Problem: Emersed Glossostigma Elatinoides

[Pailines]

Hi ppl of TBR, i have some problems with my DSM set up and im wondering if anyone has any knowledge that can address this greenhorn much appreciated.

For the past 3-4 weeks i've been attempting to grow emersed glossostigma elatinoides but lately i've ran into some problem

Parameter: a 0.5' x 1' Alum pan with clear cover(not pictured) it has a abundant amount of condensation during the morning when i put it near a sunny window and i mist weekly with a mild Seachem Flourish additive, 1 drop /32oz spray bottle.

View attachment 2554Picture1: The whole set up after 4 weeks, i've put about 2 pots of fresh grown glosso (submersed) from my LFS and it nearly doubles in size.
View attachment 2555Picture2: Here's problem number 1, i dont know why, but the glosso started to have black tips and eventually melts into a blob like the ones in the center of the photo. I mean i mist sparingly weekly, and the water level is just below the substrate line.
View attachment 2556Picture3: problem number 2, there seems to be something growing directly inside the substrate line, it feels pretty hard to the touch, and i can even scoop it up and it would hold
furthermore i could see gas bubble trapped in the 'substance' and im wondering if it's suffocating the glosso causing problem#1 or what not....quite frankly i just dont know how to even address this problem. Algae in sand? i've read about doing black out of mist EM but not quite sure if it will help, and im hesitant to do anything that could potentially desecrate the entire pan
View attachment 2557Picture4: im not sure if it's a problem or not but i seem to get some algae on the side of the pan, but the water level is really bare so im not sure either what this could be.

If anyone has any suggestion im willing to listen and indulge.

and if i broke any forum regulation, please excuse me.

Thanks
-Patrick

 

[Biollante]

Honest Question Make Me honestly Happy--Let's Explore

Hi Patrick,

Okay I love fungi! Actually I love all kinds of living things.

I’ll get to some ideas on how to correct the problems or some smart people will show up and tell us.

Before the smart folk show up can you tell me about the “hard to the touch growing thing in the substrate line?”

Can you describe the object? Is it round, cylindrical or more oblong? How long, wide, any noticeable deformities? Is it club shaped?

Does it break into pieces or more like a stick?

What does the substrate smell like? What does the “hard-to-the-touch-growing-thing-in-the-substrate-line” thing smell like?

Can you photograph the thingy?

• Take it out clean off obvious dirt and debris, perhaps even rinse it.

When you press on the substrate with your finger making a ½ inch (1.3 centimeter) depression, how long for water to pool?

Do you mind sharing where you live, is the pan exposed to the outside world, open windows so on? Are there cats or birds about?

I suspect the aluminum pan may be part of the problem. Reactive materials are generally a bad idea, maybe Azaleas and Hydrangeas would be the exception.

I suspect the substrate is too wet.

Biollante

 

[Pailines]

Hi Biollante

Before the smart folk show up can you tell me about the “hard to the touch growing thing in the substrate line?”
Can you describe the object? Is it round, cylindrical or more oblong? How long, wide, any noticeable deformities? Is it club shaped?
Does it break into pieces or more like a stick?

It's all over the pan and is seem to be growing inside the sand, but just the top 3mm or so. I took a small peice of it and put it in a container with h2o and it floats, problem is, the thing is made out of play sand.. and im sure play sand dont float in patches of quarter-inch squares However, i took it under a reading magnifying glass and find that it has some very small-almost microscopic fibers.

What does the substrate smell like? What does the “hard-to-the-touch-growing-thing-in-the-substrate-line” thing smell like?

To be honest, it smells like soil XD theres no scent of sewage or mold, and the same with the HttTGTitSB

Can you photograph the thingy?

It looks like patches of playsand, but sticking to each other.. and FLOATS and i'll try to get a picture, gotta go borrow a camera

When you press on the substrate with your finger making a ½ inch (1.3 centimeter) depression, how long for water to pool?

it pools instantly, well to be scientific, it takes about .8~ish? second?

Do you mind sharing where you live, is the pan exposed to the outside world,windows so on? Are there cats or birds about?

I live in Texas(God forbid that every aquatic-product cost like a-gazillion-dollar) and the pan is on a window sill inside, no cats or birds :

I suspect the aluminum pan may be part of the problem. Reactive materials are generally a bad idea, maybe Azaleas and Hydrangeas would be the exception.

Im not sure if it's reactive or not, but it was used before to hold human consumables, so that's why i thought it was safe for plants. But i'll look into it.

I suspect the substrate is too wet.

I kept the water level just below the substrate line, but i'll try to lower some more

Thanks Biollante
-Patrick

 

[Biollante]

Fungiturbation, Floralturbation Oh My, And I Thought This Was A Family Friendly Forum

Hi Patrick,

Yes, those small fibers binding the sand are probably fungus. Your “substrate” is undergoing fungiturbation, which seems to be competing with your desired floralturbation. Oh the drama of the soil bio-mantle! friendly

In a sense the fungus is trying to help Mycorrhizae (fungus root) the soil. The soil fungi infect plant roots trying for a symbiotic relationship, increasing the surface area available for contact with nutrients tenfold, in return the fungi get sugar.

So the whole fungus thing may not be all bad, I had thought possibly you were talking the take over the world fungi. Actually I was sort of hoping… Cats, birds and kids are major sources of contamination.

Okay the smell is good; you are still in reasonably good shape.

Ease up on the watering, while keeping the plants moist. I know this sounds contradictory, but what you are looking for is high humidity with moist or damp, not saturated soil. :gw

You may need to wick away moisture from the soil using paper towels.

You are looking for something around 8 to 10 seconds for the finger depressions to fill with water, we want to develop a “capillary zone” of sorts, that 3 millimeters deep the fungi are trying to tell you about, we would like to see the top 3-5 millimeters take a good bit longer to fill with water.

All aluminum cookware (all aluminum) is reactive, the reason one does not (should not anyway) cook tomato based recipes or whip egg whites and so forth in aluminum pans (unless it is anodized, which means the molecular structure has been changed).

Aluminum reacts with acids and bases; could be why aluminum oxides are said to be amphoteric.

I really do not know if the aluminum pan is going to ruin the project. I recommend you transfer it to a plastic container.

Generally I use plastic tubs, Sterilite are cheap and available most everywhere, Rubbermaid are sturdier but more expensive.

Should you choose not to transfer your start up… Well, you can try, maybe someone here has experience. I will ask about.

Biollante