Rookie.

[CoreyMac]

Alright folks, I am FINALLY getting a decent light. I had a 55G tank and a 20G long tank at one time. Currently I have a 75G. On the old tanks I only had gravel but upgraded the lights to the best I could get for the standard lights on these aquariums. I had a few plants in there and they grew very well. The main thing I want in this tank is dwarf hair grass. I love the stuff but never had the light for it.

Do I need special substrate? I read that the eco complete and the like eventually run out of their nutrients and you end up having to dose and whatnot, so can I just plant the stuff and use root tabs and dose with flourish or something like that?

What do I need to do for CO2? I will have more than the hair grass of course. I don't need anything amazing I suppose. Can I build my own CO2 system for this size tank?

 

[xEchOx]

What kind of light are you getting?

I'm not an expert on dwarf hairgrass but I think you are going to want something like flourite or eco-comlete. Those substrates can be depleted of nutrients, but it will take a few years depending on your stock. Root tabs are more aimed at plants that have a root systems that stays in place. The hairgrass will carpet so it would be hard to place tabs where you think the plant will grow. A plant substrate would be much more effective IMO. You might consider also dosing liquid ferts. I think hairgrass is pretty hardy, but getting a good thick carpet can be difficult and dosing ferts will make nutrients available that might not be otherwise.

For a 75g tank, you are probably looking at CO2 injection. DIY CO2 reactors are really only suitable for smaller tanks under 55 gallons IMO.