Water Wisteria failing, out of nowhere!

mdwheeler

Junior Poster
Aug 24, 2010
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So i've had water wisteria in my tank for over a year now. Sadly I let the tank 'just be' and did no co2, fertilization, or anything for 6+ months. Needless to say I got back into the hobby and scraped the algae off the glass, added some new plants, rearranged the plants, vacuumed the substrate (black sand fluorite) and basically 'restarted' the tank. Oh and pulled out my little driftwood, boiled it for 5 hours and scrubbed all the 'gunk' off of it.

10 gallon

DIY co2 (not for the last week though...it went, uh, 'boom' on me)

2ml Seachem Flourish Nitrogen every day

1ml Comprehensive supplement once every other week

24 inch 2 bulb T5HO (24x2 watts)260

Dwarf Hairgrass (new), 2 types of Rotala (not sure which), Myrio Green, and the Wisteria

PLENTY of flow. Koralia nano, fluval 1plus internal (turned upside down for surface skimming) and an aqueon 10 power filter. So 182+100+260=542 gph. Yeah, welcome to endless swimming pool.


I got the algae back under control for the most part, but it seems to be coming back, especially the hair junk that doesn't come off so easily, so I've shut off one of the bulbs till I get some co2 back in the tank. The Rotala's are growing like mad, the dwarf hairgrass is fine, the myria is just alive. I've also got a small bit of vallis I found hidden (mostly dead) in the back of the tank that seems to be sprouting a little that I moved to the front.


The wisteria never had any issues before. It grew perfectly fine when I left the tank to do on its own, but now that i've pulled out all but 3 healthy stems the leaves are turning transparent and falling off. Is this a nutrient deficiency? Would adding some potassium help? Also the myria has kinda given me some issues. Its alive, but its not really growing at all. It looks like it wanted to sprout at one point, but then just quit about a quarter of the way there.
 

Ekrindul

Guru Class Expert
Jul 9, 2010
114
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Euless, TX
Did this tank always have the same amount of light it now has? or is the current lighting a recent addition? I wasn't sure from your description. An increase in light could explain it. IME, h difformis will grow very fast, even without fertilization, but will grow weaker the larger it grows. Stems will become fragile, even splitting or rotting; you'll see lots of pinholes in the leaves; large spaces between leaf nodes. Even though it is any easy plant to keep, healthy growth will require fertilization if you create conditions that force quick growth, ie. lots of light.
 

evanluke

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Aug 21, 2009
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Way too much light for DIY yeast. Too little CO2 and fertilization for the amount of light that you have. The light is an awkward fit on the tank being a full four inches longer than a 10 gallon. I would figure out how to raise the light off of the tank quite a bit to decrease the amount of light on the tank.
 

Tug

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Jan 5, 2009
1,150
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Washington, DC
I agree that the lighting should be raised. You should see steady plant growth with just a third of the light you are currently using. Implying DIY can not supply enough CO2 to a 10 gallon tank is unkind and misleading. I would say most DIY CO2 generators reach pressures around 8psi, higher in mdwheeler's case. :eek:
Pressurized CO2 systems often run the same 8psi of pressure as yeast systems. Fluctuations in CO2 levels, when the reaction/fermentation slows or goes boom, weeks when it's not functional (this happens to pressurized systems too) and CO2 diffusion are likely a problem, but mostly too much light.

Get another generator started.
Reducing the light to one bulb and hanging it a good distance above the tank. With out a PAR meeter you will need to dial in the light slowly to reach the level of intensity you want. This too will help reduce the demand for nutrients which may also be low in supply.
 

mdwheeler

Junior Poster
Aug 24, 2010
12
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1
My co2 generator is definitely sufficient for my little 10 gallon ;) (seeing that it exploded and all). I'm able to control the pressure with a gang valve. The pressure get so strong that the water actually becomes carbonated. I was away one weekend (for one night) and the gang valve got jammed a bit with some nasty yeast fizz, my check valve from petco is WAY to checking (it checks both ways I guess, more one than the other...I can barely blow through the thing its so tight!), and the pressure blue the airline right off the top of the bottle. You know when you buy a 2 liter soda and it kinda fizzes up a bunch when you first open it? Well basically the airline blowing off caused this same reaction, but 10x more than your average 2 liter since the gas could only escape through the thin pipe in the lid. All the nasty sugar yeast fizz blew out the top, spraying everywhere, even in to the tank (thankyou JESUS for 3 filters, if it wasn't for the dried sugar everywhere I wouldn't've known the thing popped).

Lighting: I've always enjoyed my 48 watts. Never had many issues with it either. I can't suspend the light because i'm saving up for an iMac (graphic design) and slowly building a 29 gallon. For now i'll just stick with 24 watts, but when I get sufficient co2 supplied i'll probably turn it back up, seeing as I want this tank to be HEAVILY planted and don't mind tending it every other day.

What other fertilization should I add? 2 ml of Nitrogen has shown great results as the plants are booming (aside from myria and wisteria). Should I up the comprehensive flourish more often? Like 1 ml a week? I'm diffusing co2 through tom's internal reactor design, venturi loop and all. If I turn off the circulation in the tank the plants are pearling quite well (when co2 is on) so I know its sufficient.


Edit: Might as well tell you what fish are in it:
3 Serpae Tetras
3 Lemon Tetras
1 White Rasbora
4 Otocinclus Catfish
 
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Tug

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Jan 5, 2009
1,150
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38
Washington, DC
OK

Some phosphate and potassium should help even your well stocked tank. Look into KH2PO4 and KNO3 powders and cover all three bases, NPK. If you think you're limiting nutrients to stave off algae, all you do is limit plant growth. Something triggers algae, but it doesn't seam to be NPK or the iron we add to our aquariums.

2ml of flourish 2-3 times a week. It's not Plantex. Not even close.

You should know your Ca and Mg levels. Probably don't need to add much if you're a Marylander. Increase the GH if you're low.

With your CO2 back and running your plants will use less light with greater efficiency. You shouldn't need both 24" T5HO bulbs. Just my two Cents.
mdwheeler; said:
What other fertilization should I add? 2 ml of Nitrogen has shown great results as the plants are booming (aside from myria and wisteria). Should I up the comprehensive flourish more often? Like 1 ml a week? I'm diffusing co2 through tom's internal reactor design, venturi loop and all. If I turn off the circulation in the tank the plants are pearling quite well (when co2 is on) so I know its sufficient.
 

mdwheeler

Junior Poster
Aug 24, 2010
12
0
1
Thankyou so much! I'll be sure to change up the routine a bit and see if it helps (surely it will).