Plant Deficiency Recovery Time

[Jonathan_W]

I'm new to growing aquatic plants. Its been an interesting challenge. Forgive me.

I have a few questions. I believe my stem plants may be experiencing a deficiency. Plants are still growing, and I have no algae but new growth is yellow/curled downward. Some leaves look like the color was scraped off and are transparent.

I dose full EI, but recently I discovered my GH booster dose was way off. I think this may have contributed to a deficiency in either Iron, MG, or CA.

I'm trying to recover, but I am not seeing progress yet (a week). How long is recovery ? My plants are very dense due to pruning strategy. Could this make recovery slow ?

 

[ceg4048]

Hello,
If you are dosing EI levels of micronutrients then there should not be an Iron deficiency. GH Booster or equivalent is seldom used in most locations due to high tap water TDS, so loss of GH Booster should not be a cause for Iron deficiency - unless you were not dosing the prescribed micronutrient values.

It would be better, if plants are suffering a micronutrient deficiency, to dose more micronutrients, not more GH booster, again, unless GH Booster is the only source of micronutrients.

Translucency in leaves is always due to poor CO2 and is a completely different failure. If this is a CO2 injected tank, which presumably it is if full EI dosing is being implemented, then it is likely that the tank suffers from poor flow/distribution, which is a much more serious problem than Fe/Mg deficiency.

You'll need to look at possible causes such as insufficient flow rate, improper distribution methods, excessive lighting and so forth.

Cheers,

 

[Jonathan_W]

Ok ,

I'm continuously battling issues with CO2/O2/Flow. I'm about to build a reactor. I have all the parts.

My CO2 is very high at the moment. How high ?? Who knows !! I can measure a drop in PH of 1.2 before lights on. More than this, and my fish suffer. Surface agitation is high.

If you have any suggestions about how I can improve flow, please, I would appreciate it. I'll attach (a horrible) picture

My problem is my appreciation for tall bushy stems.

Filtration: EHEIM 2217
Lighting: 2 bulb T5HO (midday, aquaflora)

 

[Monk d'Wally de Honk]

The bubbles coming from CO2 are probably floating upwards before reaching most of those stems. Place the co2 diffuser at the back right corner, and the mini pump nearby quite low down, blowing the bubbles across the stems, hopefully keeping them in the water for longer allowing more to be absorbed. I had more success doing exactly this (I'm in no way an expert, just personal experience). I eventually changed to an in-line diffuser which has helped massively. If it's an in-tank diffuser, I would have a spare and swap them every week, making sure they are as clean as poss.

Nice tank though.

 

[ceg4048]

Yeah, that's a really well executed tank. I would just try mounting the diffuser under the filter inlet to get better gas dissolution via the filter. You'll likely find that you need less gas to achieve the pH drop.

I've also seen some people have luck mounting it under the Koralia as well.

Flow distribution might also be enhanced using a spraybar mounted on the back wall.

Cheers,

 

[Dave Pierce]

I use an in-line co2 diffuser. Works much better for me than my old ceramic diffuser. It's more efficient.

And keeps more equipment out of the tank

Nice set up by the way

 

[Jonathan_W]

Thank you,

I'm still curious how long deficiency recovery time is. I imagine stems would show positive signs faster. If its macro/micro or if it is C02/flow. How will I know if I am correct in diagnosis ?

 

[ceg4048]

Somewhere between 1 day and 3 weeks.

I mean, your symptoms are that new leaves are discolored and deformed, correct? So, wait for new leaves and see if they are discolored and deformed. If they are then continue to make improvements as discussed until the translucency, discoloration and deformation is reduced.

Cheers,

 

[Jonathan_W]

Yes, perfect, thank you <3