High Tech Planted Questions

[skywhitney]

I'm guessing its light related but since i changed the actinic out for the other 12000k bulb all of my plants are letting out streams of bubbles. I think thie lights combined with a steady stream of CO2 will start to make a difference pretty soon

[aqua_chem]

Yea, it's the light + CO2.


The aquafloras are a bit yellow, but not THAT bad, especially if you leave the 12000K in. If nothing else, they'll redden up your plants for you.

[skywhitney]

Originally Posted by aqua_chem

Yea, it's the light + CO2.

The aquafloras are a bit yellow, but not THAT bad, especially if you leave the 12000K in. If nothing else, they'll redden up your plants for you.

I actually really like the look of the 4000k and 12000k bulbs together. Looks really natural IMO.

[aqua_chem]

I have one 1xT5HO fixture with just a aquaflora in it, and by itself, it's quite yellow. With other bulbs, it makes the light much warmer and attractive, IMO.

[skywhitney]

CO2 question!

I was able to maintain 4bps all day today but the PH never went below 6.8. Since i added another bulb would that be the cause? Should i up the bps a little?

[skywhitney]

Any thoughts on the CO2/PH question?

I also have some algea questions:
Is there a way to get rid of GSA? Will it just die out and disappear on its own or will i have to remove it?
I'm still getting a fair amount of GDA, is this normal? Will it disappear on its own as well or just scrub it off?
There is some stuff growing on my dw stump that looks like moss but upon closer inspection seems to be a form of algea. It's only happening on this stump so i'm not really worried about it (i think it actually looks nice), just curious as to what it might be. Pic below.

[blert]

Originally Posted by skywhitney

CO2 question!

I was able to maintain 4bps all day today but the PH never went below 6.8. Since i added another bulb would that be the cause? Should i up the bps a little?

I have my bps running kinda hot, like 6 or so, on my pH controlled tank. I just set the pH appropriately so it doesn't run all day, just long enough to maintain my set pH. It turns on a handful of times in the day and rarely runs at night.

[skywhitney]

Originally Posted by blert

I have my bps running kinda hot, like 6 or so, on my pH controlled tank. I just set the pH appropriately so it doesn't run all day, just long enough to maintain my set pH. It turns on a handful of times in the day and rarely runs at night.

Thats basically how mine is functioning now. I upped my bps a tiny bit to 5-6 and it hasn't seemed to make any real impact on the PH. In the morning my PH is at 7.1 usually and during the day it goes down to 6.7. My drop checker is a nice bright green and none of the fish seem stressed so i'm taking all this to mean that everything is going correctly.

[skywhitney]

Any ideas on the algea questions above?

I dont think any new GSA is forming, i think its what has been there the whole time. The GDA seems to be sticking around though.

[skywhitney]

Any ideas what might be causing this? The pics make it look like GSA but the bright green areas are actually transparent.











I'm also starting to see hair algea on my plants, would this be related?

[aqua_chem]

Have you tested your nitrate recently? And you've been keeping up with EI?


GSA can take some time to go away. A few weeks, maybe more sometimes. I would keep increasing your CO2 and see if some of these things fix themselves.

[skywhitney]

Originally Posted by aqua_chem

Have you tested your nitrate recently? And you've been keeping up with EI?

GSA can take some time to go away. A few weeks, maybe more sometimes. I would keep increasing your CO2 and see if some of these things fix themselves.

I tested it on sunday right before a PWC and it was about 3-5 so i dosed a small amount of KNO3 on Monday to bring it up a little. I have been keeping up with the EI.

The GSA spots look like they are getting smaller but more numerous. I'll up my CO2 and see if i notice a difference in a few days.

Any idea why i'd be seeing hair algea forming ( i think its hair algea, its white and stringy though so i'm not positive)?

Edit: i just tested my nitrates and they are right at 20.

[skywhitney]

I've noticed that my plants only pearl in the evenings. This has been happening consistently since i set the system up. Is this normal?

On a seperate question. Would carbon in my filter be pulling out the ferts and/or the CO2 from my water. It just clicked in my head that half my filter media is carbon...doh!

[aqua_chem]

It might, but if it's been there for more than about two weeks it's not doing anything anymore.

But generally, no, it's not going to be an issue.

[skywhitney]

Originally Posted by aqua_chem

It might, but if it's been there for more than about two weeks it's not doing anything anymore.

But generally, no, it's not going to be an issue.

Its definitely been longer than 2 weeks.

The red in my ludwiga is fading, would this be due to a light or iron issue?

[aqua_chem]

Could be either. No one really knows why reds fade. You can try increasing iron and see what happens.

[skywhitney]

Originally Posted by aqua_chem

Could be either. No one really knows why reds fade. You can try increasing iron and see what happens.

I did this morning is the Flourish Iron a decent feet or would a dry form be better?

[aqua_chem]

That is an EXTREMELY complicated question. Even for someone with a degree in chemistry, the discussion regarding iron choice is a confusing one.

The iron plants want, Iron II, is short lived in water and will oxidize to Iron III if not protected. To slow this down, you use a second molecule to sequester it from oxidizing agents. We call this molecule a chelator. There are three different chelators available in aquaria: Iron Gluconate, EDTA Iron, ad DTPA Iron. Flourish Iron is gluconate, CSM+B uses EDTA, and DTPA is usually bought by itself. They very in strength by the order I introduced them. Gluconate is weak chelator but is easily digestible by the plant (true, and this is how seachem promotes it, but I doubt that it's that big of a deal). EDTA will hold iron for longer, but usually only a matter of hours. DTPA will probably hold iron for a few days or more.

Which chelator is best for you will largely be determined by your KH and pH, with high KH/pH needing stronger chelators. Honestly, if you're planning on buying something for iron issues, DTPA will be the way to go.

[skywhitney]

Originally Posted by aqua_chem

That is an EXTREMELY complicated question. Even for someone with a degree in chemistry, the discussion regarding iron choice is a confusing one.

The iron plants want, Iron II, is short lived in water and will oxidize to Iron III if not protected. To slow this down, you use a second molecule to sequester it from oxidizing agents. We call this molecule a chelator. There are three different chelators available in aquaria: Iron Gluconate, EDTA Iron, ad DTPA Iron. Flourish Iron is gluconate, CSM+B uses EDTA, and DTPA is usually bought by itself. They very in strength by the order I introduced them. Gluconate is weak chelator but is easily digestible by the plant (true, and this is how seachem promotes it, but I doubt that it's that big of a deal). EDTA will hold iron for longer, but usually only a matter of hours. DTPA will probably hold iron for a few days or more.

Which chelator is best for you will largely be determined by your KH and pH, with high KH/pH needing stronger chelators. Honestly, if you're planning on buying something for iron issues, DTPA will be the way to go.

I was thinking about getting a dry supplement since i haven't noticed any benefit from the Flourish Irom i'm using now. I also dose 1/4tsp of CSM+B 3x a week but i don't know if its enough. How or what is the best way to tell which chelator is used?

[aqua_chem]

Without knowing before hand, you can't know short of chemical techniques. What fertilizer do you not know the chelator of?