Growth slowed?

[dw1305]

Hi all,

And I guess the algae I have mostly is BBA which is CO2 related not light related it’s fair to say?

We just don't know. We have a couple of threads <"What exactly causes BBA">, and its daughter thread <"....cause BBA - part 2, bacteria imbalance">, which have a lot of (<"useful) discussion"> but not many conclusions.

Personally I've never had a hi-tech tank with added CO2, I'm not an aquascaper and I'm not after optimal plant growth so I just don't have any experience of growing more demanding plants, or the more <"difficult juggle"> of high light ~ high CO2 ~ high growth rate.

Clive @ceg4048 thinks that all algae issues probably relate to CO2 availability, which was why it needed to be a floating plant for the <"Duckweed Index"> it takes CO2 out of the equation.

cheers Darrel

 

[andy198712]

Thanks!
Yeah same I’m not after perfection or high level plants,just like taking it as far as I can within a reason 🙂

 

[John q]

Hiya Andy, well you've certainly been given a variety of advice, all well intentioned and somewhere in the thick of it will be a solution to sort out the tank.

Personally I don't think switching both tubes on for 8hrs a day is going to help matters, you might see some improvement in plant growth in the short term, but suspect long-term its a recipe for disaster.

Thankfully like darrel says we don't always agree with each other, but hopefully we all disagree with a smile on our faces.

I’ll look into the Epsom salt

I'm assuming you mix up your own fertiliser, if so you should already have some mgso4, I think hoggie was suggesting you simply add a bit more?

Anyways whichever path you choose wage war on the bba, it won't disappear on its own with higher or lower light.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Personally I don't think switching both tubes on for 8hrs a day is going to help matters, you might see some improvement in plant growth in the short term, but suspect long-term its a recipe for disaster.

Unfortunately we are back into <"Donald Rumsfeld territory">.

Thankfully like darrel says we don't always agree with each other, but hopefully we all disagree with a smile on our faces.

That is it, if @andy198712 increases light duration and intensity and it all goes t*ts up that will increase the sum of human knowledge and I'll be a little more circumspect next time. If it goes well and solves Andy's problems? Then I'll get to gloat a bit.

cheers Darrel

 

[andy198712]

🙂 I think no two tanks are the same. Sooooo many variables in things like tap water or maybe temp, light pollution ect ect ect

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I think no two tanks are the same. Sooooo many variables

Agreed, I think it is virtually impossible to quantify everything that makes one tank successful and another one not successful. It doesn't mean we should stop <"trying to measure"> things, <"recording what happens"> or abandon the scientific method.

It was the <"shades of grey aspect"> that led me <"to bioassay, probability"> and <"risk management">.

cheers Darrel

 

[andy198712]

Bit of a follow up, I feel the tank has now settled into the EI dosing at 25mls a day roughly as recommended on the starter kit for non injected tanks, still planning to go injected next year after we move house in feb/march

So I’ve also now got my lights at 7 hours if I recall (I’ll check that) running one of my two tubes so 14w. Sadly I can’t ramp these lights or haven’t found a way to yet, so reduce intensity ive releases my floating plants from their ring to cover a good anount of the surface area and using the ring as access for my hand.

Also got a new heater after the cheap one started hissing at me…. Now have a ehiem jäger 300w at 25.8 degrees, it hold thats temp plus or minus about 0.2 degrees very well.

Few progress pics from old to newer
As you’ll see if removed some failing plants and added new ones, also the new centre peice is quite nice, wether it survives or not who knows!

 

[andy198712]

I do miss my repens though, such a simple pleasing plant to grow!

 

[Hufsa]

Hows the tank doing @andy198712 ? 🙂

 

[andy198712]

Hows the tank doing @andy198712 ? 🙂

Sorry in the slow reply I missed this!
I’m very happy with it, got a good balance going,
Growing the floating plants out to cover the top of the tank thus dimming the light has worked well.
A small bit of BBA lingers on but I’ll physically remove that.

Just after some nice tall large back ground plants for the back left now.

The grass front right never seems to spread for me, tried it before. Will go back to reopens, I liked those

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I’m very happy with it, got a good balance going,
Growing the floating plants out to cover the top of the tank thus dimming the light has worked well.

That is a good result. I thought it would probably work, but I'm never entirely sure.

cheers Darrel

 

[andy198712]

Hi all,

That is a good result. I thought it would probably work, but I'm never entirely sure.

cheers Darrel

We’ll it worked 🙂
Moving house and the tank this month so hopefully that goes smoothly, then I’ll get into the injected CO2 game, didn’t want to start that just before the move