Finally I have totally replaced all my gravel to Flourite in my aquarium. It
was a PITA to clean, but it's done. That was finished friday night, it's now
Sunday afternoon and it's looking pretty clear so that's great. Except for a
few things...:

1. I've got no pearling on my leaves (maybe after transplanting all the
plants it takes a few days for them to start "growing" again) My C02 has
been running for about 11 days...21ppm should still produce pearling...

2. My kH levels have dropped from 10 to 9. (does this have anything to do
with the addition of the flourite?--I thought it would increase hardness??)
I had assumed that kH never fluctuated once you used water from the same
source all the time.

3. kH levels have dropped to 9 therefore my C02 has also dropped to about
21ppm (my pH is staying the same at 7.1) I thought I could just measure pH
levels for C02 but now it seems I've lost another constant in my
calculations

Any opinions?

Dave. THANX

"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote:

1. I've got no pearling on my leaves (maybe after transplanting all the
plants it takes a few days for them to start "growing" again) My C02 has
been running for about 11 days...21ppm should still produce pearling...

The best I've ever managed is about 13ppm, so my experience doesn't
really apply to your question. That said, I've only seen any pearling
once. And in that case it was actually just one particular plant that
was producing a bubble stream.

Interestingly, if I shone a flashlight beam at the plant (in addition
to my normal 3 wpg lighting), the rate of the bubbling would instantly
speed up dramatically.

Biology in action. Very cool.

2. My kH levels have dropped from 10 to 9. (does this have anything to do
with the addition of the flourite?--I thought it would increase hardness??)
I had assumed that kH never fluctuated once you used water from the same
source all the time.

My kH fluctuates from 13 to 15.5 ppm. Have you checked that the kH of
your source has remained constant?

I rather doubt that the Flourite is the cause of any fluctuation, as
it's pretty inert.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

1. I've got no pearling on my leaves (maybe after transplanting all the
plants it takes a few days for them to start "growing" again) My C02 has
been running for about 11 days...21ppm should still produce pearling...

How much light do you have?

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about pearling. Your plants can be growing well even
without it.

2. My kH levels have dropped from 10 to 9. (does this have anything to do
with the addition of the flourite?--I thought it would increase hardness??)

No, Flourite is actually a bit acidic. Some people with soft water report
sharp pH drops (even though Seachem claims it's ineert). However, it seems to
be a temporary effect.

It's Onyx that increases hardness/pH.

I had assumed that kH never fluctuated once you used water from the same
source all the time.

Wrong. KH naturally drops in a tank. The more stuff you have rotting in the
tank, the faster the KH drops. I have to change 30% of my water every week to
keep the KH up in my 29 gallon tank. It's a bit overstocked. The shrimp,
platies, and snails keep breeding....

3. kH levels have dropped to 9 therefore my C02 has also dropped to about
21ppm (my pH is staying the same at 7.1) I thought I could just measure pH
levels for C02 but now it seems I've lost another constant in my
calculations

Once you get to know your tank, it won't be as difficult as it seems now.
You'll get to know how fast your KH drops, how often you need to do water
changes, etc. And don't worry too much about ppm. This isn't rocket science;
in the ballpark is good enough.





Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

How much light do you have?
2wpg in a 15 gallon wide...pretty plenty I think.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about pearling. Your plants can be growing well
even
without it.
I've been getting pearling for the entire time (over 3 weeks) that I have
had C02 running...so it was a bit alarming to see it totally disapear.

Wrong. KH naturally drops in a tank. The more stuff you have rotting in
the
tank, the faster the KH drops. I have to change 30% of my water every
week to
keep the KH up in my 29 gallon tank. It's a bit overstocked. The shrimp,
platies, and snails keep breeding....
It's good I know about this..thanx. Yeah I'm starting a regime that
incorporates 50% water changes every week since I'm doing double doses a
week of traces and PMDD. btw, screw the legalities, send me some of your
snail babies! LOL I'm getting desparate...but I am trying to get the
plants to grow good...this will get rid of the algae. Hopefully my new
regime with PMDD will help with this.

Dave.

In article , tose
(LeighMo) writes:


1. I've got no pearling on my leaves (maybe after transplanting all the
plants it takes a few days for them to start "growing" again) My C02 has
been running for about 11 days...21ppm should still produce pearling...

How much light do you have?

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about pearling. Your plants can be growing well
even
without it.


In my experience, I've needed CO2 fertilization (I use DIY) and decent light to
see natural pearling (not from injured plants). When I had elevated my light
up a bit higher over my tank to allow some emergent growth to occur (I was
having fun watching one of my swordplants flower -- really nice little
flowers!), I noticed that the pearling I usually saw on my foxtails and rotala
had ceased. When I returned the light to its normal position, pearling started
up again. Pearling stops when my CO2 generator starts to fizz out, too, thus I
think that both CO2 and light are the main factors to get pearling. And
although I agree with LeighMo that pearling is not crucial to plant health, I
do think it's really a pretty sight to see.


Erica
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/mitoem/mitoem/index.htm

In article , "Dave M. Picklyk"
writes:

I've been getting pearling for the entire time (over 3 weeks) that I have
had C02 running...so it was a bit alarming to see it totally disapear.

I bet you're right about the plants needing to adjust to their new substrate
before they start growing again...be patient and you might see more pearling
yet.


Erica
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/mitoem/mitoem/index.htm

Pearling stops when my CO2 generator starts to fizz out, too, thus I
think that both CO2 and light are the main factors to get pearling.

Yeah, I would agree. I have over 2 wpg in my moderate-light tank, but it never
pearls. It's not CO2-injected, though. I never had pearling in my high-light
tank (3+ wpg) until I switched to compressed CO2.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

In article , tose
(LeighMo) writes:


1. I've got no pearling on my leaves (maybe after transplanting all the
plants it takes a few days for them to start "growing" again) My C02 has
been running for about 11 days...21ppm should still produce pearling...

How much light do you have?

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about pearling. Your plants can be growing well
even
without it.


In my experience, I've needed CO2 fertilization (I use DIY) and decent light to
see natural pearling (not from injured plants). When I had elevated my light
up a bit higher over my tank to allow some emergent growth to occur (I was
having fun watching one of my swordplants flower -- really nice little
flowers!), I noticed that the pearling I usually saw on my foxtails and rotala
had ceased. When I returned the light to its normal position, pearling started
up again. Pearling stops when my CO2 generator starts to fizz out, too, thus I
think that both CO2 and light are the main factors to get pearling. And
although I agree with LeighMo that pearling is not crucial to plant health, I
do think it's really a pretty sight to see.


Erica
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/mitoem/mitoem/index.htm