FMJnaX
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I'll try and keep this short and simple. Basically, my anacharis has slowly been thinning out. When the original bunches were bought from the LFS, they were very bushy and full and bright green. The LFS floats them in a 20 gallon tank with standard lighting. No CO2, no high lighting. The water is room temp water with minimal movement/filtration.
Anyway, over the course of the last 2 months, it has been getting thinner and thinner in the aquarium. I only have 1 original bunch left and it's outdoors in my cold water "pond". It's still growing, though very slowly. The color is much deeper green, but it appears to be keeping the fullness. The plants that are in the aquarium are growing fine. I have to split them every week with the PWC. I'm giving them only about .7 WPG and no CO2/fertilizer. They still have a very bright color, but they are getting very thing. I believe my nutrient levels are fine because they're not sending down aerial roots.
So, what could be a cause of the thinning of my plants? I've read that colder water promotes a fuller growth, but when I checked the thermometer on the LFS growing tanks, the water was at about 74F. I'm at 78F so it shouldn't make that much of a difference. Next I thought it was my low lighting, but again, when I checked at the LFS, they were using a 20 gal tank with a 15W fluorescent (he wasn't sure about K or anything). Lastly, I thought maybe it was my surface agitation releasing too much CO2 (which I later shot down by reading anyway). As a result, I upped my water level so that the HOB's didn't cause agitation. Over the 2 week period, I say no changes. The only other thing I can think of is that I have 2 goldfish in my tank... but that should actually IMPROVE growing with the extra CO2, right?
I've read that anacharis is a low-light plant, and mid-light plant, and even a high-light plant. My most trusted information mentions it as a mid-light plant. Could it be because I don't have enough light or the right K setting? My bulb is a simple 20W 24" fluorescent, probably about 4,000K. It came with my hood. Could it be that I don't have enough CO2? I haven't tested for it, but it should be right around 3-4 ppm (fish addition and natural atmospher). I know I'm getting photosynthesis because the plants grow well... and quite fast. I've also experimented with my outdoor "pond" by making transplants. The outdoor plants have never needed splitting because they just don't grow fast enough. However, they are much fuller than the indoor plants. So, what I've been doing is I make a 50/50 switch every week. I move all of the new indoor shoots outside and bring in 1/2 of that amount I just took out. I don't see any difference here. The new shoots are full and busy at the base, but as they grow in the aquarium, they grow thin.
I know I said I would try to keep this short, but I've been dwelling on it for weeks now and can't come up with a solution. I don't want to run out and buy something that I don't have to and that's why I don't have a DIY CO2 or a new bulb... yet (I almost bought a plant bulb yesterday). I know something has to be wrong because I've NEVER seen anacharis so thin. Maybe I'm just worrying too much.... pictures when I get home.
Thanks all!
Anyway, over the course of the last 2 months, it has been getting thinner and thinner in the aquarium. I only have 1 original bunch left and it's outdoors in my cold water "pond". It's still growing, though very slowly. The color is much deeper green, but it appears to be keeping the fullness. The plants that are in the aquarium are growing fine. I have to split them every week with the PWC. I'm giving them only about .7 WPG and no CO2/fertilizer. They still have a very bright color, but they are getting very thing. I believe my nutrient levels are fine because they're not sending down aerial roots.
So, what could be a cause of the thinning of my plants? I've read that colder water promotes a fuller growth, but when I checked the thermometer on the LFS growing tanks, the water was at about 74F. I'm at 78F so it shouldn't make that much of a difference. Next I thought it was my low lighting, but again, when I checked at the LFS, they were using a 20 gal tank with a 15W fluorescent (he wasn't sure about K or anything). Lastly, I thought maybe it was my surface agitation releasing too much CO2 (which I later shot down by reading anyway). As a result, I upped my water level so that the HOB's didn't cause agitation. Over the 2 week period, I say no changes. The only other thing I can think of is that I have 2 goldfish in my tank... but that should actually IMPROVE growing with the extra CO2, right?
I've read that anacharis is a low-light plant, and mid-light plant, and even a high-light plant. My most trusted information mentions it as a mid-light plant. Could it be because I don't have enough light or the right K setting? My bulb is a simple 20W 24" fluorescent, probably about 4,000K. It came with my hood. Could it be that I don't have enough CO2? I haven't tested for it, but it should be right around 3-4 ppm (fish addition and natural atmospher). I know I'm getting photosynthesis because the plants grow well... and quite fast. I've also experimented with my outdoor "pond" by making transplants. The outdoor plants have never needed splitting because they just don't grow fast enough. However, they are much fuller than the indoor plants. So, what I've been doing is I make a 50/50 switch every week. I move all of the new indoor shoots outside and bring in 1/2 of that amount I just took out. I don't see any difference here. The new shoots are full and busy at the base, but as they grow in the aquarium, they grow thin.
I know I said I would try to keep this short, but I've been dwelling on it for weeks now and can't come up with a solution. I don't want to run out and buy something that I don't have to and that's why I don't have a DIY CO2 or a new bulb... yet (I almost bought a plant bulb yesterday). I know something has to be wrong because I've NEVER seen anacharis so thin. Maybe I'm just worrying too much.... pictures when I get home.
Thanks all!