Hi Roediger,
OK, thanks for the clarification.
Yes, you have to be careful typing on the forum while at work. The boss will not appreciate that at all mate.
@Zeus I hope you're not typing at work! The world is in enough trouble as it is!
OK, based on those numbers it looks a lot more reasonable, as each dose provides nearly 7ppm NO3 and about 2ppm PO4. I don't really worry too much about the trace numbers. I just assume they are fine.
As far as your light being low, well, I mean, this is the goal. There are no plants that require high light. There are only plants that either do better in low light and plants that require high CO2.
You've been reading too many ideas written by Klingons. The only thing that high light does is it accelerates growth rates - but it also accelerates algae.
People use high light to grow the plants quickly, especially carpet plants, which are generally slow growing.
There is a lot of self imposed pressure by top aquascapers to get their tanks ready for competition, so they pummel their tanks with high light to mature the plants quickly.
Somehow, this practice has morphed into some kind of "requirement" for some plants to survive.
Another consequence of high light is that it damages the plant tissues so the plants produce certain pigment to combat the excessive energy.
These pigments often appear to us as being desirable, such as red or orange and so forth.
Again, this desire morphs into a "requirement" and when unsuspecting hobbyists or newbies follow this advice without paying attention to gas exchange and proper nutrition it often drives the tank over the cliff with all sorts of problems.
Looking at the latest photos you provided I don't see anything particularly wrong with health. I think you could trim the tall plants and replant the stems to get them more bushy. The more you trim the stems the bushier they get.
There are some tall stems that you have on the left in the front and that's not really good as it disrupts flow/distribution. I would move them to the back so that they hide that awful looking corrugated tube and other equipment.
You might also want to slide the spraybar across so that it is more central. if it is too far to the left or to the right the plants on that side will tend to do well while the plants to the opposite side may not do as well.
Also, be careful with the vertical positioning of the spraybar. Ensure that it is not too low, as that will tend to cause some of the flow ti squirt upwards when it hits the front glass - and we want as much of it as possible the flow downwards towards the carpet. having the spraybar just under the waters surface also provides the agitation you need. I don't know why agitation has become another Holy Grail. You just need enough to break up any surface film and to provide some gas exchange at night.
We need to identify exactly what the species is because the type of algae provides reliable clues as to what the cause it.
Generally, carpet plants suffer filamentous algae such as hair, They are also prone to diatomic algae as well and these all point to poor CO2, which could be a result of poor injection or poor flow/distribution or both.
Lets see what your pH profile tells us and we can go from there.
Cheers,
OK, thanks for the clarification.
Yes, you have to be careful typing on the forum while at work. The boss will not appreciate that at all mate.
@Zeus I hope you're not typing at work! The world is in enough trouble as it is!
OK, based on those numbers it looks a lot more reasonable, as each dose provides nearly 7ppm NO3 and about 2ppm PO4. I don't really worry too much about the trace numbers. I just assume they are fine.
As far as your light being low, well, I mean, this is the goal. There are no plants that require high light. There are only plants that either do better in low light and plants that require high CO2.
You've been reading too many ideas written by Klingons. The only thing that high light does is it accelerates growth rates - but it also accelerates algae.
People use high light to grow the plants quickly, especially carpet plants, which are generally slow growing.
There is a lot of self imposed pressure by top aquascapers to get their tanks ready for competition, so they pummel their tanks with high light to mature the plants quickly.
Somehow, this practice has morphed into some kind of "requirement" for some plants to survive.
Another consequence of high light is that it damages the plant tissues so the plants produce certain pigment to combat the excessive energy.
These pigments often appear to us as being desirable, such as red or orange and so forth.
Again, this desire morphs into a "requirement" and when unsuspecting hobbyists or newbies follow this advice without paying attention to gas exchange and proper nutrition it often drives the tank over the cliff with all sorts of problems.
Looking at the latest photos you provided I don't see anything particularly wrong with health. I think you could trim the tall plants and replant the stems to get them more bushy. The more you trim the stems the bushier they get.
There are some tall stems that you have on the left in the front and that's not really good as it disrupts flow/distribution. I would move them to the back so that they hide that awful looking corrugated tube and other equipment.
You might also want to slide the spraybar across so that it is more central. if it is too far to the left or to the right the plants on that side will tend to do well while the plants to the opposite side may not do as well.
Also, be careful with the vertical positioning of the spraybar. Ensure that it is not too low, as that will tend to cause some of the flow ti squirt upwards when it hits the front glass - and we want as much of it as possible the flow downwards towards the carpet. having the spraybar just under the waters surface also provides the agitation you need. I don't know why agitation has become another Holy Grail. You just need enough to break up any surface film and to provide some gas exchange at night.
Well, I cannot see it on those photos because they are wide angle shots. We need to see close ups.only place i seem to be getting algae are on the foreground plants, monte carlo and HC and s.repens
We need to identify exactly what the species is because the type of algae provides reliable clues as to what the cause it.
Generally, carpet plants suffer filamentous algae such as hair, They are also prone to diatomic algae as well and these all point to poor CO2, which could be a result of poor injection or poor flow/distribution or both.
Lets see what your pH profile tells us and we can go from there.
Cheers,