Planted Tank Help

[Kombat]

I'm trying a planted tank and it isn't doing too well IMO. It is a 29G tank with a 65W of light. I am using Seachem Flourish and the Nutrafin CO2 setup.

Most of my plants are not doing well. Only my Anubius' look great. The Anacharis literally disintegrated. Cabomba has it's leaves falling off. Water Sprite is growing but looks leggy to me. Dwarf Hair Grass is mostly brown, some green, but isn't growing. I have a Melon Sword and something else that seem to be doing ok. I have a Val where the leaves grow to about 4-5 inches and then turn yellow and eventually rot.

And yes. Algae is a problem since I installed the 65W light fixture.

I have tested my CO2. In the evening my pH is 7.4, in the morning it is 7.1. If I am reading my KH test correctly, 6 drops to change the color equals 60 ppm, converted to degrees is 3.36 dKH. So my CO2 ranges from nearly nothing to about 8 ppm in the morning. Meaning the Nutrafin isn't giving me nearly enough CO2, since I should have 25-30ppm. Granted, I am still using the mix that came with it. I haven't tried using my own recipe yet. Will that be enough using the Nutrafin canister or would using a larger 2L bottle be better?

I read the article on EI method last night. Seems the plants are showing signs of iron or potassium deficiency. Flourish contains iron so I have to assume it is potassium.

Could the softness of my water be a factor of why some plants are doing better than others? Would it be recommended to add a buffer if for nothing else to ease the pH swings I would have getting the CO2 up to 25-30ppm?

Here are the steps I think I should take to rectify my situation:

1. Already have adequate lighting. Check.
2. Inject more CO2.
3. Start dosing according to the EI method article.

Suggestions or comments?

Thanks,
Karl

 

[julia298]

Something l learnt on here and has worked for me since is, a whole 1 point drop in pH would give you 30ppm CO2.

Leave some of your tank water standing for 24 hrs and then test pH. Then you wnat to aim for a 1 point drop pH. e.g if your tank water after standing tested 7.4 you want to aim for 6.4 with your Co2 running, this should give you 30ppm.

if you could reduce your lighting till your CO2 is stable at 30ppm it should minimise the algae problem.
Have you got tests for nitrate and phosphate?

 

[Fillet 'O' Fish]

Try using Flourish Excel which is a daily fert top up as well as your standard weekly Flourish. It made a world of difference to my planted tank.
Other issues may be raised from others such as if you have a special substrate and your co2 injection levels.
On my tank (a 450 litre) I find that increasing my bubble count from 1 per second to 2 per second made a big impact on fighting the algae.
Also get some fast growing plants and try to cover at least 75 - 80% of the plan area of the tank. The more plants the more they will fight the algae for the nutrients in the water, and if there are enough they will eventually win the battle and you will be algae free.
Some of the people who post regularly in the planted forum I am sure will have some good advice. George farmer, Jimboo and Thermulus are always very helpful and knowledgable.

 

[Kombat]

Something l learnt on here and has worked for me since is, a whole 1 point drop in pH would give you 30ppm CO2.

Leave some of your tank water standing for 24 hrs and then test pH. Then you wnat to aim for a 1 point drop pH. e.g if your tank water after standing tested 7.4 you want to aim for 6.4 with your Co2 running, this should give you 30ppm.

if you could reduce your lighting till your CO2 is stable at 30ppm it should minimise the algae problem.
Have you got tests for nitrate and phosphate?

That's good to know. So that pH thing is regardless of what my KH is?

I have a nitrate test but not phosphate.

Try using Flourish Excel which is a daily fert top up as well as your standard weekly Flourish. It made a world of difference to my planted tank.
Other issues may be raised from others such as if you have a special substrate and your co2 injection levels.
On my tank (a 450 litre) I find that increasing my bubble count from 1 per second to 2 per second made a big impact on fighting the algae.
Also get some fast growing plants and try to cover at least 75 - 80% of the plan area of the tank. The more plants the more they will fight the algae for the nutrients in the water, and if there are enough they will eventually win the battle and you will be algae free.
Some of the people who post regularly in the planted forum I am sure will have some good advice. George farmer, Jimboo and Thermulus are always very helpful and knowledgable.

I am using Excel too. I forgot to mention that. Maybe my problem is just not enough CO2. Though it's not really the algae that is my concern. It's that my plants aren't living well. I just figure once I get my plants doing well the algae will take care of itself. I thought CO2 deficiency just made plants stop growing, not make them wither and die.

That Nutrafin mix is only giving me about 1 bubble every 5-6 seconds, nowhere close to 2 per second. I planned on using my own mix since I've read on here many times that the Nutrafin stuff is crap, I just haven't done it yet. I probably should do it sooner rather than later since I'm obviously not getting enough CO2.

Thanks,
Karl

 

[Kombat]

I added more yeast to my DIY system and that gave me 1-2 bubbles a second. My Cabomba seems to be doing better. The leaves aren't falling off anymore. I also added some more plants. Ambulia, Anubias nana, another melon sword, and a bronze wendtii (crypto.). I bought a 2L jug of Sierra Mist last night. After we finish that off I'll convert it to a CO2 producer.

I also started using a fertilizer I found at the lfs called FloraPride, I think by Tetra. It supplies potassium and iron only. I am also still using Flourish and Flourish Excel.

I did a phosphate test and it read 0, so once I get my CO2 stabilized I may start adding phosphate. My nitrates read 5-10 ppm, so I don't think I need to add any of that.

Thanks,
Karl

 

[kamel_007]

I'm trying a planted tank and it isn't doing too well IMO. It is a 29G tank with a 65W of light. I am using Seachem Flourish and the Nutrafin CO2 setup.

Most of my plants are not doing well. Only my Anubius' look great. The Anacharis literally disintegrated. Cabomba has it's leaves falling off. Water Sprite is growing but looks leggy to me. Dwarf Hair Grass is mostly brown, some green, but isn't growing. I have a Melon Sword and something else that seem to be doing ok. I have a Val where the leaves grow to about 4-5 inches and then turn yellow and eventually rot.

And yes. Algae is a problem since I installed the 65W light fixture.

I have tested my CO2. In the evening my pH is 7.4, in the morning it is 7.1. If I am reading my KH test correctly, 6 drops to change the color equals 60 ppm, converted to degrees is 3.36 dKH. So my CO2 ranges from nearly nothing to about 8 ppm in the morning. Meaning the Nutrafin isn't giving me nearly enough CO2, since I should have 25-30ppm. Granted, I am still using the mix that came with it. I haven't tried using my own recipe yet. Will that be enough using the Nutrafin canister or would using a larger 2L bottle be better?

I read the article on EI method last night. Seems the plants are showing signs of iron or potassium deficiency. Flourish contains iron so I have to assume it is potassium.

Could the softness of my water be a factor of why some plants are doing better than others? Would it be recommended to add a buffer if for nothing else to ease the pH swings I would have getting the CO2 up to 25-30ppm?

Here are the steps I think I should take to rectify my situation:

1. Already have adequate lighting. Check.
2. Inject more CO2.
3. Start dosing according to the EI method article.

Suggestions or comments?

Thanks,
Karl

Seachem Flourish contains some IRON and POTASSIUM>

But.. as you running CO2 and having 2.2 WPG you need more..

You see the nutrient deficiency on the fast growers like Cabomba..

And nutrient deficincy leads to more algae..

Make sure that you've enough nutrient's in ur tank..

try to make 50% water change..

Add seachem flourish.. and seachem IRON or any product that have only iron.

make sure that you've 20ppm of potassium.. add a little more to be sure.. it wont harm ur fish or lead to algae bloom....

KAMEL