I like to believe that I've reached an interesting point in my level of understanding of the hobby. I've moved on from that "copy other's work" phase and have begun to enter into an experimental phase that is giving me a crash course on chemistry (as it pertains to aquatic gardening).
I have chosen a nice little 30G tank as my experiment tank. I wanted to start out with some new forays into substrate mixes. Let's just say that experiment 1 was okay, but didn't accomplish my objective and experiment 2 was a dismal failure. Sadly, experiment # 2 was so bad, due to very high concentration of organic material, that the lovely smell of rotten eggs (good ol' H2S) permeated the upstairs portion of my house. Anyhow, lesson learned, wife and kids made fun of me...made adjustments and moved on the substrate composition # 3.
Here are some of the things I've noticed so far with this tank that I both wanted to share and hopefully get some feedback on:
1. Due to the high level of H2S in substrate # 2 (I'm guessing this is the reason), my Cabomba carlininea (sp?) pretty much rotted away. Broke my heart but I cut the healthiest parts of the stems off and replanted them in substrate # 3. I'm curious as to how likely it is these plants can be saved. I realize there's really no way anyone can answer this, as there are too many variables. I was just wondering out loud.
2. I did not do a complete and utter sterilization of my tank after substrate # 2. I cleaned out everything I could (which involved the physical remove of 99% of the substrate) and did a full water change (obviously) after putting in substrate # 3. I did not add dechlorinator during the refill of the tank. My logic was that chloramine/chlorine is in tap water specifically to kill off bacteria, algae, and other micro-organisms. That being the case, I figured any "bad" bacteria left in the water column from the previous substrate would be eliminated. Interestingly, I did a test on the level of chlorine in the tank two days later and it tested at zero. My test can only show a maximum level of 0.5 ppm but a baseline test on my tap water confirmed it at this level. Is it possible that the plants I have absorbed all of the chlorine in the water? Does anyone know what level plants uptake this micronutrient?
3. Pearling...How I miss it so. So it's been three days since substrate # 3 was put in and I have noticed that none of the plants appear to be pearling. This is a high light, CO2 injected tank with a nutrient rich substrate (which I'll detail soon). My Anubias barteri appeared to form a few small bubbles, but it was the only plant in the tank to do so. Is it possible that the transplant of my little darlings 3 times and being subjected to the awfulness of substrate # 2 has put them into a state of shock? Is it likely that they will recover?
4. Fertilization - when should I start adding ferts to the water column? My basic philosophy at this point is I should give the tank time to settle in (for better or for worse), but any advice on this topic is greatly appreciated.
Tank Specs:
30G
Lighting - 2x96W CF 6700K full spectrum on for 12 hours/day
CO2 - DIY Yeast Method (creates rather high concentrations of CO2, but I'm working on getting that to the 25-30ppm I've seen recommended by the guru's of this site)
Substrate # 3 Composition: (note - I kind of gave in here as I hated to see my plants continue to suffer. I'll do someting more experimental once this tank has stabilized for a while)
Main Rooting Level - Mix of Flora Base, thin layer of Spagnum Moss (enriched with Miracle Gro - yes, I know...potential for algae blooms due to dump of nutrients, but it's all I had available), and gravel (small to pea sized - mix of two different types).
Top level - Flora Base (thin layer - I put this down to provide something my dwarf baby tears could root in. It didn't look like they could take root in the gravel I had because the pieces were too large).
Last question (and I apologize for being so long in this post, I tend to be a stream-of-consciousness type of writer) is back to the chlorine/chloramine question. In my Yeast method of CO2, I have never added dechlorinator to the water in the old soda bottle yet the bacteria thrive without fail. How is this possible if chlorine is supposed to kill bacteria? Is it that the concentration of chlorine is insufficient to destroy some bacteria or are some bacteria simply immune to chlorine?
With great thanks to all,
-Kevin
I have chosen a nice little 30G tank as my experiment tank. I wanted to start out with some new forays into substrate mixes. Let's just say that experiment 1 was okay, but didn't accomplish my objective and experiment 2 was a dismal failure. Sadly, experiment # 2 was so bad, due to very high concentration of organic material, that the lovely smell of rotten eggs (good ol' H2S) permeated the upstairs portion of my house. Anyhow, lesson learned, wife and kids made fun of me...made adjustments and moved on the substrate composition # 3.
Here are some of the things I've noticed so far with this tank that I both wanted to share and hopefully get some feedback on:
1. Due to the high level of H2S in substrate # 2 (I'm guessing this is the reason), my Cabomba carlininea (sp?) pretty much rotted away. Broke my heart but I cut the healthiest parts of the stems off and replanted them in substrate # 3. I'm curious as to how likely it is these plants can be saved. I realize there's really no way anyone can answer this, as there are too many variables. I was just wondering out loud.
2. I did not do a complete and utter sterilization of my tank after substrate # 2. I cleaned out everything I could (which involved the physical remove of 99% of the substrate) and did a full water change (obviously) after putting in substrate # 3. I did not add dechlorinator during the refill of the tank. My logic was that chloramine/chlorine is in tap water specifically to kill off bacteria, algae, and other micro-organisms. That being the case, I figured any "bad" bacteria left in the water column from the previous substrate would be eliminated. Interestingly, I did a test on the level of chlorine in the tank two days later and it tested at zero. My test can only show a maximum level of 0.5 ppm but a baseline test on my tap water confirmed it at this level. Is it possible that the plants I have absorbed all of the chlorine in the water? Does anyone know what level plants uptake this micronutrient?
3. Pearling...How I miss it so. So it's been three days since substrate # 3 was put in and I have noticed that none of the plants appear to be pearling. This is a high light, CO2 injected tank with a nutrient rich substrate (which I'll detail soon). My Anubias barteri appeared to form a few small bubbles, but it was the only plant in the tank to do so. Is it possible that the transplant of my little darlings 3 times and being subjected to the awfulness of substrate # 2 has put them into a state of shock? Is it likely that they will recover?
4. Fertilization - when should I start adding ferts to the water column? My basic philosophy at this point is I should give the tank time to settle in (for better or for worse), but any advice on this topic is greatly appreciated.
Tank Specs:
30G
Lighting - 2x96W CF 6700K full spectrum on for 12 hours/day
CO2 - DIY Yeast Method (creates rather high concentrations of CO2, but I'm working on getting that to the 25-30ppm I've seen recommended by the guru's of this site)
Substrate # 3 Composition: (note - I kind of gave in here as I hated to see my plants continue to suffer. I'll do someting more experimental once this tank has stabilized for a while)
Main Rooting Level - Mix of Flora Base, thin layer of Spagnum Moss (enriched with Miracle Gro - yes, I know...potential for algae blooms due to dump of nutrients, but it's all I had available), and gravel (small to pea sized - mix of two different types).
Top level - Flora Base (thin layer - I put this down to provide something my dwarf baby tears could root in. It didn't look like they could take root in the gravel I had because the pieces were too large).
Last question (and I apologize for being so long in this post, I tend to be a stream-of-consciousness type of writer) is back to the chlorine/chloramine question. In my Yeast method of CO2, I have never added dechlorinator to the water in the old soda bottle yet the bacteria thrive without fail. How is this possible if chlorine is supposed to kill bacteria? Is it that the concentration of chlorine is insufficient to destroy some bacteria or are some bacteria simply immune to chlorine?
With great thanks to all,
-Kevin