Hello all.
I'll try to make this as thorough as I can, but in any case my issue is that plants don't go as well as I wanted them to, the leaves on larger plants seem to age fast, smaller plants wither and die, slow plants get fuzzy algae on their edges... I tried so many things already, but nothing really helped in a noticeable way. So I would like some help pinpointing where the largest fault lies.
Tank info:
It's been running for around 9 months already, with no lack of maintenance.
330L - 1,3x0,5x0,5m
Illumination: 2x Finnex ALC-24
Filter: Oase Biomaster 350 canister 1100L/h. Input with surface skimmer, output is a lily pipe.
Substrate: DIY substrate with an earthworm humus layer (~2cm layer) covered with fine gravel (1~2mm)
CO2: Cylinder, using inline diffuser at the canister's output. A dropcheck is usually around light green~yellow, indicating a high CO2 concentration.
Fertilization: DIY powder mix with KNO3, KH2PO4, KCl, MgSO4, adding 20ppm K, 7ppm NO3, 3ppm PO4 and 0,5 °GH Mg weekly, divided into 3 doses. I also dose a micros liquid fert that emulates CSM+B, roughly 0,23ppm Fe weekly, dosed everyday. I complement with 0,4ppm FE gluconate weekly, in 3 doses.
Water changes: 30%+ weekly. I add CaSO4 and MgSO4 to raise the GH from 3 to ~7.
Water parameters that I can measure:
pH ranges from 7,2 to 6,2, due to the CO2 injection; KH between 0,5 and 1. GH around 7; NO3 roughly 20ppm; PO4 roughly 2~3ppm. That's the NO3 and PO4 measurements just before water changes.
I have 2 4500L/h wavemakers helping with water flow, one boosting the output of the filter to add range to the CO2 mist, the other one complementing the other side of the aquarium. Both are positioned near the water surface, tilted slightly down so that the water reaches the bottom of the tank, to help with O2 diffusion.
Plants that grow OK: Echinodorus small bear, red nymphaea, different cryptocorynes, microsorum narrow leaf and windelov, Echinodorus parviflorus, blyxa japonica, unknown moss, H. corymbosa compact. Even though they are surviving and growing, they seem to age fast, the older leaves get some fuzzy algae and I have to trim them frequently to remove these leaves. The corymbosa are constantly losing old leaves, filled with holes, and some traitor is taking a bite at the new leaves, but I think that could be a sign that they are weak.
Plants that wither and die: pinnatifida, staurogyne, P. helferi, lilaeopsis novaezealandiae, Marsilea hirsuta, A. reineckii mini, hydrocotile tripartita mini, monte carlo (this one is surviving, barely), and maybe others that I won't remember.
Anubias nana and coffefolia, and bolbitis are now growing well, but in complete shade, receiving zero direct light. When they were exposed to the light, they would grow fast, but were overcome with all kinds of algae. Still to this day, if one of the leaves of the bolbitis escapes the shade and touches the light, it gets infested with algae, it's like a vampire...
Over these months, I have tried a bit of everything, fine tuning the dosages, adding and moving around the circulation pumps, adding media in the cannister, raising CO2 to the point of seeing the fish gasping...
My 2 biggest suspicions are lighting and substrate. For the substrate, unfortunately I can't do much about it right now, but I do add osmocote every now and then, and the plants seem to react well to it. The humus forms a lot of gas, but I'm pretty sure it's CO2 since it doesn't smell and isn't flammable. At the start, I thought that maybe the humus was too strong for the more delicate, smaller plants, but it is a relatively thin layer and today I think that maybe it is not enough... And then there is the pinnatiffida that I planted on the hardscape and it still withered just like the others.
For the light, I can't really tell if it's too strong or too weak. Most of the plants that died wouldn't mind some stronger lighting, I suppose, and I don't think they would wither because it is too strong. But at the same time, the slower plants suffer visibly due to the excess light. I tried a bit of everything with the light, right now I'm trying to reduce it, I raised it a few centimeters, as much as I could fir inside the lid, and I reduced power the plateau from 100% to roughly 80%. I haven't really noticed any difference.
As for the photoperiod, these lamps allow for settings every 3 hours, so there isn't much flexibility... I tried a 3hrs plateau, that corresponds to 6hrs at 50%+ power, due to ramp up and down, and now it is at 6hr plateau, which adds up to 9hrs with the ramps. In every case, I leave what I consider to be very weak light for 6 more hours after the plateau, for viewing purposes. I still keep the CO2 pumping during that time, just in case. These power percentages are very dubious, they are a setting that doesn't necessarily translate directly to actual light power. The view time is mostly RGB light, under 40% power, without the white LEDs.
Other than the fuzzy algae on leaves and some BBA on the hardscape, which is slowly reducing, right now I don't have many algae issues, but during the first months it was a war.
Right now I'm trying a few less demanding plants, to see what happens.
Any input will be greatly appreciated.
I'll try to make this as thorough as I can, but in any case my issue is that plants don't go as well as I wanted them to, the leaves on larger plants seem to age fast, smaller plants wither and die, slow plants get fuzzy algae on their edges... I tried so many things already, but nothing really helped in a noticeable way. So I would like some help pinpointing where the largest fault lies.
Tank info:
It's been running for around 9 months already, with no lack of maintenance.
330L - 1,3x0,5x0,5m
Illumination: 2x Finnex ALC-24
Filter: Oase Biomaster 350 canister 1100L/h. Input with surface skimmer, output is a lily pipe.
Substrate: DIY substrate with an earthworm humus layer (~2cm layer) covered with fine gravel (1~2mm)
CO2: Cylinder, using inline diffuser at the canister's output. A dropcheck is usually around light green~yellow, indicating a high CO2 concentration.
Fertilization: DIY powder mix with KNO3, KH2PO4, KCl, MgSO4, adding 20ppm K, 7ppm NO3, 3ppm PO4 and 0,5 °GH Mg weekly, divided into 3 doses. I also dose a micros liquid fert that emulates CSM+B, roughly 0,23ppm Fe weekly, dosed everyday. I complement with 0,4ppm FE gluconate weekly, in 3 doses.
Water changes: 30%+ weekly. I add CaSO4 and MgSO4 to raise the GH from 3 to ~7.
Water parameters that I can measure:
pH ranges from 7,2 to 6,2, due to the CO2 injection; KH between 0,5 and 1. GH around 7; NO3 roughly 20ppm; PO4 roughly 2~3ppm. That's the NO3 and PO4 measurements just before water changes.
I have 2 4500L/h wavemakers helping with water flow, one boosting the output of the filter to add range to the CO2 mist, the other one complementing the other side of the aquarium. Both are positioned near the water surface, tilted slightly down so that the water reaches the bottom of the tank, to help with O2 diffusion.
Plants that grow OK: Echinodorus small bear, red nymphaea, different cryptocorynes, microsorum narrow leaf and windelov, Echinodorus parviflorus, blyxa japonica, unknown moss, H. corymbosa compact. Even though they are surviving and growing, they seem to age fast, the older leaves get some fuzzy algae and I have to trim them frequently to remove these leaves. The corymbosa are constantly losing old leaves, filled with holes, and some traitor is taking a bite at the new leaves, but I think that could be a sign that they are weak.
Plants that wither and die: pinnatifida, staurogyne, P. helferi, lilaeopsis novaezealandiae, Marsilea hirsuta, A. reineckii mini, hydrocotile tripartita mini, monte carlo (this one is surviving, barely), and maybe others that I won't remember.
Anubias nana and coffefolia, and bolbitis are now growing well, but in complete shade, receiving zero direct light. When they were exposed to the light, they would grow fast, but were overcome with all kinds of algae. Still to this day, if one of the leaves of the bolbitis escapes the shade and touches the light, it gets infested with algae, it's like a vampire...
Over these months, I have tried a bit of everything, fine tuning the dosages, adding and moving around the circulation pumps, adding media in the cannister, raising CO2 to the point of seeing the fish gasping...
My 2 biggest suspicions are lighting and substrate. For the substrate, unfortunately I can't do much about it right now, but I do add osmocote every now and then, and the plants seem to react well to it. The humus forms a lot of gas, but I'm pretty sure it's CO2 since it doesn't smell and isn't flammable. At the start, I thought that maybe the humus was too strong for the more delicate, smaller plants, but it is a relatively thin layer and today I think that maybe it is not enough... And then there is the pinnatiffida that I planted on the hardscape and it still withered just like the others.
For the light, I can't really tell if it's too strong or too weak. Most of the plants that died wouldn't mind some stronger lighting, I suppose, and I don't think they would wither because it is too strong. But at the same time, the slower plants suffer visibly due to the excess light. I tried a bit of everything with the light, right now I'm trying to reduce it, I raised it a few centimeters, as much as I could fir inside the lid, and I reduced power the plateau from 100% to roughly 80%. I haven't really noticed any difference.
As for the photoperiod, these lamps allow for settings every 3 hours, so there isn't much flexibility... I tried a 3hrs plateau, that corresponds to 6hrs at 50%+ power, due to ramp up and down, and now it is at 6hr plateau, which adds up to 9hrs with the ramps. In every case, I leave what I consider to be very weak light for 6 more hours after the plateau, for viewing purposes. I still keep the CO2 pumping during that time, just in case. These power percentages are very dubious, they are a setting that doesn't necessarily translate directly to actual light power. The view time is mostly RGB light, under 40% power, without the white LEDs.
Other than the fuzzy algae on leaves and some BBA on the hardscape, which is slowly reducing, right now I don't have many algae issues, but during the first months it was a war.
Right now I'm trying a few less demanding plants, to see what happens.
Any input will be greatly appreciated.