water thus also no fertilizers. If it goes limp wait for the plant to erect again and then start with a very lean dosage and wait till you see new growth before increasing the dosage.
> 
> What a lean dosage is with the fertilizer you are planning to use I can't say because I'm not familiar with this product. For this, you need to wait for someone who is and knows the answer. My best guess is, keep it at around ¼ of the recommended dosage provided by the factory. But it's a bit of trial and error, knowing to read the plants. A dry start is quite different from a flooded start since with a dry start the plants will have atmospheric CO² provided and this might make them recover a tad easier, grow faster and can take up more fertilizer accordingly.
> 
> In a flooded start, the plant not only needs to recover from the transplant but also needs to go into submerged transition immediately after that.


Thank you very much for the very informative and helpful answer! Just one more question... By fertilizer you mean macro AND micro nutrients? Or just macro or micro?


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## zozo (2 Aug 2021)

Yes, they both fall in the category of fertilizer of equal importance... Some are separated into Micro fertilizers with elements such as Iron etc. of which the plants need very little (Micro) and Macro fertilizers which are basically the main building blocks NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphor and Potassium/Kalium) of which the plant needs most (Macro). 

Others come ready-mixed all in one containing both.  Adding them separately requires a tad more knowledge about reading the plants requirements and gives you better control and is more cost-effective.

If you (can) neglect the cost-effectiveness an all in one solution is a matter of user preferences.


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## Gikas1 (2 Aug 2021)

zozo said:


> Yes, they both fall in the category of fertilizer of equal importance... Some are separated into Micro fertilizers with elements such as Iron etc. of which the plants need very little (Micro) and Macro fertilizers which are basically the main building blocks NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphor and Potassium/Kalium) of which the plant needs most (Macro).
> 
> Others come ready-mixed all in one containing both.  Adding them separately requires a tad more knowledge about reading the plants requirements and gives you better control and is more cost-effective.
> 
> If you (can) neglect the cost-effectiveness an all in one solution is a matter of user preferences.


OK I see.. Many thanks again!


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