New planted tank setup

[Robert Fletcher]

I am taking my 110-litre tank down and rebuilding. What I would like to know is the best parameters for the plants to give a push start. There will be NO fish. Here is the list of questions I would like some answers to, I will list the plants below.
Substrate, Tropica Soil. EI dosing and injected CO2, lighting Aquael Slim 80 cm Plant
Water changes: I have read where 25 - 50% water changes for 4 weeks, there is nothing on the bag of soil about this. I would normally do 50% WC. Is this OK?
CO2: As there will be no livestock could I push this into the Yellow. Can plants get too much CO2?
What initial photoperiod for optimal photosynthesis?
Given the list of plants, I will be using what would be the optimal temperature for photosynthesis?
With so many plants I am not expecting algae or could I be wrong there?

Here are the plants:
Alternanthera reinecki 'rot' x1
Cryptocoryne x willisii x2
Cryptocoryne wendtii x1
Echinodorus Dschungelstar® 'Nr. 2' x1
Helanthium parvulum "Broad Leaf" x4
Pogostemon Stellatu x2
Limnophila Sessiliflora x1
Sagittaria pusilla x3
Vallisneria Nana Tiger x3

 

[ceg4048]

I would normally do 50% WC. Is this OK?

Yes, of course.

Can plants get too much CO2?

No, the published CO2 limits are strictly to protect fauna.

What initial photoperiod for optimal photosynthesis?

There is no such thing as optimal photosynthesis. This is like asking what is the optimal breathing. If you are at rest breathing rate will be slow, if you are running a sprint or are under duress breathing will be fast.
When you first submerge plants (which were grown in a nursery) under water they struggle to breathe because their leaves were grown and adapted in air.
The leaves must go through a sort of "metamorphosis" so that they will be optimized for breathing in water. It usually takes several weeks or months to achieve this, depending on the species.
During this time, it is important to reduce the light intensity and to maximize CO2. The length of the photoperiod is only relevant within the context of the light's intensity. If the intensity is very low the photoperiod can be very long. With typical lighting (which is usually too high) a 5 hour period is a normal starting point.

Given the list of plants, I will be using what would be the optimal temperature for photosynthesis?

The lower the temperature the better saturation of gases in water. That means more Oxygen and more CO2 availability. Algae also prefer warmer temperatures. 21-23 degrees is fine.

With so many plants I am not expecting algae or could I be wrong there?

There are many causes for algae so there are no guarantees. Keeping the lighting low and ensuring good nutrition, good CO2/flow/distribution will reduce the risk.

Cheers,

 

[alto]

Water changes: I have read where 25 - 50% water changes for 4 weeks, there is nothing on the bag of soil about this. I would normally do 50% WC. Is this OK?

Tropica does a 90 Day App if you're so inclined

 

[Robert Fletcher]

Thanks, Ceg you have made things clear. I was way off thinking I would try and speed them up. I will now be following your advice.

 

[foxfish]

You could also consider dry start......

 

[ceg4048]

Thanks, Ceg you have made things clear. I was way off thinking I would try and speed them up. I will now be following your advice.

As I mentioned, you can and should use a lot of CO2 but the timing should be spot on and strict attention should be paid to flow/distribution. That will accelerate growth. It is possible - and we often see where the DC is bright yellow but the plants stall, and that's usually because the hobbyist had poor execution of flow/distribution/injection/timing methods.

If you like us to analyze your injection and distribution methods we'll need photos or sketches and we can offer suggestions.

Cheers,

 

[Jayefc1]

Im I correct in thinkin if it Ok mate away a lil u have good flow around the tank

 

[Robert Fletcher]

Hi everyone and thank you for responding. Sorry, I did not respond to all my collection of plants arrived so I had to do work on the tank. As to dry start, I would try this method if I was trying to carpet. I have had success with growing plants and I agree with the flow. My problem was plants were added willy nilly and 'jungle' is certainly the word. So now I have put my hand into scaping the tank. What I was asking was could I give an initial push to growth. It would seem not. Karen Randell has written on CO2 usage. It would seem that pH drop caused by high CO2 can be a problem for the plants. I will go back to doing what I have been doing for a while as that has worked well for me.

 

[ceg4048]

Karen Randell has written on CO2 usage. It would seem that pH drop caused by high CO2 can be a problem for the plants.

I'm not really sure on what basis this conclusion was drawn, but I see no evidence of any negative issues arising from low pH. Plants really do not care about pH.

Cheers,

 

[Jayefc1]

If ur doing a dry start co2 and ph isn't a issue either