A Million Plant Questions

[Mr.Pleco]

All vals at my lfs at 3 for 2.99. I have a few jungles and they grow like weeds and regular Val's as well. I kid you not, the other day I trimmed a piece off one of the jungles that was about 4ft long.

 

[pleechford]

Nooooooo! *lights match*

In English though.... What is bba? I scraped it with my nail and it is hard.

Also I'm running a dual lamp solarmax ho fixture on my 55g. One flora bulb and the other color max. Can I wiggle by without co2

BBA is black beard algae. It is this dreadful looking aflame that is like seriously black. I believe it is caused by the lack of co2? Don't quote me on it though.

 

[bigbanker]

All vals at my lfs at 3 for 2.99. I have a few jungles and they grow like weeds and regular Val's as well. I kid you not, the other day I trimmed a piece off one of the jungles that was about 4ft long.

WOOZERS. are you using co2 at all?

 

[bigbanker]

BBA is black beard algae. It is this dreadful looking aflame that is like seriously black. I believe it is caused by the lack of co2? Don't quote me on it though.

Hmmm. Interesting! I'm def not running co2 right now! BUT if it is BBA it has not gotten any worse. It seems to be dying off.... Which is fine by me.

This stuff on the plant is greenish though and not dark at all until i scrap it off and take it out of the water.... at which point it is a dark green

 

[Mr.Pleco]

WOOZERS. are you using co2 at all?

ha yes

I did have some green algae that was hard to scrape off on my driftwood. It went away when I turned my co2 back on. Probably not the same stuff though

 

[skywhitney]

It sounds like it might be GSA (Green Spot Algea). It is next to impossible to get off (I have it on the glass of my tank).

 

[bigbanker]

Okay so do you leave it on the glass?

 

[bigbanker]

I want co2 but the cost!

 

[Mr.Pleco]

Co2 is pretty much just initial cost which drives a lot of people away. You could do DIY depending on how big your tank is. I got a milwaukee gauge and solenoid, controller, and tubing for like $200. Got a 20lb tank for $80 on Craigslist and it's $26 to fill. Its been going since a week after Christmas and I've only used 5lbs.

 

[bigbanker]

Ooooo not bad! The tank is 55g but ph crashes scare me.

Also, trim the jungle val or let it melt. I've got a pretty heavy bioload right now.

More plants are on the way

 

[Mr.Pleco]

I looked at the systems on aquariumplants.com too when I was doing my research. Got lots of peoples opinions and they said Milwaukee was the best for the price.

If you buy a controller it will keep the ph set at whatever you set it at. That's why I spent the extra money to get it. Plus I like toys haha. Def something to look into to take your tank to the next level.

I'm not sure what melting vals look like. I've never had any problems with any of my regular vals or jungle. I let them grow til they reach the water line and then usually trim them.

 

[skywhitney]

I just set up a CO2 system on my tank this weekend. For a 5lbs tank, Milwaukee regulator, solenoid, PH Controller, DIY reactor, and tubing it cost me about $225 ($250 after shipping costs). Its all initial cost. The maintenance cost after it is going is almost negligible. If you can afford the cost i'd definitely recommend getting the pressurized setup.

 

[pleechford]

It sounds like it might be GSA (Green Spot Algea). It is next to impossible to get off (I have it on the glass of my tank).

So do I! Do you know what is the cause of it??

 

[aqua_chem]

So do I! Do you know what is the cause of it??

Low co2, excessive light, and/or low phosphates. Thats assuming it's GSA and not GDA.

 

[pleechford]

Ooooo not bad! The tank is 55g but ph crashes scare me.

Also, trim the jungle val or let it melt. I've got a pretty heavy bioload right now.

More plants are on the way

It's just the initial crash. It's really easy to keep it stable once it reaches where it wants. I've never ha a problem with my fish because of ph and my ph stays at 6.4 in the day at 6.2-6.4 at night.

 

[pleechford]

Low co2, excessive light, and/or low phosphates. Thats assuming it's GSA and not GDA.

How can I tell the difference?



Here is a pic.

DC looks like its yellow but it's a nice lime green

 

[bigbanker]

Okie doke.


So I picked up some Oscomote. I planned on doing the whole coffee filter thing...
How many pellets in each?

 

[aqua_chem]

How can I tell the difference?

View attachment 85083

Here is a pic.

DC looks like its yellow but it's a nice lime green

Definitely GSA.

 

[pleechford]

Definitely GSA.

So bump up the co2 a bit and see if that helps?

 

[aquaponicpaw]

when should I cut off the plantlets on my sword?