Grasses arrived Wednesday! :)

[Will]

Bill and others,
My Turtle Grass arrived Wednesday, and I'm so excited about it! Of course I had it planted within 30 minutes of arrival hehe. I just can't wait to finally get my seahorses over into that tank! The grasses looks so great in there, and once they start growing, I think the effect will be amazing! Here's a picture of the tank w/ the grasses:

A few questions. Should I cut off the brown parts? I know that's what you would do with terrestrial plants, but what about the grasses? Also, Bill, thanks for the Iron! The only thing is, it leaked a little bit and smudged the instructions. Can you briefly go over how much it said to use starting out, etc? Lastly, about how long should it take for the grasses to start growing, and how quickly do they grow? It seems I read somewhere that they can grow anywhere from 2mm to 5mm per day. That sounds like pretty fast growth by me!
-Will

 

[billsreef]

Hey Will,

Looks good

I leave the brown portion on till the leaf totally browns out and falls off on it's own. By then some nice new shoots have come up to replace it. It generally takes around a week or so for the plant to stabilize before it starts showing much growth. After that point growth will be relative to nutrient loads and light intensity, and yes I've seen up to about 5mm a day growth under halides and VHO's

I'll take advantage of the label instructions residing on my computer and cut and paste them for you here

Directions
Initial starting dose is 1ml to 20 gallons of tank water (actuall water volume) weekly. Gradually increase dosage while carefully monitoring plant growth, inhabitants and algae growth. If nusiance algae gets out of control, discontinue use untill bloom subsides than recontinue at highest dosage that doesnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t cause algae blooms. Do not exceed a dosage of 15ml/10 gallons unless being used in pure algae/plant culture situations. If tank inhabitants exhibit any signs of distress from overdose, discontinue use, perform large water change and put fresh carbon or polyfilter in system.
Warnings
Can cause skin irritation with prolonged skin contact. Do not get in eyes or ingest.
In case of eye contact, flush with water and consult doctor. In case of ingestion, induce vomiting and seek medical attention.