Calcium or something different?

[Karel15]

Dear friends,
thank you very much for this forum. Always when I have any problem, I can search your advices at first and it usually helps. But now I have a problem and I can not find any solution.

I have 30 gallon tank. I made some changes month and half ago. I changed several plants and I also add some lightning. I had 1,5w per gallon, now I have 3,6 wats per gallon (Osram 840).

Of course, I had some problems, but all is solved (BBA, BGA). But I have new problem - plants. I have Rotala Macrandra. It grows fast and nice, but leaves look very strange. Also, I had nice Pogostemon Helferi. But now the leaves are short and with nearly white center. Also, I can see melting leaves of Hydrotriche hottoniflora. It looks like glass. See pictures.
And Myriophyllum Aquaticum stops growing sometimes and whole plant bend down.
I have only 4 betta, 4 otocinclus and 2 corydoras panda. That is all. But, I add PMDD ( it contains 33g MgSO4 * 7H2O p.a. + 14g K2SO4 p.a. + 9,6g Plantex CSM+B), KNO3 and KH2PO4.
I add PMDD to keep Fe about 0,1, KNO3 to keep NO3 about 2-5 and KH2PO4 to keep PO4 about 0.1 - 0.5 ( NO3O4 about 6:1). Hardness is 6kH and 12 GH.
I also add CO2 (yeast) to keep pH about 6.8

Please, what do you think about my plants? I think that my problems could be caused by lack of Calcium. I do not think that potassium can be so high to block it. What is your opinion? Am I mistaken? What would you suggest? Thank you very much.
Karel

 

[Gerryd]

Hi,

I think your issues are more related to lack of c02. When you increased the light amount (more than DOUBLE!!!) did you also increase the amount of c02, macros, and micros to compensate? Plants also need time to adjust to new environmental changes...............

You doubled the amount of light but kept the same c02 level....

That is trouble. How do you measure your c02 content? Using a drop checker? Do the plants pearl under all of that light?

Light drives plant growth. The higher the light the higher the demand for c02 and other nutrients.

The plants do not have sufficient and STABLE c02 and macros/micros for the lighting level. Yeast c02 is not as stable as a pressurized setup and this can affect plant growth. Tom has evidence that c02 content changes dramatically during the day even with a pressurized system.

Can you raise the light fixture or remove a bulb but still have a good spread of light in the tank?

Please provide some more details on light, maintenance, filters, etc.

Hope this helps.

 

[Karel15]

Thank you for reply. I do not measure CO2, I only have JBL CO2 perma test. It works according to Tillman table probably. I do not add chemicals, so it could works. CO2 should be about 40-50. But I am not sure. I have it on during night too. I know that CO2 is not stable, I think that it is enough. I plan to buy pressurized CO2.

I doubled the light, but I changed nearly all plant. I keep only Limnophyllas, the rest is new.

I can not change lights. I have light demanding plants including glossostigma and similar. I could leave some plants to shade a bit, but shall I really keep Rotalas in shade? They grow very nice, they have new stems. Only the leaves shape ...

Pearling - yes, nearly all plants are pearling. Aquarium looks like champagne sometimes.

Fertilizers - I already wrote what I add. I add it every day in the morning.

Filter - I have internal with slow water movement and ramp. In is at one corner and out in opposite corner.

 

[Karel15]

Dear friend, here is actual photo from the end of the day...
You can see strange Rotala leaves. The second picture is Hotoniflora - you can see starting "glass" on the leaves.

I would think that it is caused by overdosing of something. But I do not know what it could be. Some plants nearly stoped growing and after several days without PMDD, only with NO3 and KH2PO4, it starts grows again. I also add NO not only with KNO3, but also by water changes. Tap water has 23,5 NO3, so if I change 10 litres, I add 2,3 NO3 to akva. Then I only add PO4 to about 0,2 - 0,3.

Could adding KNO3 (plus KH2PO3 and PMDD) cause so high K that it could block Ca?

Or, what could it be caused by? I think that these leaves are not normal.