Browning brital leaves

[Zeus.]

Yes, this is generally true because water is quite dense and heavy, so it loses inertia quite quickly unless it is being muscled or cajoled.
It requires an entire world the size of the moon to distort the space-time continuum enough as it passes by to force the ocean to rise in a six foot tide.
Contemplate those titanic forces and compare them to that of your wimpy little pump - just to get some perspective.

My observations from my high tech 500l tank where the flow is the entire lenght of the tank with a combine output of pumps/filters is 6000lph so x10+ turnover on paper, in the early days a lime green DC was enough, the plant mass increased changed the dynamics of the CO2 four headed monster had melting issues etc so increased the DC to light yellow to clear, which resulted in happy days. However the plants grew more changing the dynamics yet again as the flow wasn’t enough OFC. So if I had any doubts that getting a Maxspect Gyre x2 to resolve the flow issue with varying speeds run on a schedule yielding outputs from 2000lph to 18,000lph and reduce plumbing increase aesthetics all in one go after reading this and other threads/posts of yours and others Is no brainier IMO. Even thinking getting smaller filter to reduce its footprint so I can fit my CO2 reactors closer reducing plumbing and maintance time.
Thanks for all the detail wisdom as always, as it all helps

 

[ceg4048]

Ok.its a green sticky substance that wipes away very easily to i had increased my light from 4 to 5 about a week ago I've done a 50~ water change tonight and wiped it all away my snails eat away at it but I seem to get a a thin layer every 3-4 days I've dropped the light a back to 3 that's 50%

Yeah mate, that's GDA and is a very complicated algae. It has been advised to leave it alone and to let it grow out it's life cycle 3-4 weeks and then to remove. Sometimes a second cycle is needed. Few people have the patience for that. At least pulling the light back and getting good distribution will help.
I would suggest to pull the light back to no more than about about 25% for now.

Cheers,

 

[Jayefc1]

Ok Il do what ever u suggest do u think it's best to let it run it's cycle or to clean it off I'm guessing run it's cycle just want what's best for the fish and plants

 

[ceg4048]

Hi Jay,
Yes, I would let it go. GDA attacks are similar to diatom attacks in the sense that the blooms are triggered, they run their course and then they hibernate, not be heard from again - unless the trigger is still present.

Cheers,

 

[Jayefc1]

Ok so i will have to remove the snails that eat it too. I've dropped my light again 2 of 6 are my plants going to be ok during the period of weeks do i still keep up my maintenance as normal or do i do more water changes at least if the lights are low the plants will have a few weeks to recover do i need to do another ph profile too I think I have bba to on my moss I spot dosed liquid carbon and some moss has turned brown but other bits have responded really well and mook nice and green again I'm hoping the brown will grow back

 

[rebel]

If you continually disrupt the GDA for example with cleaning, ottos, nerites and BN etc, does it persist or still do a boom bust cycle?

 

[ceg4048]

Ok so i will have to remove the snails that eat it too

You don't have to, but removing vermin snails is always a good idea in any case.

I've dropped my light again 2 of 6 are my plants going to be ok during the period of weeks

Yes, of course.

do i still keep up my maintenance as normal

Yes do everything as normal. Extra water changes are always welcome though

do i need to do another ph profile

You should always perform a pH profile, regardless. It's the most accurate way of assessing the behavior of the gas.

I spot dosed liquid carbon and some moss has turned brown but other bits have responded really well and mook nice and green again I'm hoping the brown will grow back

Yes, typically the brown dead bits will decay and it should re-grow.

If you continually disrupt the GDA for example with cleaning, ottos, nerites and BN etc, does it persist or still do a boom bust cycle?

According to Barr, the boom-bust cycle is disrupted if you continually clean it. Different people have reported different experiences though, so it's hard to be definitive because we don't get all the facts. If we make the effort to fix the basic cause we stand a better chance of allowing the cycle to complete itself.

Cheers,

 

[Jayefc1]

Should I cut the brown bits away of moss away.il do a ph profile again on Sunday after I calibrate the pen to make sure it's right

Just wanna say thanks for ur time ceg

Jay

 

[ceg4048]

Hi Jay,
You're very welcome. I just hope we can prevent the algae from becoming a soap opera.
Regarding the moss, yes, if you can cut away or pull way the brown bits then it is definitely a good idea to do this because the dead tissue decays and can cause more problems. The dead tissue also blocks flow to the live tissue, so it's a lose-lose scenario.

It's probably a better idea to daily dose the entire tank with the Excel instead of spot dosing. This will help all the plants and is a lot easier.
Areas of your carpet which have affected leaves can be gently trimmed away and removed at water change time (not a massive lawn mow but just small pruning).

Cheers,

 

[Jayefc1]

Ok it's maintenance day tomorrow so gunna trim the carpet lightly and take as much dead and melting leave as possible I've noticed a lot more melting in the tank tonight when I've got home. On the crips and rotolia and lower Ludwigia leaves so will trim that all off too the two nirate snails are cleaning the Gda away not sure that is a good thing as it won't help with the bloom burst running it cycle will i it the hc is still growing pretty well

 

[Jayefc1]

Just a couple of pics don't know if they help

 

[Jayefc1]

Also had no.pearling tonight guessing that's cause the light is so low is that a issue with getting oxygen back in to the tank the fish seem.fine no signs of stress

 

[ceg4048]

Also had no.pearling tonight guessing that's cause the light is so low is that a issue with getting oxygen back in to the tank the fish seem.fine no signs of stress

No, it's not an issue. Pearling is not a requirement for healthy growth or for Oxygen generation, and as you experienced, having a lot of light resulted in health problems.

Did you get more melting after you moved the filter output? If so then the flow distribution is better the way it was before, so return it to that location and see if this halts the rate of degeneration.

Cheers,

 

[Jayefc1]

Yeah think a fair bit more melting was going to give it another week with the lights down see how it goes but if u think I should move it ceg I will

 

[ceg4048]

OK, I'm not sure I fully understand.
Are you saying that you moved the pipe and that the melting accelerated when you moved the filter output to the back wall?
If yes, then return it to the original location and see if the melting slows down.
I assume you were able to grow the carpet with the output as shown in the photos so this is not a bad arrangement. If moving it to the back wall as I suggested earlier caused more melting then that means in this tank it works better with the output on the right side wall.

Also the pH profile is necessary and is important as it provides meaningful data. If you haven't yet calibrated the probe you can use the pH reagent bottle to get some measurements.

Cheers,

 

[Jayefc1]

Probe calibrated ph before co2 goes on 7.4 thats is normal in my water half hour in to co2 7.2 1hr in 6.9 1hr 30mins 6.7 2hrs lights on 6.5 so a very small co2 adjustment made repeated again today and dropped to 6.3 at lights on so not far off the mark on this

Are you saying that you moved the pipe and that the melting accelerated when you moved the filter output to the back wall?

Yes I do think so it's such a small tank only 23ltr the hc melt started after the first big trim all other plants have never really been bright green always seemed to be not quiet right just read ur Ei sticky over and over and realised my salts are as follows KNO3 K2SO4 MGSO4 NO KH2po4 is that where it's going wrong

 

[ceg4048]

Yes I do think so it's such a small tank only 23ltr the hc melt started after the first big trim all other plants have never really been bright green always seemed to be not quiet right just read ur Ei sticky over and over and realised my salts are as follows KNO3 K2SO4 MGSO4 NO KH2po4 is that where it's going wrong

Well, not dosing PO4 isn't a good thing, but lack of PO4 doesn't cause melting. If you are using tap water then you probably have some PO4.
Again, it's unclear what the sequence of events are but I was under the impression that things were doing well and the a short time after you decided to use 6 light bulbs things started to go awry.

This is the problem with troubleshooting someone's tank from afar. We don't have all the facts or the sequence of the what was done to the tank.
It seems to me that you added a ton of light and that triggered failure in the tank. The excess light could also have triggered a PO4 failure or even a Nitrogen failure, but usually we see symptoms of the worst failure first, which in this case is a CO2 failure.

If you fix the CO2 and if it is then good enough to sustain the plants under the increased light load, you may then see symptoms of PO4 failure if you do not add it. So they all have to be addressed, but the worst has to be addressed first.

I'm also make an assumption that you are using tap. If this assumption is incorrect then advise and we'll reassess.

There is no need to add K2SO4 if you are already using KNO3 and there will be even less of a need for it if you add KH2PO4.

Cheers,

 

[Jayefc1]

Ok i am using tap and when i ordered my salts i order the starter pack from aquariumplant foods so stupidly assumed they where all the correct salts not till I re-read ur sticky for about the 100 time today did i realise that the salts where wrong so Il get po4 ordered first thing in the morning so at least there correct .so let's start from the beginin so last August removed the lid from a fluval edge brought a canister filter oase bio master 250 900ltr per hr I know it's not that but still should be more than 20x flow brought a chirios led light put a few rocks in there glimmer wood rocks brought some 1-2 grow pots and salts and planted in proflora aqua soil. Tried to grow hair grass but never took off plants never really looked like I felt they should only new growth is green old growth yellows and gets black edges all the time so constantly trimmed off old growth as this is my first attempt I don't really know how the plants should be apart from what I see and read mainly here. So in January decided to add c02 and brought some hc to carpet the front plants still never seemed to do well but the hc has flourished with the co2 and the light but never put it on full in till about 6 weeks ago hc was green and growing so fast and thick completely covered the front the Ludwigia and rotolia the fast stems grow well but leaves don't look right there brownish black edges and brital on all green plants S repunis just arnt the right colours so then I trimmed the hc and melting started as it grows back only in patches but tonight even with the light on low it looks like it's recovering has been pearlin drop checker lime green and ph profile seems good but things have never really felt right don't know if u understand what i mean so at the mo I'm dosing 7.5ml macro and 7.5ml micro alternate days and easy card 5ml every other day the bba on moss seems to be gone after the spot dosing have 5 emder tetra and 5 yellow rasbros in there with 2 snails and I think that is everything

 

[ceg4048]

OK, well, if the melting has stopped and if the cut patches are re-growing then you have essentially solved the health problem by reducing the light.
Now, I assume the first signs of GSA appeared on or about the time when you increased the light to "full" 6 weeks ago?

I think you'll find that there is a fairly good correlation between using high intensity and the appearance of these types of problems.
They can only be avoided if one uses epic levels of CO2, likely so high as to be fatal to any fauna in the tank.
The fact that you reduced the light and are observing some recovery tells you that you do not need massive amounts of light to grow healthy plants.

If you have now sorted out the nutritional requirements you should be fine, as whatever nutrient related deficiencies were occurring will be solved by your EI dosing.

So now we should just keep this stable level, keep up with the maintenance/water changes and hopefully, after a few more weeks the GSA can be removed without further drama. As I mentioned, sometimes a second boom/bust cycle may be needed.

Cheers,

 

[Jayefc1]

Ok so I guess it's just a waiting game now see where this take me thank Clive

Jay