just for sharing....

As you may know, I have now a small temporary tank of 100x30x30 cm. Two weeks ago my stargrass turned white at the tip and died :-(
I got some new stems and upped my ferts. For now, It seems that the the new stargrass is happy and kicking!

this is how it looked three weeks ago:



and this is how it looks now:



In general I am quite happy. Most of the plants are growing, and are not looking too bad. On the other hand, plants like the tonina and wallichii are in the tank only for a week. So maybe it doesn't say much.

Still, things can be better. for instance, the balsamica is still looking a bit ratty. There are some transparant leaves in the peplis diandra and most of the proserpinaca has melted.

I also bought some boraras, but they died within 15 minutues due to CO2 poisoning.... The pH was 5.8, but set it now to 6.22. I also got the drop checker, made some KH 4 osmosis water and put in the tank. I couldn't make a nice picture when it was in the tank but this was the colour 5 seconds after I removed it from the tank:



Is this the right colour??? Also, My testkist tested a KH of 3.5. A reasonable error?

Furthermore, I do have again problems with BGA. I did of course the regular blackouts, KNO3 adding etc, but it didn't remove the BGA. Just a bit of old fashion thinking: do you think it s a bad idea to lower the PO4 to 0.5 but keep the same dosing scedule? (PO4 is now 1-1.2)

This is my regime( more or less): any options for improvement?

saturday/sunday: 50% waterchange and adding 8 ppm NO3, 0.2 ppm PO4. after two hours 7 ml TMG and 1.5 ml flourish iron and 3 ml excel.
monday morning: 3 ppm NO3, 0.2 ppm PO4, 3 ml excel. afternoon: 3 ml TMG and 1.5 ml flourish iron.
tuesday: 3 ml excel.
wednesday morning: 3 ppm NO3, 0.2 ppm PO4, 3 ml excel. afternoon: 3 ml TMG and 1.5 ml flourish iron
wednesday/thursday: 50% waterchange and adding 8 ppm NO3, 0.2 ppm PO4. after two hours 7 ml TMG and 1.5 ml flourish iron and 3 ml excel.
thursday: 3 ml excel (see above)
friday morning: 3 ppm NO3, 0.2 ppm PO4, 3 ml excel. afternoon: 3 ml TMG and 1.5 ml flourish iron.

lights:
3x TL8 with reflectors
nr 1: 10 hours but on glass which has quite some calcium deposits. A lot of light is not passing through.
nr 2: 10 hours
nr 3: 1 hour

I noticed that only after adding the thrid TL for only one hour, the blyxa turned from green to more reddish. I guess, the light amount is about right.....


I started adding flourish iron after the first batch of stargrass died. Don't know whether I need it. Excel ading is more for algae issues instead of carbon source. I add less PO4 than the EI says, but levels are between 1 and 1.25 (excluding measurement error).

thanks for any suggestions!

yme

And just some pics:

nobody????

not even someone with an idea about the CO2 level in the tank?

greets,

yme

My pH drop checker turns about the same color as you show in the picture.

I think something is weird when H balsamica does not grow well but R wallichi and T fluvitalis does.

The only obvious thing might be cycling between good and bad CO2 each day etc or if things(CO2 declines and you tweak it a bit later.

Otherwise, perhaps copper in the tap water etc might be the issue.
Good large water changes, good CO2, etc ought to help a lot.

H balsmaica grows like a weed once it gets going.
Hard or soft water, inert substrates like EC, flourite, sand, SMS, ADA AS etc.
The only reason if you dose the EI nutrients you are left with is CO2.

From there it goes to tap water metals like copper.
But generally it is something we overlook when trying to figure it out.


Regards,
Tom Barr

thanks shane!

The tonina and wallichii are in only for 2 weeks now. I *think* that the wallichii is doigg just fine. Yesterday I had to trim two stems that reached the surface!! (I never had to trim this plant before, they just looked ratty and then died). I don't expect much from the tonina. No ADA AS and a KH of 4-5. Probably very hard to get this working.
And about the balsamica. It was in a very ba condition when I put it in the tank. Maybe it is just recovering. time will tell.

Another thing that I wondered about: Would it be possible to have just a little cup (or something similar) filled with ADA AS where I can grow the tonina in? In this way the tonina gets its ferts while I don't have to but AS for the complete tank. (which is in my opinion not necessary, since plants are doing in general all right)
greets,

yme

Sure, you can do the pot or cup of ADA AS. I'd suggest just doing the entire tank though if you like these species.

Regards,
Tom Barr

I am still a bit hasitating concerning a complete ADA AS tank. Rememeber that I am dutch, therefore I like to replant or regroup my plants more than good is for them. This will disturb the AS very much. Thus the organics will come into the water. And the fact that ammonia is bound to clay doesn't comfort me.

greets,

yme

Hi there!

I would like to share some of my encountered issues;
The balsamica is doin great after all, but the tonina and wallichii not. Just like it used to be. So, my thoughts were: increase the CO2 levels. The CO2 drop checker was now yellowish, not light green any more. I have not noticed a difference in health considering the tonina and wallichii, bu the peplis diandra and hemianthus micranthemum are beginning to get stunted at the new growth. This is probably not a direct effect of increased CO2 levels? Or can there be after all a CO2 level that is too high for the plants?

greets,

yme

No, the CO2 is not too high for the plants...........however it may be too high for the fish!

That is our upper limit for adding CO2: fish health and well being.
This is the most critical of all parameters to focus on.

For all the banter and debate on the web over EI, over ADA and various "methods", I think I am one of the very few people that give CO2 proper and due attention.
I might be very critical about it, but with good reason, it's the plants/fish health that are very much linked to it as well as algae related issues.

I would suggest you try this CO2 mist method directed at the specific species of interest here, the Tonia and the Rotala.
Have the current push the CO2 mist directly into the groups that are hardest tom grow.

I have been successful growing this species of Tonia and any other plants in inert substrates.

As you are more concerned about Dutch planting styles, I agree ADA might not be for you. But one concern many have is using a more easy to grow suitable species effectively rather than harder "species of the month or year".

Check out NBAT's web site going back several years, each of the top 5-10 winners have very good strong themes and make wonderful models.

Pay attention to the foreground care and look.
It takes about 8-12 weeks to get a tank into that condition.
2x a week water changes, thoughtful consideration about pruning and knowing how fast each plant species will grow, so timing is important.

That way you have a nice very thick group of plants for each and every group!
Clean tanks win contest also. Water changes really help and staying on top of everything does as well.

Regards,

Tom Barr