Dry Start Method Flooding Tips - Important and Must Know

[@andreawilde]

Haha - I love the “out takes” - algae blooms and technicals difficulties. Thanks for injecting humour here and there but keeping the bulk of these videos highly informative!

[@TheWaterBox]

Thanks!

[@MM-wx9us]

LMFAO 😂 that cinematic scene with the algae cracked me up. Love the channel super awesome helpful tips.

[@TheWaterBox]

Glad you enjoyed! :) Thanks for watching!

[@seanmasterson9282]

Planning an Iwagumi-style tank. Invaluable tips! The drain/flood repetition is a great suggestion. Will do!

[@TheWaterBox]

Good luck!

[@TanksAndTooMuchTime]

You mentioned trimming to get light to the lower vegetation. Same situation for dwarf hairgrass where the blades are very small?

[@BeamTeam2024]

What aquarium scissors do you use?

[@ennian93]

Hi, thanks for the tip. Have a quick question here, don’t the plants need time to acclimate (switch form etc) after flooding the tank, wouldn’t trimming it make them weak and prone to melting?

[@eduarditogdl]

great info ! really helped

[@TheWaterBox]

Glad it helped!

[@uraninite8151]

These videos deserve more likes!!

[@TheWaterBox]

Thank man!

[@uraninite8151]

@@TheWaterBox Please do video on monte carlo carpets

[@TheWaterBox]

I'll try!

[@uraninite8151]

Thx

[@TheWaterBox]

np

[@theretrogeek2281]

Great tips thanks Chung..👍🏻

[@TheWaterBox]

Thanks retro!

[@ashleyavellaneda5892]

all your videos are very informative and helpful, it really help me to save my tank :)

[@TheWaterBox]

Glad you like them! 👍

[@RyoWatanabee]

Awesome tips Chung! Great video :)

[@TheWaterBox]

Thanks Ryo!

[@carminacat7584]

Great video! How long would you wait between flooding and draining?

[@TheWaterBox]

I do it right after each pass.

[@neils4501]

Great tips and very entertaining as usual, man! Flood, drain, flood, drain.

[@TheWaterBox]

Thanks man! :)

[@TheEACCreation]

Well presented. Very entertaining and informative video. Thanks for all the helpful tips. I hope you continue to make more videos!

[@TheWaterBox]

Thanks for watching! Keep watching and I'll keep making them. :) Cheers!

[@baldanddangerous1572]

excellent tips chung,cant wait for the next vid............all the best..............dougie

[@TheWaterBox]

Thanks Dougie! You're awesome!

[@AquaSafeMexico]

what about the lighting , we inmediatly swith to 6-8 hours ? or keep 10 to 12 for how long?

[@TheWaterBox]

You should switch to normal lighting once flooded.

[@kekistanifreedomfighter014]

MORE! lovin it im doing some dry start bc of this series. Dwarf haor grass and baby tears

[@TheWaterBox]

YAY! I hope it goes well!

[@david2033718]

Awesome video .,After the tank is flooded co2 24/7 or only during light hours??

[@TheWaterBox]

Just during lighting hours. It's a waste to have it on when there's no light. Only time I ever turn on Co2 is an hour before the lights come on.

[@dHeybmendoza]

Hi Boss its me again, almost 7wks that i started my DSM and i noticed that my plants leaves have a brown color. Planning to flood my tank asap. What ADA ferts should i used boss? Any tips is greatly appreciated

[@freetibetien]

Do you recommend planting additional plants right *before* flooding?

[@TheWaterBox]

You can. depending on the plant, I've done both right before flooding and after.

[@jordanyang3066]

Will excel kill mold in my dry start?

[@TheWaterBox]

It should. Put it in a spray bottle and squirt.

[@chuckhiske]

You have inspired me to start a newly planted dirted tank. I have red clay in soil. Do I need to start fertilizers in the water column ? I have both root and stem plants.

[@TheWaterBox]

It'll help if you do. You can try starting out without dosing the water column and then slow adjust to dosing the column when it looks like you need too

[@evanever]

My dry start monte carlo has been going for over a month now and just looks kind of yellow. Guess I might as well just flood it though as there seem to be roots.

[@scott2508]

How did it go? I’m bout ready to flood my nano tank with a MC carpet. It’s gonna be low tech so only a filter and light. Idk how long I should leave the light on once it’s flooded.

[@evanever]

@@scott2508 I just flooded it last weekend since it needed more time. The plan is 7 hours per day but to be honest I'm not sure what's best

[@scott2508]

@@evanever yeah me either lol. Still going okay?

[@evanever]

@@scott2508 yep, I have it timed for 6 hours and the Monte Carlo has taken off. Definitely was helped by the addition of root tabs.

[@TheWaterBox]

Sounds you did fine. You could have kept going as remember the plant need to readjust from growing in water to growing in air. It will brown out, maybe some die out and then regrow. And then of course, when you flood, it'll do that same thing. So it's not that it went wrong you could have let it go and it would have been fine.

[@toddratson7526]

This video caused me to LOL! I am just setting up a dry start myself and your advice has been very helpful. Good advice and humor for the win! Thanks Chung.

[@TheWaterBox]

Excellent! I'm glad they are helping! :)

[@40sandshorties5]

Really great video Chung! This is perfect seeing how I flooded last Saturday. I have definitely used all of these tips. My question is, the tank I have is 60 gallons and I did a dirt and cap substrate. I'm going on day eight of 50% water changes and still getting a good amount of tannins in the water. I'd this something I should worry about or is it normal in a dirt tank this big?

[@TheWaterBox]

It should go away over time. The tannin is coming from the soil. It happens. How much depends on the brand of soil you use. When I use the organic Miracle Gro Potting Mix it goes away after 2 or three weeks of weekly 50% water changes but it doesn't give off too much tannins. At least for me it doesn't.

[@I0nlyRunFactory]

2 months into a 10gallon dry start. The Baby Tears are rooting beautifully. I cut/prop a little bit every other day now to help it fill in the space I set for it. The reinecki is out of control, growing air roots every where making it easy for me to snip it and place it elsewhere. The repens is behaving a little weird though I'll say... when a stem hits about 3" it falls over, roots, and puts up several more stems. I'm wondering if it will grow a bit different after flooding, maybe taller I hope.

[@TheWaterBox]

Well, repens can grow tall so you have to keep it trimmed. Assuming you're using as a carpet. Otherwise, it'll be able to grow taller in water when there's buoyancy.

[@garyamonette]

Should you run the co2 system at night when 1st flooding the tank or no?

[@TheWaterBox]

Acutally, ignore that last reply. I misread your question. Running at night doesn't help any if the light are off. Run co2 when lights are on.

[@ksockhak]

So i flooded my tank, let it go for a week, blast CO2 and everything grew well, so the week after, i trimmed the HC and got huge die back and yellowing, been 2 weeks since trimming and still die back but seems to slow down. No growth as before though, is that normal? I am also dosing.

[@TheWaterBox]

What size tank, what's your lighting and what are you dosing? I take it you're injecting pressurized co2 right? No a DIY or liquid carbon kinda setup?

[@ksockhak]

@@TheWaterBox 10 gallon tank, pressurize CO2 not DIY, im dosing iron, potassium and excel, lighting im using Nicrew full spectrum plus. The thing is everything was fine, until i trimmed the HC then huge yellowing and die off came after that.

[@TheWaterBox]

@@ksockhak NICREW ClassicLED Plus? That's not enough for HC. Barely enough for low light plants.

[@ksockhak]

@@TheWaterBox really? the HC was doing fine with it during the dry start method and after I flooded the tank, but after I trimmed it, started to die back a lot. Below is the link to the lighting but maybe you are right and I don't have enough lighting. www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07F7391M2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@TheWaterBox]

Yeh, that's a pretty weak light and like I said, barely grows low light plants. That model is their lowest model line It worked fine without water because it's growing in an immersive environment.

[@morwenna]

Hey Chung, thank you for the video! I will definitely be following your instructions when I start my own DSM tank soon! Question- if I have a sponge filter cycling in another tank while I'm growing the carpet in DSM tank, can I add fish right away if I use the cycled sponge filter?

[@TheWaterBox]

Maybe? I'd flood the tank and test it to see where it's at after a day and decide.

[@eva-louisekhalil9639]

Awesome info as always! Can you do dry start method in a dirted tank? I’m wondering if the layer of sand will hinder the growth during the dry start phase.

[@TheWaterBox]

Yes you can! The layer of send shouldn't be a problem. Make it a 1/2 inch layer should be fine.

[@eva-louisekhalil9639]

@@TheWaterBox THANK YOU!!! I’m tempted to try this in May.

[@TheWaterBox]

Good luck :)

[@jonmaroutsis1434]

What do you recommend in regards to lighting? Do I start with only 4 hours the first week and then increase it to a few more hours each week?

[@TheWaterBox]

For what? What are you trying to grow?

[@jonmaroutsis1434]

The Water Box Dwarf Baby Tears. I am currently on the first day of flooding and am blasting the co2. Just wanted to know your light schedule in terms of the first few weeks before I set it back to 8-10 hours

[@TheWaterBox]

I just had mine on 8 hours a day after flooding. During the dry start, I had it on from 14-16 hours a day

[@willster114]

your series helped me a lot during my drystart. I have a question though i had to leave for a few days and now i had an algae blood. Should I just clean it and water change as usual? or should I do more. I came back to some nasty algae I haven't personally experience before, did a clean as best I could but nervous for what it means for the future of my tank

[@TheWaterBox]

Is this AFTER flooding?

[@siewcejay3642]

When is the best time to flood the tank? How long the dsm period recommended?

[@TheWaterBox]

Up to you but normally people do it at the 4 to 6 week period. When you think the carpet has grown enough to give you a good start.

[@jcabusao]

Hi Everyone. Im doing a dry start on a 5 gallon fluval spec. Im going to be gone for a week. Any tips on keeping it watered/ fertalized while im gone?

[@TheWaterBox]

Do a heavy misting before you leave and keep it covers. Should be ok I think

[@makivillanueva8951]

I love your channel! anyways, So i just did a 6 week DSM of 5 cups of tropica glossostigma ellatinoides. After 6 weeks of DSM, I had a significant amount of glossostigma growth. Day 4, after flooding my glossostigma are turning pale as its almost melting/dying. do you think its because of fertilizing deficiency? currently I have Oase 350 thermo biomas filter with lily pipes, 10 bps CO2 with timer solenoid I turn it on 2 hrs before photo period, 2x chihiros rgb a plus all max setting. 6 hours photo period also with timer. 50% RO 5 water changes everyday doing this for a week to lessen ammonia and algae bloom. and 1 pump of thrive S fertilizer along with that. I also trimmed it as you said. recently checked my GH at 4 and KH at 1.

[@TheWaterBox]

It's the die off from it reverting back to submersive growth. Just trim it and keep the tank going and the co2 going.

[@andrewklock3208]

How about lighting.

[@TheWaterBox]

What about it?

[@andrewklock3208]

@@TheWaterBox I’m about to flood my 6 gallon cube that I carpeted with baby dwarf tears. I’m running the fluval nano plant light for 14 hours a day on full strength. What would you recommend I cut the time and strength to once I flood it ?

[@TheWaterBox]

@@andrewklock3208 Go down to 6-8 hours a day. I would try inbetween at 7 and see how it works out.

[@shanawazshirgaonkar]

What to do my monte carlo is meltimg during DSM please advise ive used fluval stratum, sunsun ads 500 i mist twice a day lighting 12 hours

[@TheWaterBox]

Are you dosing your misting water? How long is the DSM along now?

[@shanawazshirgaonkar]

Its been a month now and ive been misting with liquid fertilizers ive flooded just now and will give co2 dosage with pressurized one hope that will help

[@TheWaterBox]

Awesome! Good to hear!

[@greypoopon]

Coming up on 5k subs!!! woot woot

[@TheWaterBox]

Well, still a little ways to go! :)

[@lukaskohlmann2281]

Should i be running the filter when i am floooding it and triming it for the first few times or is draining it enough to get all the particles out?

[@TheWaterBox]

Once you flood treat it as any other tank. I get one running so it can be cycled.

[@ricardofernandez1031]

Congratulations for the video, I hope you can help me with this doubt. I am currently in my first week of the DSM and I am not sure if I will continue to cover the whole trip or leave a small opening for the gas exchange, I open the aquarium daily for 20 minutes and put some water with a spray bottle. my doubt is because we are in winter in the country where I live and the average temperature is between 15 and 7 degrees centigrade thank you very much!

[@TheWaterBox]

You should always keep small openings. You want our outside air to get in but keep the inside of the tank still damp or you won't give the tank enough co2.

[@ricardofernandez1031]

@@TheWaterBox thank you very much! I Will try your method

[@TheWaterBox]

@@ricardofernandez1031 good luck!

[@Lumpydog]

New age meta hokie pokie stuff. LOL Great video and tips. Much to complicated for a simple fish keeper like me. Big respect for those than can. Cheers.

[@TheWaterBox]

Hey! One day! ;)

[@tysonfillmore7100]

What would I do for flow in a 5.5g

[@TheWaterBox]

Tyson Fillmore I usually rely on the flow from my filter which is usually a HOB

[@tysonfillmore7100]

The Water Box what hob would you recommend

[@TheWaterBox]

Tyson Fillmore I would go with aquaclears for HOB filters myself.

[@ahbookit]

Great videos!! I'll be flooding my iwagumi style tank in a week (only baby tears, and possibly tall hairgrass on a later date, on Amazonian substrate), and I have a silver dollar from my previous set-up that my wife instructed me to put back in. My previous tank was mostly cichlids. For water changes i had to dechlorinate the water and add a pH neutralizer. I assumed I'll need to do that for the planted tank too? Do I need to add fertilizer? Will the fertilizer affect the fish (still deciding which schooling fish)? Appreciate the help in advance Chung!

[@TheWaterBox]

It's the same as the old tank. need cechlorinate. Not sure if you need to PH Neutralize. Are you trying to lower or raise the PH? The fert answer is in the video. It was one of the tips. ;)

[@ahbookit]

The Water Box Thanks man! The fritz pH neutraliser and Baxter anti chlorine were recommended by the guy at store as my cichlids were not doing well (probably tank was still cycling). Since then I had no issues and the two are part of my water change routine. Gotcha on the fertilizer, I haven't gotten any yet so I better start looking since I'm gonna be needing it.

[@TheWaterBox]

Well good luck! I'm here all week if you need me! :)

[@joshasmus2672]

I got damping off and mold in my carpet, what did I do wrong

[@justinreeves2301]

Must I use CO2 if I’m doing the dry start method after flooding? I wasn’t planning on running any CO2 in the tank so I was just curious. I have done a few other small planted tanks but I have never done a carpet and the dsm. Great videos

[@TheWaterBox]

It will help.

[@neale3191]

The Water Box so if we choose not to use cO2 will we just have some die back? Or do we risk loosing all the progress that we achieved from doing the dsm

[@lpskitfit]

I'm wanting to try this very soon! So do you wait to add CO2 after you've flooded, or do you use it when it's dry too? And how long can I expect die back to last? Is there an amount of time where I should be concerned?

[@TheWaterBox]

You want to "inject" co2. During the dry starting, you don't need it cause there's plenty in the air.

[@TheWaterBox]

MORE TO LEARN ABOUT PLANTED TANKS: ☑️ Beginners Planted Tank Guide: goo.gl/oCujCK ☑️ Aquarium Lighting Guide: bit.ly/2INYuMA ☑️ Aquarium Co2 Guide: bit.ly/2rSteVY ☑️ The Dry Start Method: goo.gl/XC8Rnz ☑️ Using Soil: goo.gl/PxkvK4

[@nelsondelacruz4508]

Hi! I'm currently doing a monte carlo DSM in my tank using your video as my guide, I am currently in my 5th-6th week and noticed that the the MC is now growing a bit longer, should I do a trim now? or wait till I flood my tank? many thanks!

[@TheWaterBox]

❤

[@domeee11]

hey man, ive finished my DSM after 6 weeks for HC Cuba. at the moment they are melting (adapting?) and the healthy ones are kinda slanting upwards during photoperiod.. ive added injected co2 with now at 2bps.. i think it is more than enough since the pH is now at 6.2 during lights on. (ive heard that below 6.2 pH, Beneficial Bacteria will struggle?) for this reason im not adding more co2. Any tips for saving my HC? i dose EI regiment. co2 is via inline diffuser, lights are at 3666 lumens 30cm above the water line for 120*50*50cm.. thanks!

[@TheWaterBox]

It's probably your lighting. "3666 lumens 30cm" doesn't mean anything to me. Once you flood, there will be die backs but if the HC is streching upwards, it usually mean not enough light. I never has a problem with BB having a problem under 6.2PH. I ran a tank at 5.8 for a long time but it was also chalk full of plants so the plants were helping massively in filtering the tank

[@domeee11]

@@TheWaterBox Hello thanks for replying. At the moment ive injected more co2 more than 5bps till i cannot count anymore. i have achieved -1pH drop with standing water left open 24hours versus tank water injected at 2hours before lights on. For the lights there are 2 units, making 3666lm times 2 at about 7200lm. I noted this because comparing with ADA RGBSolar runs at 3500lm and at 30cm above water line. Do you think its because of not enough light? or not enough CO2? this is very bright already at 7200lm causing some GSA and GDA to appear. This tank is flooded on October 25th. Multiple water changes a week for the first week but now im doing it every 7 days, figured dont want the BB to be disrupted..

[@domeee11]

with the co2 injected at more than 5bps, the -1pH drop is now bottoming out at 6.05 pH which is quite acidic in my opinion for the livestock?

[@TheWaterBox]

Lumens is not a measurement to know if your plants are getting correct lighting. What kind of lighting lit is it? You can't just match lumens and expect it to be correct lighting for plants. Plants don't care about lumens, they care about the color spectrum and how much of it in ratings of PAR and PUR it's getting of each color. Just from your description of how your plants are reaching up to the light, it's a indication that they are not getting enough of it.

[@TheWaterBox]

6.05ph really depends on the live stock you get but that's a deflated artificial number because you are injecting co2. The main thing is that the number is adjusted by co2 injection so you don't need to worry about the second number when it comes to livestock. Use the first number and don't go beyond a 1 point drop. I've ran tanks on 5.6ph from co2 just fine before. The next and more important thing is you need to worry about is not having a large fluctuation of PH swings for livestock. A slow ramp up in the morning and slow ramp down at night from co2 isn't going to harm livestock but wild ph swings throughout the day will put them into shock. This is all in the assumption you are stock with fish that can do well in soft water. In other words, don't go putting African Cichlids in that tank. A steady and controlled PH is always the key when it comes to livestock.

[@ringobernardino5145]

when my plants are ready to flood totally,, how many times do i "flood-drain" in a week? and when i wiill start a normal tank?

[@TheWaterBox]

I do it at least twice and then one more time in a week. Depends on the reading with ammonia to prevent ammonia burn on plants

[@Ethan-mw1qx]

Will I still need co2 after?

[@TheWaterBox]

It depends on what plants you are trying to grow.

[@Ethan-mw1qx]

I may want to try something like dwarf hairgrass, Monte Carlo, and s repens.

[@TheWaterBox]

TheNiceHacks you might be able to get away with it. They might die back a lot. What kind of tank and lighting?

[@Ethan-mw1qx]

The Water Box 20 long with a aquaneat light. I think I’ll be going for s. Repens tho.

[@TheWaterBox]

Also, it'll grow slow with that light and then add no co2 when you flood so be patient.

[@HM-lk3pq]

I love you too bro! Is that giant hair grass with your iwagumi?

[@TheWaterBox]

Rommel R yup

[@sativaknight9358]

im gon call you chong...keep up the vids your getting me inspired for the first time in a while i was about to give up fish up till i watched ya vids thanks dude

[@TheWaterBox]

You can call my Chung. That's how to spell my name. ;) Good to hear I inspire!

[@24gamogun]

It took 15 secs into this video to realize the regular google searching ain't gonna cut it. thank you !

[@TheWaterBox]

Glad it helps!

[@JeffLMeadePK57]

so how many times do i have to flood and drain ?

[@TheWaterBox]

At least once. I do it 3 times but that's just me

[@JeffLMeadePK57]

@@TheWaterBox thanks but i did it 4 lol

[@TheWaterBox]

@@JeffLMeadePK57 LOL right on.

[@mrsnow2277]

I just submerged my tank a week ago from a dry start using dirt and sand as a substrate. I don't have a lush carpet yet but my dwarf hairgrass are slowly producing runners. However, I noticed that my white sand is turning yellow/brown and I dont know what is causing it. Also I don't have any fish yet to produce organic materials. Any ideas why my sand is turning yellow brown and my water turning yellow as well?

[@TheWaterBox]

Probably from the soil. Soil will leech tannins. Just do water changes and it will go away.

[@eva-louisekhalil9639]

I’m thinking of doing a dry start with dirted tank as well. What were your results? Do you recommend soil and sand for carpeting plants or is it better with the aquasoil substrates?

[@SuperHooverdam]

Have you ever used Carib sea Hawaiian sand in planted tank?

[@TheWaterBox]

No but you would consider it as just sand and apply the rules on using sand in a planted tank

[@Deon0026yickadee]

Oh this is very helpful. Drain it flood it so two times to rid the alien 👽 junk! Your carpet looks nice man! Haha great cinematic scene with the algae glass and music. I enjoyed man. Deon Showing love

[@TheWaterBox]

Thanks Deon! :)

[@gabrielgrdb]

excellent tips, I fill my tank (30 * 30 * 30) yesterday but I do not know how many bubbles per second would be ideal and how to lower it to the beginning I have it in 4, I will make 50% changes every day during this week (Substrate: sand and soil). I also had a small problem on the sand, a small layer of what I think is algae to fix it, add a little excel sorry my english is not very good

[@TheWaterBox]

If you don't have life stock, I usually ramp it up 10ish bubbles per sec (you can't really count it at that speed) and each week lower is 3 or 4 bubbles at a time until around 2 bubble per sec. Really up to you. You don't have to go that much and just start from 1 bpp but then you have to climb it rather than lower it which is easier lowering it down.

[@bailey2913]

I was just planning on running my RO straight into it 🤔

[@TheWaterBox]

You can certainly try that.

[@PastTheDirtRoad]

So you are saying I should flood it and drain it? Lol great video as always

[@TheWaterBox]

and fiood it and drain it... and... err... yeh!

[@turnipsucks6416]

Great. gave me another reason this method would be hard. CO2. Not a fan (expensive).

[@TheWaterBox]

Understood. Not for everyone

[@Jen.K]

Can I have a lush carpet in my tank without using Co2? ...oh! I see you have done a video about this.

[@shaynaanderson3014]

How much faster is growth vs planting the traditional way? I’d love to see a side-by-side experiment to see it it’s really worth it.

[@TheWaterBox]

It'll grow faster and spread faster but you do have trim heavy on flood and have it grow back again but you've already have a whole root system in place already. Either way works, just pick what works for you.

[@RealWitblitz]

*thumbsup*

[@TheWaterBox]

thumbsup back

[@denisenicole7470]

stop boiling your rocks..... lmfaooo

[@TheWaterBox]

;)

[@ayanmisra1881]

Hey 😊 1st comment for the 1st time 😂 lol

[@TheWaterBox]

Hey! 1st thanks to the 1st comment for the 1st time! 😆

[@jordanyang3066]

Damn I was hoping I wouldn't need to inject co2 after a dry start.

[@TheWaterBox]

Jordan Yang you know. Never tried it. Go for it. Let me know if it works! :)

[@hardcheese6100]

Chung do you recommend the dry start method after 20 yrs of marriage ??

[@TheWaterBox]

Yeh. Flood, Drain, Flood, Drain, Flood, Drain and trim the carpet. It'll bring renewed experiences into the relationship.

[@theweeklyfish9307]

ONE dislike lol

[@TheWaterBox]

It happens. :)