Got plants in today

[Rivercats]

Got in some new plants today. There were a couple plants in the tank that just weren't doing anything for me. I got some

Nesaea pedicellata 'Golden'

and it is awesome. The stems are bright pink and the leaves are a deep yellow. I also got Rotala Wallichii that is really nice looking too. Finally took out the water spite from when the tank was first set up and removed the Telanthera Rosefolia (Alternanthera reineckii). The telanthera has georgeous bright fushia underleaves but the top of the leaves were a coppery green that just wasn't attractive to me. Anyway the Nesaea Golden is one of the best colored plants I've ever seen. Anyone ever have any of this? I'm going to get pic's in about 3 weeks after growth fills in. Tank looks really funny now with about 2/3 mature big plants and these new stem plantings.

 

[fort384]

I had some awhile back. It is easier to maintain than the rotala W. What kind of lighting/fert dosing are you running? Rotala W is in my opinion one of the coolest plants to grow because if you can get it looking good, you know you have this planted tank stuff down.

 

[aqua_chem]

Wallichii also has issues with harder water sometimes. It's a nice plant thought with a range of colors.

 

[Rivercats]

I have a 220g, run 3x150w HID MH - 4x39w T5HO, 12 hour on T5's with 6 hour burst
(2pm-8pm) on MH's. Organic soil capped with Eco-complete. Dose PPS-Pro daily. 10 gallon a day WC. Today GH 4, KH 4, PH 7. Use glutaraldehyde daily. The Nesaea was already coloring up today, new leaves are coming in a dark copper color blending into a deep yellow towards the middle. I left a good amount of space between each planted stem since I read leaves can get up to 3 inches. The entire stalks of R. Wallichii is a deep shade of pinkish mauve today. I'm very impressed with the color they are already showing.

 

[fort384]

Sounds great. The softer water will help. I also had great success getting some nice oranges and pinks out of rotala w by N-limiting the tank. It s a fine line though.

 

[aqua_chem]

River, hear me out on something.

You need CO2.

Your plants don't need CO2. Your tank doesn't need CO2. Your algae (if there is any) doesn't need CO2. You need it. You have an excellent taste in plants and could benefit from it so incredibly much. Adding CO2 could catapult you into a whole new dimension of aquascaping.


Dwell on it. Calculate how long it would take for a CO2 system to pay for itself by replacing that Excel sucking tank of yours. I would very much like to see what you would do with it.

 

[Rivercats]

I also have Rotala macrandra and read the same thing. I've been watching my nitrates trying to stay around 10ppm but upped my phosphates to 1.0. I've noticed improved color on the macrandra and also on my Limnophila aromatica 'hippuroides'. Plus my
Pogostemon helferi has finally taken off with no more sporatic white tips.

 

[aqua_chem]

Sounds great. The softer water will help. I also had great success getting some nice oranges and pinks out of rotala w by N-limiting the tank. It s a fine line though.

Just a small point here that I would like to disagree with/clarify. Do not N-limit your tank in the technical sense of the word. That's a recipe for BGA every time. Try and keep nitrates low (<10) but not limited. You never want to get to 0 ppm nitrate.

 

[Rivercats]

Aqua Chem I have been dwelling on it big time for about 2 weeks now. I'll admit, I'm more than alittle intimidated by it. I'm old school, started keeping tanks in the 70's and this ole dog knows it will only make the tank better. Problem is I don't even know where to start, I've researched and read till I'm blue in the face. Don't know what brands are best, know I want a Ph control, timer, and heck don't have my list. I just look at it and go how the heck does it all go together. I know I am making a bigger deal than it probably is but there are no handy men in this house hold. He passed and we girls are not mechnically inclined... at all! At least I am using glutaraldehyde Metricide 14 and diluting it down, getting about 4 bottles to 1 of Excel. Still I know in the long run the CO2 will pay for itself and after the $$ that went into this tank whats a few hundred more.

 

[Rivercats]

Aqua Chem here is another thing I don't understand/can't explain... remember I couldn't keep iron levels in my tank and was having some white new growth on Pogostemon helferi ? When I upped my KH2PO4 and K2SO4 in my macro mix I noticed suddenly my iron has stablized at .01 to .02. Does one have anything to do with the other? I know my basics but this is over my head. There has been a sutle change in the tanks dynamic's and plant growth but just don't know why. No more P helferi issues.

 

[aqua_chem]

Here is this as a good starting point. We will be happy to answer any questions you still have.

It's possible you were mistaking iron deficiency for phosphate deficiency. Are the effected areas still white?

 

[fort384]

I ran tanks with no BBA or algae that I used pps pro on. I dosed N daily but kept it where at the end of a photoperiod I would get 0 Nitrates. That tank was one of the best looking setups I ran.

And I agree on co2. It is easy once you get it setup. Easier than glutaraldehyde dosing

 

[Rivercats]

It's possible you were mistaking iron deficiency for phosphate deficiency. Are the effected areas still white?

It could be, iron made it go away but since upping the phosphate it went away permenantly. No white and they have taken off, new plantlets now almost daily. But now there is a steady .01-.02 of cleated iron reading in the water and I am barely adding any extra now. Phosphate definitely has played a roll in fixing the issue.

Thanks for the link... I'm still debating what to get because I know the tank will only get better using it.

 

[aqua_chem]

I recently purposely induced severe iron deficiency in one of my tanks. The resulting pathology was that new growth was stark white. After restarting micronutrient dosing, the plant started growing normal again, but the white from the deficient growth stayed white. The reason for this has to do with mobile and immbobile nutrients. Plants can 'move' some nutrients around to accommodate growth or whathaveyou, most notable N, P, and K, while others are pretty much permanently installed in plants once they are initially placed there.

If your plants healed themselves, I'm starting to suspect that it was some weird phosphate pathology, or possibly an interaction between the two at a biochemical level within the plant (Fe needed to utilize phosphate, etc).

 

[aqua_chem]

I ran tanks with no BBA or algae that I used pps pro on. I dosed N daily but kept it where at the end of a photoperiod I would get 0 Nitrates. That tank was one of the best looking setups I ran.

And I agree on co2. It is easy once you get it setup. Easier than glutaraldehyde dosing

You're still not limiting by N though as long as the plants are getting all the N they need, even if they are just getting enough.

 

[fort384]

Ok. We are talking semantics then. I am saying I limited the available nitrogen in the tank by target dosing to just over 0 each day. the plants were taking up less N than they were capable of - hence the tank was N limited.

I would agree about the Fe vs. PO4 deficiency. If it is an Fe deficiency any deficient new growth has to be trimmed as it won't get better just by reintroducing Fe.

Interesting reading as well.

 

[Rivercats]

I would agree about the Fe vs. PO4 deficiency. If it is an Fe deficiency any deficient new growth has to be trimmed as it won't get better just by reintroducing Fe. .

Actually the plant's white area's did green up with just increasing iron. But they kept reoccuring, and not on all plants, just some. But once I upped the phosphate to 1ppm the white areas healed, stayed green, and have had no more occurences. I have never dealt with anything like that before.

 

[fort384]

Very strange. Maybe I missed it... Were you testing for chelated iron? Are you sure it was bottoming out?

 

[aqua_chem]

Sounds like a case of comorbidity to me.

 

[Rivercats]

Very strange. Maybe I missed it... Were you testing for chelated iron? Are you sure it was bottoming out?

Here is the link to the whole iron subject that is somehow tying into the current phosphate.... http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/growing-pogostemon-helferi-question-220038.html after reading this maybe the conversation will make more sense.