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Abraham Evangelista · 19-09-2006, 05:46 AM posted to rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants

On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 21:47:43 +0000 (UTC),
(Richard Sexton) wrote:

In article ,
Abraham Evangelista wrote:
I'm still sorting through the wealth of information available on his
site. Subscribed when I picked up my ferts from Greg Watson. I
wonder, does this rule apply to plants that are "supposed" to be red?
I have some bronze and red Crypt. wendetti, and some "Red Hygro" that
turns a nice deep red where it gets light at the top of the tank.

Sorta. Given enough N I have some crypts that are just plain green. I
can tell when the N is low because they start to get more bonze color.

Some C. blassi I got were lovely and red. When I put them in a tank
that was well fertilized they went all green. Or more green anyway.

So, no, plants that aren't natrually just green will not go green in
the presense of sufficient N but they will tend more towards that.

The growth below was nice and red too, but now it's nice and back, as
in red algae, owing to a lack of light. The new shoots coming out
from the bottom of the stand are coming out bright green, so I wonder
if it's not a question of light.

Sure, leaves close to a stong light source will tend to be more red. Not
sure why this is, and even in the presense of apparanlty sifficient N.

Tom? You reading this?

Am I on the right track here?

Yabbut 5ppm N is kinda low. I aim for somwhere in the neighborhood of 15-30.

They seem to be all over the place. When I tested shortly after the
fertilization I only showed 5ppm. Tested again before bedtime last
night, and showed 20ppm. I tested when I woke up again and saw 10ppm,
and was back to 5ppm after dinner.

I'm starting to suspect my test kit, so tommorow I'm off to the shop
to pick up another brand.

The algae is caused by excessive ammonia. Try getting all the crud out and doing
two big (80%) water changes then fertiize properlu.

But I'm not showing any ammonia. And with the number of plants in the
tank, I shouldn't be showing any either.

I'm not sure it's economical to bother replacing the tank. Having a
piece of glass cut for the bottom is gonna cost me for the
glasscutter's labor, and for the glass. A replacement 10 gallon is
only $10 USD here, so it might end up cheaper for me to just buy
another tank, and save this one for sides/spares. Maybe I can use it
as a terrarium.

There's lots of places to get cheap/free glass. Thrift shops, junkyards,
craigslist.org.

Come to think of it, I probably have another busted 10 lying around
here somewhere if noone's walked off with it yet. Hadn't thought to
hit the junkyards. Maybe the local freecycle?

Jobes fert sticks

Ack! Also known as "instant algae". I wouldn't use these.

Again, the bit I've got in the hex is showing growth.

Excellent.

I seem to be having a lot of good luck with the hex. I've been dosing
with Seachem's ferts, the substrate is leftover flourite from the last
project, and since the cheapie hood had a standard light bulb socket I
dispensed with the ugly little round tube, and crammed in a 15 watt
CFL. I know it doesn't sound like much light, but when the distance
from the light to the bottom of the substrate is less than a foot, the
lighting is pretty intense.

The Potamogeton is only an inch from the suface at this point, and if
it keeps going like this, it should hit air before the week is out.
Oddly, in the presence of the more intense lighting, it seems to be
going more green on its leaves. Since the leaves are translucent, the
effect prompted one of our houseguests to ask why I'd put a plastic
plant in a tank of already healthy live growth.

The cabomba has healthy new growth, the hornwort already needs
another trimming, and the fontinalis is showing some pretty nice green
tips on the end of the fronds, so I'll assume it's still alive.

The val I threw in there isn't doing anything. It's not dying, but
it's not growing either, and unlike the specimins in the big tank,
it's showing no signs of throwing runners either. I also added a stem
of the red hygro, and a few bits of Rotala Rotundifolia from the
afternoon trimming.

I'd like to try a sword or a crypt in there, but none of the plants in
the big tank are showing any runners at the moment. (I used the last
set for foreground plantings.) For that matter, I'm not sure there
would be any space left for the poor betta if I stuck one in!
--
"Oh no! look over there! How did a Chupacabra get into the house? Quick!
Hide all the goats!" - Lisa, Girl's Bravo, English Dub
Abraham Evangelista