Blyxa melting at center: cause/fix?

growitnow

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Hi,

Day 25 of 90gal. Blyxa japonica centers are really starting to melt. Happening to all of them including some getting current from CO2 outflow. Seeking suggestions/feedback. Too low light? (note 8hrs 110w). Expected break in of new planting? CO2?

Also, heteranthra zostifolia has done poorly, not grown much since planting, stems melting. GSA really starting to ramp up on glass and lower leaves of staurogyne. Hygro corymbosa siamensis has not grown in 3 weeks since planting.

90gal, Flourite
4x55w CF AH supply w/ reflectors (4hrs 110w + 2hrs 220w + 4hrs 110w)
KNO3 8.5g (15ppm), 3x
KH2PO4 1.5g (3ppm), 3x
K2SO4 10g (13ppm), 3x
TPN 20ml, 3x
GH booster 4tsp 1x
CO2, 2.6bps drop checker green
flow: Eheim 2128 x 2; plus Eheim 1260 driving AM1000 the output of which is split L and R
stocking: 4 congo tetras, handful of small tetras & a few SAEs

thanks, click pic to enlarge
growitnowView attachment 1461View attachment 1462
 
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dutchy

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I'm betting on too low CO2. Your configuration as well as drop checker colour doesn't tell me anything more than that you're adding SOME CO2. The configuration by itself looks good but I think you're not adding enough CO2.

GSA is a tell tale sign. Basically it's PO4, but since it seems like you have enough PO4, there's one other reason: CO2.

Add more CO2 until the drop checker gets lime green, even kind of yellowish. Move it around the tank to see if CO2 is present everywhere. Be careful not to gas your fish.

regards,
dutchy.
 

nipat

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May 23, 2009
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growitnow;51916 said:
Hi,

Day 25 of 90gal. Blyxa japonica centers are really starting to melt. Happening to all of them including some getting current from CO2 outflow. Seeking suggestions/feedback. Too low light? (note 8hrs 110w). Expected break in of new planing? CO2?

Also, heteranthra zostifolia has done poorly, not grown much since planting, stems melting. GSA really starting to ramp up on glass and lower leaves of staurogyne. Hygro corymbosa siamensis has not grown in 3 weeks since planting.

90gal, Flourite
4x55w CF AH supply w/ reflectors (4hrs 110w + 2hrs 220w + 4hrs 110w)
KNO3 8.5g (15ppm), 3x
KH2PO4 1.5g (3ppm), 3x
K2SO4 10g (13ppm), 3x
TPN 20ml, 3x
GH booster 4tsp 1x
CO2, 2.6bps drop checker green
flow: Eheim 2128 x 2; plus Eheim 1260 driving AM1000 the output of which is split L and R
stocking: 4 congo tetras, handful of small tetras & a few SAEs

thanks, click pic to enlarge
growitnowView attachment 1461View attachment 1462

I think it may be from too low light, try increasing the 220w period.
110w per 90 gallon may be OK for some tanks, some scapes, but it is
too close to the margins.
 

nipat

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May 23, 2009
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Looking at your pictures (they couldn't be viewed when I wasn't logged in),
I'm not sure if your Blyxa is just "bronzing" or really melting. If it's bronzing,
that is normal when it's replanted in different environment.
 

growitnow

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Hi, thanks.

As my starting point, I dose 20ml Tropica Plant Nutrition, 3x per week (full EI suggests 15ml, 3x). I have not added or addressed iron so far, assuming there was (sufficient?) iron in TPN.

If 20ml of Tropica Plant Nutrition, 3x per week is not sufficient, is there a ballpark recommendation for what would be suitable for my 90gal?

Is there a ballpark recommendation for how many ml (I have Seachem liquid Iron), and how often, iron should be dosed?

re" "expected bronzing", since I have not had blyxa before, I don't know what that might look like. I do know the center leaves on my blxya, in addition to loosing color as in pics, are also curling up. Don't look right/good. The blyxa are actually Tom's from when he was offloading stauro, etc. Of course they were pristine and beautiful when first planted but now they're in my hands !

thanks,
growitnow
 

hbosman

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I would shoot for at least .1 ppm iron daily. The fertilator has a selection for TPN. You will see you are dosing closer to .04. If you have Seachem iron, you might want to try .1 ppm of that and .1 ppm of tpn on alternate days. By the way, you could safely dose .1 ppm of both everyday since iron doesn't last long in the water column. I dose .14 iron daily from a mixture of CSM+B and chelated iron and my Blyxa is nice and green and algae free.
 
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growitnow

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Hi,

Thanks I am familiar with Fertilator but did not observe iron dosing options, so that is helpful.

Not sure if anyone can clarify but the label for Flourish Iron suggests to add 1ml/10gal. If I plug 9ml for 90gal into the Fertilator, that adds .26ppm iron.

If I add 4ml Flourish Iron that adds .12ppm iron; if I follow bottle recommendation of 9ml that adds .26ppm iron. Should I just ignore the bottle and add whatever computes to .1ppm?

thanks,
 

growitnow

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If I'd prefer not to dose daily, can I add iron with macros? With trace mix?

Right now I add macros in AM, and trace (TPN) several hour later in afternoon, so I only have to dose 3x per week.
 

dutchy

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If I put together all given advice, the cause seems to be:

not enough CO2
not enough light
nothing wrong
not enough micro's
not enough Fe

confusing, isn't it?:confused:

regards,
dutchy
 
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borman

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Dear growitnow
At least i find man with the sampe problem as me.
I have same melting problem with blyxa. What i can tell you 100% - its not a CO2 issue. I have a lot of CO2 (my DC is yellow at day end). Its not helped. I have good T5 light step method (2*54-2hour 4*54- 6 hour 2*54 -2 hour), trying to maintain 0,6-1.0 of PO4, adding daily 0.1 of Fe gluconate. So blyxa is reddish and melting from the center. Now i trying to reduce light in active phase - may be its too much light for her. My friend have lowtech tank with small amount of light/co2/ferts - and his blyxa is green and bushy. So please keep us informed about your progress.

Regards
Larry
 

growitnow

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I began adding iron. My water quality report indicates "
 
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