This is a new topic here on Gardening Pakistan, DSM "Dry Start Method" of aquarium plants.
This method involves taking a plant that is capable of surviving in a terrarium type environment which is humid and out of water, but when submersed back into water it will still live.
Because we are growing the plants out of water, all nutrient uptake will be done at the roots, so it's best to have a nutrient rich substrate. For my example i am going to be using Aqua Soil (Imported).
You might wonder why i am doing this. There are a couple of benefits to doing it this way.
-No algae
-No water changes/loose pieces floating around/being pulled up
-No replanting
-No cycling the aquarium
-No dosing
-No fiddling with CO2
-No having to buy a lot of plant material initially
-No transition from emergent to submersed states(some plants will, but with good CO2, this is greatly minimized)
-No extra electrical cost running other equipment during the dry phase.
-No labor
-Can do it outside in a tray even.........
In this case, i am using aquarium plants seed to start dry method from scratch which is different from emerge DSM technique.
I will be using the following setup
- 18 gallon small tank
- Aqua soil
- DIY light (18w Philips LED)
- few imported seed
- spray bottle
I will start with the light on for a 24 hour period and sees how it goes from there.
I have started with few seeds which have rapid growth in past experience. First i clean the tank with water and wipe it with towel, than use substrate at least 2 inch depth to have enough nutrient for seeds germination process and maintain the seedlings. Use water spray to wet the substrate and spread all over the seeds. Cover the tank with wrapping sheet and a piece of glass on top of it for light.
I will keep you update on weekly basis for this DSM technique and head start.
