"laz" wrote in message
link.net...
Alright good people here is my problem...
I have a 55 G planted tank.
Here are the specs.: ph 7
kh 7
gh10
ammonia 0
nitrates 0
temp ~78-80
water changes 1/3 weekly
CO2 1-2 bubbles / sec (DIY)
fertilization ~ 1cc PMDD and ~1cc Flourish
Iron daily, Flourish ~ 2cc weekly, jobe's stick once a
month
snip
lights: 220W (Jally A18) 4 X 55 W compact
fluorescent lights, 12 hours daily (7- 7)
filtration: Fluval 304 mainly for bio and
Plants: few Alteranthera sessilis, Java fern, penny, Vallis, Anubias,
Water
cabbage, Amazon swords, Aponogeton.
Laz,
It's obvious from your description here that your fertilization is
insufficient, considering your high lighting level. In order for plants to
be healthy and photosynthesize, you have to provide ALL the nutrients they
need, most importantly CO2. Otherwise, you're in for a big algae outbreak,
which coincides with poor plant health. I strongly suggest getting
pressurized CO2, but until you do, you should turn off one or two of your
bulbs. Even 3 W/g is very high lighting.
In addition, you need a lot more macronutrients and micronutrients than
you're putting in there. I see that your NO3 is 0. I aim for 10-20 ppm NO3,
which gives me less algae problems than 5-10 ppm. I also add 20 ppm or so of
potassium from K2SO4 per week. I suggest doing the same. It's better to dose
the nutrients from separate bottles than from a combined PMDD solution. It
would also be helpful to add some phosphate, but only when you've sorted out
the other nutrients. I try to keep mine at not less than 1.0 ppm. As for mic
ronutrients, I add 1 mL of Flourish Iron per day to my 30-gal. tank, as well
as about 2x the recommended dose of Tropica Master Grow. That's several
times more than what you're adding. It seems to me that the 2 mL of Flourish
that you're adding per week is very low, almost insignificant.
snip
2 Oto ( they lost 3 of their friends)
I have no idea what happened I found these poor guys floating one
morning.... It was no fun. :-(
Maybe it was all those Jobes spikes you added? They do contain ammonia.
Anyhow here is my question I hope some of you guys with more experience
can
help me.
I keep reading about the photosynthesis and how the bubbles forming on the
leafs. I don't have bubbles!
The plants just barely hanging on. They are growing but not to my liking.
Some of the old leafs on the swords turning yellow that according the Krib
might be N deficiency. I put more Jobe's stick to their roots, added 1
more
tablespoon KNO3 to the PMDD but still no bubbles. Increased the time of
lighting still nothing, Doubled the DIY CO2 to 2 bottles, (Setting up
fresh
ones every weekend so the CO2 is pretty much constant, I have a good
diffuser, but I tried the CO2 to the Fluval intake as well) but still no
bubbles.
The symptoms you describe are consistent with improper fertilization. Take
care of the nutrient problem in the water column and you should see a lot of
pearling at your light level. That is, dose your nutrients by following the
recommended levels. Use Chuck's nutrient calculator at
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_p...osage_calc.htm to figure out how
to make the nutrient solutions. Or just add them dry. It's important to
remember that if the plants are even limited by one nutrient, such as CO2,
N, P, or K, then increasing the quantity of the others will not matter. For
example, if your plants are not getting enough N, then increasing the
lighting will not help. (Lighting can be considered a nutrient.) Or if
they're missing iron, then adding more Jobes spikes will not do anything.
Don't worry about the substrate fertilization so much. Take care of the
water column in the first place.
Does it mean that there is no photosynthesis? According the Krib's chart
the
CO2 level is ~ 21 mg./l which is pretty high.
I don't think that's enough for 4 W/g. I would keep it at 30 ppm. That's why
I suggested turning off some of your bulbs.
So good people out there , What do I miss???
What can I do to make the plants happier?
Any input will be appreciated.
Laz
__
Alex R
pcalex (at) hotpop.com