Zero nitrates

[mattify]

Evening all, been doing some research on my Dwarf Hairgrass and I'm getting a bit worried - it's been in the tank for a month and a half now and it's still looking a bit brownish and growing slow. I'm following the Seachem el dosing schedule and I've got CO2 running, but I'm starting to think I might be expecting too much too soon. I've been adding more and more of the stuff, but tonight I stumbled upon a few threads that kept mentioning the same thing - 0 nitrates in the tank. Apparently, this can be a major issue, basically starving your plants. I hadn't tested my nitrates since the tank cycled about 3 months ago, so I decided to give it a go and, yeah, I've got 0 nitrates. What do you guys think? I'm still pretty new to all this and I'm eager to learn, so any advice would be great. I'll chuck up a few pics of the tank so you can see what I'm working with.

[boomer]

I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding here, having zero nitrates isn't necessarily the end goal for a planted tank. While it's true that aquatic plants primarily take up ammonia and ammonium as their nitrogen source, they can also use nitrates if those other sources are limited. The idea is to strike a balance, so the plants have enough nutrients to thrive. In a tank with no nitrates, it's possible that the plants might be struggling to get the nitrogen they need, which could explain the slow growth and brownish color you're seeing with your dwarf hairgrass.

[mattify]

Cheers for the info, didn't think about the fish side of things at all, just focused on the plants, I guess I was looking at it from the wrong angle, will defo keep that in mind for future reference, always like to read up on things then come on here and get a second opinion from you lot, seems like I learn something new every time.

[coltin]

I've been reading that dwarf hairgrass is actually a pretty tough plant to keep in a tank, being a marsh plant and all, so if yours is growing at all, that's a good start. Struggling plants can be down to a few things, like not enough light, or it just might not be the best fit for your tank.

[mattify]

It's growing upwards, I'm trimming it weekly to keep it short, trying to get it to spread rather than just growing up.