plants not growing well, what's the possible cause?

[Koen_v_V]

Just curious: Are you still using a 100 Watts on a 130 gallon?

Nope I'm at 150 watts for about 8 weeks now (3 tubes of 49w T5HO)

I'll try to tweak the CO2 the upcoming weeks, but my first child is about being born, so not sure I have the time for it.

I'll give an update about a few weeks, we'll see how things progress.

 

[dutchy]

Good luck with your expected child

Maybe you could ask Yme to lend you his PAR meter. That way you can be sure about how much light to use. You both live in Amsterdam, am I right?

regards;
dutchy

 

[Koen_v_V]

thanks!

Nope, I living in Woerden, like 20 km south of A'dam.

 

[dutchy]

ok if you ever want to try, you can use my PAR meter. I'm in The Hague.

regards,
dutchy

 

[Koen_v_V]

I surely want to try this thing, but it sure not this upcoming weeks. Could you PM me your mail address, I can contact you?

 

[dutchy]

ok. no problem.

regards,
dutchy

 

[Koen_v_V]

Hi Guys,

Tank is stilll going strong, no sign of set back. Plants are generally healthy and growing good.

I guess stable CO2 and good flow by the koralias was the key to this success so far.

Just a picture to give you guys an idea what it looks like today:

I've attached a bigger picture for more details.

I hope you enjoy and thank you all guys for the support!

 

[dutchy]

Hi Koen,

Looks very good. Seems like you have it under control

regards,
dutchy

 

[scottward]

Hi Koen,

Looking good!

So you're currently using 2xAM1000's still? What's your CO2 usage like? How long is your bottle lasting?

Scott.

 

[Koen_v_V]

Hi Koen,
Looking good!
So you're currently using 2xAM1000's still? What's your CO2 usage like? How long is your bottle lasting?
Scott.

I'm stilll running on 2 AM1000s. The tank (63'' x 31'' x 22'' = gross 180 gal) is getting 220 bubbles per minute (24/7) now, and those are AM1000 bubbles. Not sure how long my 22lb bottle is lasting, couple of months, let say 3?

But I can clearly see shortages with some species when biomass is rising when not pruning regularly. After pruning, the species are getting in healthier shape days after.

So more tweaking is to be done, not sure it's the CO2 though.

 

[scottward]

Cool. Why 24/7 though? You could obvisouly save yourself heaps of CO2 by not running it overnight. And how much water surface movement do you have? Could you reduce this some more to save on CO2? Are you using the 'dual venturi mod'?

 

[Koen_v_V]

I'nm not using any mod. My flow in the AM1000s is just about keeping the gas in the AM1000, so not a single bubble is coming from the outtakes in the tank. So I have 100% efficiency in getting the CO2 gas in the water and no (irritating) mist in the tank..

24/7 because I wanting to be sure enough CO2 is in the water, even during night times. This to rule out as cause for problems I had before. Downfall is that I can get shortages during day or to much build up during night as CO2 needs and uptake increases with more biomass. Then I maybe will shut down one of the two CO2 outtake on the regulator during night times, as I have a solenoid in stock.

We will see...

 

[hbosman]

Koen,

Your Moss walls look fanastic. If my tank was a little deeper front to back, I would have to try something like that.

On another note, I would encourage you to shut off your CO2 at night. I resisted using a solenoid for years because, I figured the cost of the solenoid would even out any savings you would have on the gas and hated the idea of adding another timer and power cord to the setup. I did eventually listen to the advice of Tom Barr and others and am glad I did. When I ran CO2 24/7, every time I would adjust the metering valve, I would have to check CO2 levels first thing in the morning and then as soon as I got home from work. With the CO2 being shut off at night, I don’t have to worry about killing anything overnight when CO2 will be high and O2 will be low. I can now feel more “at ease” to adjust the CO2 level a little higher than maybe necessary, since it would be less likely for it to build up to deadly levels during the day when it is being used by the plants. I think you can successful without a solenoid but, I think you might sleep easier at night after making CO2 changes, with it turned off at night.

 

[scottward]

You could certainly get better mileage out of your bottle by using the solenoid and not running 24/7. Also, I noticed in an earlier photo a Koralia pointing at the surface - this must be degassing a lot of CO2 and hence pushing your consumption up higher?

 

[Koen_v_V]

Also, I noticed in an earlier photo a Koralia pointing at the surface - this must be degassing a lot of CO2 and hence pushing your consumption up higher?

Based on recommendation on this forum by 'experts' I have a koralia pointed upwards. Degassing CO2 will be a result, but adding O2 during night will be the case as well. CO2 gas is not that expensive, so I give it a go.

With the suggestion shutting it down, I will think about shutting 50% of the flow by closing off one of the two outtakes. I am definately convinced that CO2 levels at night are higher and CO2 levels during the day a succes factor for plant growth. And the higher the biomass, the greater the uptake and the greater difference with night levels.

 

[hbosman]

Based on recommendation on this forum by 'experts' I have a koralia pointed upwards. Degassing CO2 will be a result, but adding O2 during night will be the case as well. CO2 gas is not that expensive, so I give it a go.

With the suggestion shutting it down, I will think about shutting 50% of the flow by closing off one of the two outtakes. I am definately convinced that CO2 levels at night are higher and CO2 levels during the day a succes factor for plant growth. And the higher the biomass, the greater the uptake and the greater difference with night levels.

Last night my aquarium had the thickest surface film I had ever seen so, I added a powerhead and pointed it towards the surface. This morning the film was gone but, I was surprised to notice my drop checker was still lime green. I expected to lose more CO2 than I did. I guess the powerhead will stay. My CO2 is added via another powerhead with a split impeller modification. The lights, solenoid and CO2 powerhead are all on the same timer. That way when I have a summer power outage, I only have to reset one timer. I have the CO2 powerhead on the timer just in case the solenoid sticks open. That way, the CO2 will bubble harmlessly to the surface at night.

 

[fishluvr]

Problem: My plants are green and have been for months now. There are no signs algae or holes in the leaves. They are not burning or dying. My water parameters seem to check out okay and fish have been thriving happily for over a year now. The only issue is that they are not growing. They look like I just planted them all but its been months and some of the leaves are beginning to thin out a bit.
Temp: 78° F
Nitrate 15 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
phosphates - perfect
pH: 6.8
no ammonia

What am I doing wrong? They can't be in shock or anything because I acclimated them before putting them in the water. There is plenty of restored nutrients in the soil. I fertilize also with liquid fertilizer; 8 drops of Iron & Manganese (Kent Marine product) every day. I don't do water changes so there are no dramatic changes, only when I occasionally add fresh water to that thats been evaporated out (but I make sure its the same pH before going in). What am I missing? Cant figure it out.

 

[Biollante]

Stick With One Thread, Even If You Are Afraid You Are Not Going To Like The Answer

Hi,

Phosphates, perfect, please enlighten us.

Why not stick to Lighting Problem? Plants not growing.... where people are trying to help you, though it may well be the problem is something you do not wish to discuss.

Biollante