HELP- Plant Issue Unsolved And Still Strugle For Two Years

Paulo Soares

Junior Poster
Aug 1, 2014
13
0
1
55
Portugal
Good morning to everybody,
Fisrt of all apologise me for my english if it is a little rusty. I´m Portuguese and not practicing this language as i intended.

This is my first post in the Barr Report so i´m gonna try no to be very extensive.

Problem: For two years now that all my planted tanks do MELT or my plants just grow but with a nasty color. The pictures below will speak for themselves.
This is my third plated tank and although I made changes (learning from mistakes) the problem still remains no matter what.
And i´m out of ideias of what could be the cause for this. So, I´m loosing faith and all I can do is to appeal for help. Hope you guys come up with a solution.


NOTE: I don´t have any algae in the glass, or those horrible filamentous or ciano bacter etc.

Here´s the layout and actual technical data.

Mounting date: September Eleven of 2014
Dimensions: 80x40x30 = 96 Litres
Light: Odyssea Dual Pro T5HO Series 90cm, 2x 39W ( 6500 Kelvins lamp and another of 4000 kelvins).
Filter: Eheim Eco Pro 300 / 750 Litres per Hour
Circulation Pump Sera 120 700/Litres per hour.
Lily Pypes de 13mm Rihnox
Difuser of 40 MM Rhinox
16 Litres of Tropica Substrate “Tropica Aquarium Soil
ADA Bacter 100
50% weekly water change

Ei Estimative Index fertilization:
Bottle of 500ml

KNO3 - 26.09g
KH2PO4 - 4.3g
KCl - 8.87g

10 ML / day of Macros and 5 ML of Micros.

Fish: PLatys, Spades, Neons, Caridinas Japónicas, Red Shrimp, 3 Chanda Ranga.

PLants: Taxiphyllum Spiky / Eleocharis Parvula / Staurogyne Repens / Echinodorus Quadricostatus / Rotala Macrandra / Micranthemum Monte Carlo / Pogostemon Erectus / Limnophila Sessiflora

VALUES:
KH – 7
GH -12
Nitrites - 0
Amonia - 0
Nitrates - 10
Fhosfhates - 1
PH - 6,5
Co2- Maximum. Around 30/40 PPM

Photoperiod: 8 hours. The Co2 starts one hour earlier than the lights and closes one hour earlier to.
Fish food on a daily bases at the same hour.

Here´s some photos. They grow a LOT but in this color around and beneath them.

Fisrt i´m gonna show you pictures from a month ago so you can compare:

11kjjuq.jpg


eijzig.jpg


2niwsas.jpg


o52mmv.jpg



NOW the actual scenario...


2vb0lti.jpg


nxw31z.jpg


b3smra.jpg


fd97ch.jpg


2hcfbkx.jpg



A global view from a couple of weeks ago..

287f0uc.jpg



So.. i rest my case and hope you could come with ideias.
Yours truly

Paulo Soares
 

Gerryd

Plant Guru Team
Lifetime Member
Sep 23, 2007
5,623
22
38
South Florida
Hi and welcome,

I think a lot of your issue is too little c02.

1. Did you know that diffusers can take up to 25-30 psi on the c02 regulator to work properly? If the pressure is too little, it will not work as expected.

Also, if the diffusor is inline with the canister output, the performance will suffer as the filter clogs and the flow slows.

2. Where is the diffuser placed? It is optimal LOWER in the tank with the output merging with say a powerhead to send it around the tank.

3. You may need another or a larger filter simply for mechanical filtration.

4. Double your ei dosing.

5. Do an extra 50% water change weekly.

6. Add more plants.

7. Investigate creating some surface ripple for better air/gas exchange. This will add more 02, which is safer when using c02.

Measure your c02 rate for us:

1. Take a measuring cup with markings for ml.
2. Fill with water and submerge in the tank.
3. Take the c02 hose and place it UNDER the cup so the bubbles go into the cup.
4. Time for 60 seconds and let us know how many ml were displaced by the c02 bubbles.

It may be your rate is simply too low as well.

But I would look to the other items first. There are many ways to diffuse c02.

2. Do

- - - Updated - - -

Hi and welcome,

I think a lot of your issue is too little c02.

1. Did you know that diffusers can take up to 25-30 psi on the c02 regulator to work properly? If the pressure is too little, it will not work as expected.

Also, if the diffusor is inline with the canister output, the performance will suffer as the filter clogs and the flow slows.

2. Where is the diffuser placed? It is optimal LOWER in the tank with the output merging with say a powerhead to send it around the tank.

3. You may need another or a larger filter simply for mechanical filtration.

4. Double your ei dosing.

5. Do an extra 50% water change weekly.

6. Add more plants.

7. Investigate creating some surface ripple for better air/gas exchange. This will add more 02, which is safer when using c02.

Measure your c02 rate for us:

1. Take a measuring cup with markings for ml.
2. Fill with water and submerge in the tank.
3. Take the c02 hose and place it UNDER the cup so the bubbles go into the cup.
4. Time for 60 seconds and let us know how many ml were displaced by the c02 bubbles.

It may be your rate is simply too low as well.

But I would look to the other items first. There are many ways to diffuse c02.

2. Do
 

ltb420

Lifetime Members
Lifetime Member
May 31, 2012
231
5
18
Bay Area
HELP- Plant Issue Unsolved And Still Strugle For Two Years

What part of Portugal are you from? My mom is from the Azores islands. Gerry had some great points that you should check. I'm not sure what type of sterilization is done to the tap water there but probably chlorine or chloramine. If it's the latter hopefully your adding a quality dechlorinator that also works with chloramine to neutralize it. If left untreated it could melt your plants.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Tom Barr

Founder
Staff member
Administrator
Jan 23, 2005
18,699
786
113
Add some more algae eaters, shrimp and otto cats, bristle nose plecos, the diatoms will be cleaned up then. Melting plants, poor care in the start up and generally not enough water changes.

I agree with Gerry's assessment.