Stagnant Plants?

[mdd725]

I have a 55 gallon aquarium with several amazon swords, some Ludwigia , Bacopa, and java fern that are potted in Flourite except for the fern. They have been in the aquarium for about 2 months and show little if any growth several are slowing giving up. I have approximately 2.9wpg 10hrs., do 30% water changes weekly and have fertilized with jobes sticks. I added some Elodea as a water quality indicator, it is even growing poorly. I have tested it and it seems ok. I have about 20 convicts and 6 small botia. Does it need a CO2 boost?

 

[William]

What are your water params? You may have water those plants just don't like.


Plants are like fish, to thrive they each have their own pH range, amungst other variables, that they do well in.

 

[mdd725]

My water parameters are as follows:
Nitrate 5ppm
kH 40 mg/L
PH 7.5
Chelated Fe <.1ppm
Phosphates .25 ppm
Seems my phosphates and iron are low now. I also noticed a film developing on the surface.?

 

[trenac]

that are potted in Flourite

Did you take your plants out of the plastic pots before planting into the substrate, if not then you may want to consider doing this. It always helps to add CO2 to your tank. Also I would add some liquid ferts also.

 

[Guest]

CO2. You really need CO2.

 

[mdd725]

All of my plants are in clay pots filled with Flourite. A friend who published a book in 1999 entitled "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium" suggested that I try it. She has been successful with this method. Could this be part of my problem? I have also fertilzed with a product called Leaf Zone, it does not seem to contain too much other than .1%chelated iron and som K2O. What is in Flourish?

 

[trenac]

I would remove the plants from the clay pots and plant them directly into your substrate. What type of substrate do you have ? The pots are keeping the roots from spreading. To get good growth those roots need to be able to grow. Flourish is just a general liquid fert with vitamins, amino acids & essential elements.

 

[mdd725]

In the past I set up a 'low-tech aquarium' 65 gal. with 2" of soil and 1.5" of fine gravel 2-3mm. This worked very well without co2 and 160watts of light for 12 hrs. but every time a plant was moved nutrients would suspend and overnight algal blooms ensued. These were difficult to control and would often last for 2+ weeks. When it did clear up, good plant growth would resume. I then experimented with Flourite and a 10 gal. and had excellent results. I then asked how successful others at our club were doing with potting plants with Flourite. Most had fairly good results but with the extensive root systems of the echinodorus I could see this as a problem. This method of course would greatly reduce the amount of a somewhat expensive product.
I think I will reset the aquarium with eco-complete or Flourite, look into AHS lighting and supplement with DIY Co2. I am not looking for jungle-like conditions and will experiment with adding co2 sparingly. Guess I should get busy since our club auction is coming up soon.

 

[trenac]

Your action plan is a good one. If you want to add C02 sparingly than you may want to try Flourish Excel(carbon source).

 

[madasafish]

Yeah... regardless of other potential problems such as Iron, Potassium, etc. your main problem is bound to be that you have good light but no CO2 to supplement it. If you have high light, you must have CO2, because plants will metabolize/produce faster with more light.

Have you noticed your plants lose their rigidity? This is often a good sign that they're getting the light, but not the CO2, that they need.

HTH

 

[mdd725]

All of my plants have lost considerable rigidity. I have set up a DIY yeast reactor and a "C02 bell collector" to get the plants back into shape. I ordered 5 bags of eco-complete and will purchase some fast gowth plants to "break in" the new setup. How soon after should I add CO2?

 

[Guest]

A friend who published a book in 1999 entitled "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium" suggested that I try it.

You actually know Diana Walstead (sp?) Cool! I used much of her methods on my low-tech tank, works well, but I never did any plants in clay pots that way.

With a 55, it will be hard to get high enough co2 levels with diy co2. Since you are upgrading everything else, you should seriously consider pressurized co2.

 

[mdd725]

Yes I know Diana well, have been to her home to talk plants and see her set ups. I actually have the #2 book sold of the mentioned title. She speaks a couple times at year at our club along with Neil Frank.

I added a DIY CO2 system on Thursday and all of my plants have been pearling for the last two days. So it seems that CO2 was the limiting factor. I am going to stick with the DIY method until I read more about pressurized systems and find the best dollar value. I just found out that there is a local interest group called Carolina Aquatic Plant Enthusiast (CAPE) so I plan to join and learn more about CO2 systems.

 

[Guest]

Best value on a CO2 system is www.aquatic-store.com for the Milwaukee All-in-one regulator. Find a cylinder locally and build a reactor.