plant health

[kevinicus]

My hc isn't doing so well. Its been planted for about 1 month and it really has not taken off. actually the most of it has died back since i first planted it and this is what i have left.

I've done my best to replant the bits that are left alive.


my tanks run with pressured co2 using a ceramic diffuser.
I like to think i have plenty of co2 as my bps is un-countable using the bubble counter and the indicator shoes a nice green with yellow edges.

I dose with EI but only leave lights on for 3 hrs and 45 minutes

My lighting is a 150W MH which is placed 30cm above water surface and the total distance from the light to the ground is 55cm(given ~5cm soil)
I have very high water circulation in the tank with a 2215 and a 2213 running.

The tank is 120L

Since the start up of the tank I have been a good boy and kept up with weekly 50% water changes and consistent dosing of ferts.
I dose 2ml seachem flourish and iron every odd day.


I'm disappointed in the hc's growth even the bits remaining are not lush green in comparison to the other plants such as Rotala Sp green.
My chain sword also has some holes in the leaves, im not sure if this is the work of my sucker cat fish or if there is some kind of deficiency

can anyone provide some advice on what to do?
Should I just be more patient with the lawn?

Also, In general i haven't had any major algae issues. I do have some green spot on the glass. is that almost in avoidable in a fish tank or is it signs of an imbalanced tank

 

[VaughnH]

The thing that stands out is the short photoperiod. There is a minimum time to have the lights on and still get the plants to grow. You may be less than that minimum, which I seem to recall is 6 hours or possibly more.

 

[Tom Barr]

Here's my 38 Gall using HC only and EI dosing and ADA As and a ceramic CO2, and a 150W HQI, but it's on for 9 hours and about 45cm above the water:

Pearling pretty madly...........

So.........nutrients are pretty assured, light is a bit too intense and perhaps raise it higher and run it longer.

The rest is CO2, which that poor looking HC obviously has not had much of...........
HC is relatively an easy plant..........if there's ample CO2.


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[kevinicus]

thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post.

I should also mention that I'm using ADA soil.

I will raise the light up higher(15cm) and increase my photo periods.

In terms of CO2, I'm currently using the cal aqua inline diffuser to diffuse CO2 into the tank.
Maybe i should look at an alternative method to more efficiently diffuse co2 into the tank?
Possibly move the diffusing unit closer to the Eheim unit to increase the contract time between the co2 bubbles and the water.

I do notice that the bubbles coming out of the diffuser are not that small and I am not getting 100% diffusion. Could that be a result of the turbulence within the diffuser joining the mist up?
I'll give it another clean as well to ensure that algae/scum is not blocking pores of the ceramic disk to improve CO2 diffusion.

I also have a bit of water surfance movement since i was getting a scummy build up. Should I leave surface movement to the light only to increase the amount of CO2 during the lighting periods?

I'll report back in 2 weeks to see how these changes have made an effect.
Since the tank has started my Rotala sp green has been able to pearl but Riccia and hc has not responded well at all.

 

[Tom Barr]

when Riccia pearls, you are talking good CO2, that's a good indicator, this is really telling........you do not have enough CO2.
The sediment has plenty(ADA AS), so does the water.......
Light is enough.........

So it's a CO2 issue.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[kevinicus]

well, I've raised the light up by an additional 15cm.
I've reduced water surface movement and prolonged the lighting period. This in turn increased co2 as I use a solenoid to control the co2.
I've actually had to reduce the co2 a bit since the fish were gasping...
my CO2 indicator is almost yellow.
I guess by raising the light its lessened the plants appetite for co2 as well and in general increasing the available co2 levels in the tank.

So far, my HC is pearling and so is my riccia! (thats the first time I've seen riccia pearl in this tank)

good signs already, I cant wait to see how much can change within a few weeks


thanks for the advice Hoppy and Tom!!