Pearl weed deficiency - its gone translucent and darker than normal

[Zeus.]

HI all

Had this tank going for months 50l no problems. but it started a couple of weeks ago my pearl weed started going a bit translucent, had just done a trim of it so thought nothing much off it. But last night I thought thats not right.
the normal color it has been is like below (taken from web)

Light green and quite vibrant with it. but its darker than normal, in pic below you can see a few lighter leaves it was all like that a few weeks ago

Its not CO2 as CO2 on 3hrs before lights and light yellow in the DC. Flow it the standard Dennerle HOB filter rated at 450L/H, which I normally clean every week, missed it last week
Ferts are standard EI by auto doser, the ferts are nearly empty and have been in containers for quite some time so thick they might have broken down. Was due to put freash in this weekend as getting low.
All other plants are doing well.
But any insight would be helpful

TIA

Zeus

 

[ceg4048]

Translucency is a completely different symptom than darker green.
If leaves are translucent then it's a CO2 problem. It doesn't matter what your test kit says. Test kits lie like dogs, but plants always tell the truth.
Maybe the CO2 is high when it doesn't need to be, but low when it needs to be high. pH profiles are always useful for revealing this.
Translucency is generally a prelude to melting. If liquid carbon is being used at high dosages then this can be symptomatic of a toxic reaction.

If the symptom is leaves changing color then it could be a lot of different things including spectral response, or response to Nitrogen levels. Plants change colors a lot without it ever being a health issue so I never really worry about it because you can drive yourself crazy chasing colors.
If the plant were yellowing or becoming pale then that's a different story as it would indicate a deficiency in Nitrogen or in one of the trace metals.

Ferts do not break down. They are simple salts. That's like saying that your table salt breaks down because it got wet and was sitting on the table for too long. Guess what? If you put it on your chips it will still taste like salt. In any case, even if something did go wrong, lets say the traces lost their chelation, then you should see a more global response in the tank. In fact, you may need to look more closely at the other plants to see if their behavior can give you any clue as to what's going on. That Ludwigia on the left, for example, looks to be fighting a battle against GSA, so that's any combination of PO4 + CO2, so maybe flow is taking a hit somehow.

Maybe snip off a few stems and let them float, see what happens.

Cheers,

 

[Zeus.]

Also didnt think its CO2 also because the CO2 atomiser is right next to pearl weed, or should I say in the pearl weed

you can see the CO2 inlet pipe to the right so some gets great supply of CO2

If liquid carbon is being used at high dosages then this can be symptomatic of a toxic reaction.

No LCO2 been used in this tank

f the symptom is leaves changing color then it could be a lot of different things including spectral response, or response to Nitrogen levels. Plants change colors a lot without it ever being a health issue so I never really worry about it because you can drive yourself crazy chasing colors.
If the plant were yellowing or becoming pale then that's a different story as it would indicate a deficiency in Nitrogen or in one of the trace metals.

Yep makes sense and good to know, with it being the first time it had gone that way thought it was worth asking,

Ferts do not break down. They are simple salts

Think there is some mould in the bottles, so thought that could of moped up the minerals, and light was getting on the bottles for some time too but thats sorted

That Ludwigia on the left, for example, looks to be fighting a battle against GSA

Yes do have GSA I treat this tank as a test/experiment tank in some ways. I had increased the light intensity a few weeks ago, GSA appeared so have dialed the light back down, Just got a Chihiros RGB-Series this week too Had twin Chihiros A-Series Plus on before, not on full power OFC. So GSA was self inflicted 🙄 but small tanks great to experiment/play with IMO

flow is taking a hit somehow.

Did get the tank second hand so yes maybe needs a new impeller or filter, do like the dennerle HOB filter with lily pie that lifts easy at night. But a surface skimmer would be nice too

Yet the P Helferi doing well in this tank

 

[Zeus.]

Pic of atomiser (not the best Pic )

So I would of thought if it was CO2 related the pearl weed near the atomiser would be good. Think like you say Clive could be the plant changing colour but no ill health. Which is good to know
Took the auto doser off as was due maintenance, was in need of it too. I will put less in containers this time so it need replacing a bit more frequently. If they was full it could of been 16 weeks too long. Thats the beauty of dry salts no mould issues. did have Ascorbic Acid and Potassium Sorbate in the containers too, so could also up their dose a bit too