Monte' Carlo Not Growing!!!

[Jaeroo]

So, my Monte' Carlo isn't growing. Figures I can't get an easy plant to grow. I have a high light dirted tank. Parameters are okay so there's no problem there. It has grown a little horizontally and started lots of new 'vines' but it's just dormant now. I don't know what's going on! I'm assuming they're still growing roots but nothing new is coming above ground. Any advice on this would help, thanks!

 

[Caliban07]

Perhaps some carbon would help?


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[Jaeroo]

Hey thanks for replying. I was thinking about doing that but I don't want to risk an outbreak of algae. Plus, I don't have enough money for a proper co2 system. Unless I can just make a diy to get it going and then maybe it will keep growing after I take the co2 away?

 

[Nils]

Hmm. How long have you had it in the tank? Maybe some water column ferts would help? Also, test nitrates. Sometimes there aren't enough for the plants since that is a main source of energy for them. I agree on carbon, DIY would be good. If you do DIY, you may want to try the citric acid/baking soda instead of yeast and sugar. More controllable and way less messy.

 

[Caliban07]

You can buy liquid carbon like excel that should help a great deal. You could also try breaking the surface of the water with your filter and improving flow to the bottom of the tank. This will allow the water to remain in equilibrium with atmospheric carbon dioxide. The quantity is small but it is consistent and also allows oxygen to enter the water which tanks with soil substrates are generally low in.


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[Jaeroo]

Do you think I could use the diy carbon or excel to get things growing and then taper off of it? I just want to keep things less complicated. Also, when my brother tried excel, his tank was a green algae mess within a couple of days. I don't think I can handle it if that happens to my tank lol. Any advice on how to use it while avoiding this algae issue? Also, do you think adding an air stone would help any?

 

[Caliban07]

Do you think I could use the diy carbon or excel to get things growing and then taper off of it? I just want to keep things less complicated. Also, when my brother tried excel, his tank was a green algae mess within a couple of days. I don't think I can handle it if that happens to my tank lol. Any advice on how to use it while avoiding this algae issue? Also, do you think adding an air stone would help any?

What are the tank dimensions and volume of the tank? Did you put the soil straight in?

Excel would not have been the cause of your brothers algae.

If you are trying to grow carpet plants quickly you need high light to reach them but high light in general means carbon addition since light controls the rate of photosynthesis, high light means faster photosynthesis which means you need more carbon in the water.

Using DIY can be tricky and it will be a lot of hassle at first. Controlling the amount can be difficult and fluctuations in co2 are likely which is not a good thing. A few drops of excel is daily is your best bet but it can have negative effects on some plants.


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[Jaeroo]

Excel would not have been the cause of your brothers algae.

If you are trying to grow carpet plants quickly you need high light to reach them but high light in general means carbon addition since light controls the rate of photosynthesis, high light means faster photosynthesis which means you need more carbon in the water.

Using DIY can be tricky and it will be a lot of hassle at first. Controlling the amount can be difficult and fluctuations in co2 are likely which is not a good thing. A few drops of excel is daily is your best bet but it can have negative effects on some plants.

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I actually just asked my brother what happened with his tank and he said that he accidentally got flourish thinking that it was excel then overdosed it. Can you get it at PetSmart? He said it kills algae? I'm just confused on why I can't get this plant to grow because everyone says it's extremely easy to grow and can even be a hassle because it grows too fast for some setups.

 

[Caliban07]

You can't really generalise anything in planted tanks and you have to work with your own setup. Yes Monte Carlo might be a less demanding plant but that still doesn't mean it will grow well in your tank. People seem to think that just because they have found a working formula that the mystery is solved and that their methods can be transferred over to any tank and all will be well but unfortunately it doesn't work like that.

If the plant has slowed down in terms of growth then that suggests to me that the carbon demand has now overtaken supply. This is something that may not be apparent at first but when plant mass increases so do the need for carbon and nutrients.

I don't know where you get it from as I live in the uk. It's true it has mild algaecide properties in small quantities and can be quite effective in larger doses.


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