Is this diatom and am I doing ok?

[Stephen swan]

I’ve also added some fast growing stem plants and floating plants

 

[Stephen swan]

 

[PARAGUAY]

I’ve also added some fast growing stem plants and floating plants

Give it a bit of time and l would agree on 60% rather than 100 with the light

 

[John q]

I’ve spoke to two separate planted aquarium specialists regarding that to do regarding lighting , one said turn the intensity right down and the other said ramp it up .

Maybe they are both right 🤷‍♂️

From my own observations having the intensity higher in some situations can get rid of diatoms, however what tended to follow the diatoms was other forms of algae. Lowering the intensity also got rid of diatoms.

My advice for what it's worth would be reduce the light intensity to 50% for now and concentrate on your co2, is it stable throughout the light period, is there sufficient flow to get it down to the carpet?

Will also repeat what others have said in regards to fast growing plants, floating plants and patience.

 

[Stephen swan]

Ok I’ve reduced the Intensity to 50% for 7 hours.
How do I know it the co2 is reaching the carpets ? Would it be worth buying a wave maker or sticking a small air pump in ?

 

[John q]

How do I know it the co2 is reaching the carpets ?

Ideally you want to see the water gently flowing at substrate level, is there any movement with the plants at the bottom of the tank? Watching the path of the co2 bubbles should also give you a good idea what the flow is like in the tank.

 

[Stephen swan]

No, defo parts of the lower tank that have no plant movement but I only have one Lilly pipe so understandable that it’s not pushing water around at lower levels.
Co2 bubbles are visible somewhat at the opp side of the diffuser but mainly in the middle waters .
If this is a flow issue I will happily stick a air pump in

 

[John q]

If this is a flow issue I will happily stick a air pump in

If you're meaning an air stone then that would be counter productive. I think you possibly do need to look at increasing flow around the tank. I'm not familiar with the filter you have but if it's rammed with media then that will reduce flow, what's inside the filter? If its got sponges and ceramic rings inside then you could experiment and remove SOME of those rings, obviously if the livestock is back in the tank, and considering its a relatively new set up one would be wise to proceed with caution and only remove small amounts of the rings at a time.
Failing that I guess you'd be looking at alternative sources to increase the circulation in the tank. Wavemaker etc.

Whatever you do you don't need to turn the tank into a washing machine, ideally you want a nice gentle flow all around the tank, blasting the plants so they end up horizontal isn't what's required.

 

[Stephen swan]

Nah I meant an wave maker or a small pump to circulate the water but for now I will just move the l pipe higher during the night and take a look at making the filter less packed out. I will cut some foams.
This is my filter

Oase FiltoSmart Thermo 100 Aquarium External Filter

A great little external filter for Nano aquariums (30-60L) with a built in heater. Product characteristics Individual temperature On request,

www.aquariumgardens.co.uk

 

[JoshP12]

Maybe they are both right 🤷‍♂️

they both are right.

High intensity with appropriate co2 application and ferts = faster photosynthetic rate = more oxygen in the system = increased stability

Old school fish keepers and books associate diatoms with low O2 and say to turn up lights … recall old school never dosed much of any ferts so they were N limiting and had a lower cap on co2 so they were virtually always in co2 excess if they had proper equipment - Dupla systems for example.

Turning down the light will increase the likelihood that co2 and fert application is done “properly” (plant isn’t stressed) and this will lead to a more stable environment … etc.

 

[JoshP12]

When you water change, go right down to the Monte Carlo ~90% for now, then walk away and do something else before refilling.

Set a 5 minute timer and leave. This will let all those plants soak up o2 and co2 from the atmosphere.

Then refill.

If you can, do your water change right before lights on or 1 hour into photoperiod letting that atmospheric gas get sucked up.

Remove half of your filter media to increase flow rate. No cotton. Only those sponge for mechanical removal.

Lights I’ll leave up to you 50 or 100. IMO if you are doing the water change and let all those plants get Co2 and O2 during photoperiod, you better have it at 100 😉 since it won’t be gas limiting. But both will work don’t stress just pick one and do it.

Double down on water change and waste removal. Your work now pays dividends.

Every water change, a new 1 pump of ferts.

 

[Stephen swan]

water parameters.
pH is 7.4 before co2
pH is 6.4 after co2 has been on 7 hours
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
GH 120
kH 40
Temp - 23c

 

[_Maq_]

Set a 5 minute timer and leave. This will let all those plants soak up o2 and co2 from the atmosphere.
Then refill.

Do you suggest that plants posses a kind of pump to change the CO2 and O2 content within 5 minutes substantially? 😉

 

[JoshP12]

Do you suggest that plants posses a kind of pump to change the CO2 and O2 content within 5 minutes substantially? 😉

Pump? No. A form of stomata and a sack to store gas, likely.

Unique to species. And adaptation.

Could be thought of as a pump depends how you think of it I guess? Pressure …

 

[_Maq_]

A form of stomata and a sack to store gas, likely.

In submerged plants, stomata are usually missing.
But, yes, submerged plants possess 'sacks' - aerenchyma - for gas transport. I just doubt that mere 5 minutes can make much of a difference. I don't know, only guessing.

 

[JoshP12]

In submerged plants, stomata are usually missing.
But, yes, submerged plants possess 'sacks' - aerenchyma - for gas transport. I just doubt that mere 5 minutes can make much of a difference. I don't know, only guessing.

Thanks for this maq — next time I do it, I’ll pay attention to when they start to wither/dry out.

It was more of a “give them a second” and 5 minutes is tangible enough and a good amount of time that they won’t dry out but be able to get some gas to help (more effectively than dissolved gas in water).

 

[Stephen swan]

Do you guys think having moonlight on for 4 hours after lights off would affect diatoms?
For example having the Twinstar on 1% just so I can enjoy the tank on the evening ??
Or is 1% light to low for diatoms to grow??

 

[Stephen swan]

Something wrong with my setup even the easy plants are showing poor growth . Heteranthera is even struggling, I can see pearling on it but leaves are starting to develop dark spots
S repens the same .
Please can someone help me out and give me some ideas as to what is off?

 

[The Miniaturist]

I run low tech, low light tanks with no co2 so I'm probably not the best to give advice.
However, your plants seem to be deteriorating & algae getting the upper hand & I was wondering whether the huge daily water changes were stripping the water column of nutrients. If there's no food, the plants can't grow. So you could try to either increase the ferts, dosing after a water change or reduce the volume of water you take out each time.
I think flow is important too, whether your set up is high or low tech, getting the plants gently swaying from surface to substrate.

 

[Stephen swan]

Water is showing high levels of nitrites but I’m unsure if tropica is causing false positive .