fablau;122352 said:
I would like to give you an update about my tank situation, so I made a video for you right now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1AYAykM9k0
Main issues are still with Rotala, Alternanthera and Ambulia.
To Gerry: I have increased rippling at the surface, but having a wet/dry filter at 2000 l/h I don't think to have any lack of O2 anyway.
Co2 has been slowly increased in the past 3 weeks to reach a PH drop of 1.2-1.3 (from 7.4 to 6.2-6.1)
I have some little algae on some Cabomba stems (not sure if it is BBA or what), as well as some GDA on my front glass despite I have a few Bushy Nose Plecos. But I always suffered of GDA in my tank for the past 3 years, so I am used to that. Let's say though, that by moving into EI I was hoping to definitively get rid of it, but looks like I haven't reached that needed balance yet.
Tomorrow is WC day, trimming plants and cleaning the glass.
Thoughts?
Ah.........videos make this much easier.
Good news, and I think you know it also, the tank is doing better and the A reineckii is on the mend.
Same for the Rotala, trim off the nicer new growth and replant that later as things regrow.
Anubias are doing well and you can see the new roots coming out.
I would trim and replant things a bit at this point, maybe give the tank another 1-2 days, big water change, trim BEFORE the water change or the night before if you do them in the morning.
O2, not an issue.
Stick with the CO2 drop you have, do not go farther.
Cabomba, do not worry much about that weed, you can out grow the algae and trim off the lower ratty parts soon enough.
I think you keep the plants trimmed a bit more and keep the faster growing stem plants whacked back, you will have much better luck here.
Most of the stems: uproot and replant the entire bunch. This is pretty quick and easy and keeps the nice new top growth.
Add maybe 4-5 more BNP's and that should fix the rest of the GDA issue.
Plants are starting to look decent and growth is there.
Some of the issue from the CO2: might be due to the prefilter and over flow.
You might detail that more and see Gerry's video on the subject and some other folk's postings about it.
It's helped a lot of folks with wet/drys and I have a client I need to modify their prefilter side this coming week in SF.
Remember this about light and CO2, those faster growing weedy taller stems and grasses, they will get the CO2 if limiting 1st.....then the lower spots and plants, like foreground plants, will get whatever is left.
This is a case where more light can help make things more even for CO2 uptake if it's limiting, but of the CO2 is not an issue, then the foreground plants can do very well even at lower light.
There is good justification for this in aquatic weed competition for light and CO2.
The weed that can first start photosynthesizing at low light as the sun comes up........and nab all the CO2 in a lake or stream= the winner.
But if you remove the CO2 limitation, then all these species do well together. So you will see some plants do well, and others not so well in such cases. Some plants have higher CO2 demand than others as well.
Similar low growth plants, or plants that can stand shading, eg Anubias/mosses....these do well in the mix. The fast growing weeds, I hack them back often.
You are about at that cusp now you can start gardening more and not fret over growth so much.