problems

[Mendistan]

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/aq_my...2331-189-0.jpg

this is my tank.

I need some advice. This tank is about two weeks old. the Nana and the background plant has been around for four months.

The substrate doesn't have base fertiliser. I am using stick fertiliser only. AND, it is only a month old. The old gravel was not suitable for my planting journey..

Now, my nanas are yellowing, I have blackish things growing on my background plant leaves.. my otocinculus aren't eating them.. neither do my shrimps... I believe, to my horror, it's BBA...

please help.

And I need to know what else I need to do to make my plants healthy..

[juggler]

Have u added any fertilisers?
If you can fill up the beginner info sheet, that will help us to understand the problem better. Thanks.

[Mendistan]

I use liquid fertiliser for green plants - eco culture mixture

PH. 7.0
Lighting PL 9W 6400K
Temp 28 to 30 degrees --> need cooling is it?
Stick fertilisers only
Nutrafin CO2 injection set. Original ingredients.
lights on for 14hours
Hang on filter. --? do I need to change to internal? Eden? Atman?

[vinz]

More info needed... go here -> http://www.aquaticquotient.com/phpbb...pic.php?t=7182 and cut and paste the form over here.

Meanwhile...
1. A hang on filter usually creates some water surface agitation. This will increase the rate of CO2 escaping from the water. I'm not sure how much CO2 the Nutrifin set provides, but if the blackish things growing on your anubias leaves are little tufts of black hair, it probably means you don;t have enough CO2.

2. Lighting period is too long. 10 to 12 hours max. This is especially crucial since you are probably not giving the plants enough CO2, light brightness (as oppose to hours of light), yet fertilising.

3. Cooling is a good idea.

[Mendistan]

Beginners Info Sheet
++++++++++++++++++

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH):
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 9w PL equals to 60w
Type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : PL
No. of Hours your light is on: 14 to 16 hours
CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : not sure le...
Type of CO2 (DIY/Liquid/Tank) : DIY
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor): Diffusor
Substrate Used : aquafin - petmart black
How Thick is your base fert : none
How thick is your gravel : 2½ inch
Liquid Fertilizers Used : ecoculture liquid fert
Frequency of fertilization : once a week
Tank Temperature : 30 degrees
Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister) : overhead
Filter media used : cartridge change
How long has your tank been set up : 2 weeks


Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
---------------------------------------

Carbonate Hardness (kh):
Total Hardness (gH): dunno
PH : 7.0
NH4 (ppm): dunno
NO2 (ppm): dunno
NO3 (ppm): dunno
PO4 (ppm): dunno
Fe (ppm): dunno

Bioload (Your Fish and Plants)
------------------------------

3 golden barbs, 5 black neons, 4 cardinals, 3 panda cory, 6 malayans

red lily, nana, background plant on bogwood. chain swords.


Describe your problem :

no bubbling of plants, nana leaves yellowing, blackish thing forming on small leaves of background plant.. cannot get my chain swords to take root.

[juggler]

First thing I noticed is the 9W bulb. It is surely not enough to light the tank. The brightness of 60W is not the same thing. It is still a 9W bulb. Did you DIY the lighting? You will need to have more lighting. At least 36W to 72W for your 2ft tank.

Most important considerations in a planted tank (in order of importance):
Lights > CO2 > Macro-nutrients > Micro-nutrients

[Mendistan]

eh.. it isn't a 2 ft tank. something like 35litres only... its 35x28x30 only...

[Mendistan]

eh.. it isn't a 2 ft tank... its 35x28x30 only...

[geoffrey]

Mendistan,

There are a few things in your setup that are not favourable.

1) 9W is not enough. Consider 2 x 9W or a single 11W. Your have some high light plants in your tank in the background.

2) Reduce your photoperiod to 10 hours instead.

3) When was the last time you renew you DIY CO2 mixture? The thing about DIY is they need to be 'recharge' very frequently.

4) You are not using a diffuser. It's a flipper that you are using. The thing about flipper is you need high bubble rates (BPS). You need to find out what your KH is in order to determine your CO2 level in your tank. It should be 20~30ppm. However, base on your pH alone, chances are your CO2 is insufficient.

5) Are you dosing per recommended? Knowing what is in your fertiliser will be helpful.

6) At 30 deg C, a fan will be good.

7) Make sure your overhead filter, I assume it's a hang-on like Liberty, does not create alot of agitation.

Lastly, the plant on the left could be Anubias barteri var. angustifolia (''afzelii'') and it is certainly not 'nana'. The yellowing matured leaves is usually a lack of CO2 or NO3 or some other mobile nutrients. But with BBA and a high pH, I'll put my money of CO2. Confirm that with a KH reading.

As for the chain sword not taking root. cut off their roots (not all, leave a centimetre) and re-plant them again.

[geoffrey]

BTW, bubbling in a tank is not 'nirvana'. And bubbling is not indicative of a healthy tank but I'm quite certain if you get your tank in shape, that red lily will certainly pearl underneath its leaves

[Mendistan]

after doing a water change, the ph is still at 7.0.

What is be best ph to indicate good CO2? thanks for the advice man!

btw, I noticed my red lily kinda like in this picture below..
http://community.webshots.com/s/imag...3mBQBKe_ph.jpg

if you refer to my previous picture, it was not so.

dun mind tell me what happened ah.. to me, it's like the plant is HAPPY?

[geoffrey]

You need to increase CO2 to bring down your pH. pH alone is hard to pinpoint if CO2 suffices, you still need a kH reading. Alternatively, difference of 2 pH reading is also good.

Read these articles. Within is one on CO2 measurement.

[Mendistan]

ok.. things are looking better.

my red lily has grown.. I can see why it isn't suitable for my tank.. have to trim more often.

The chain swords are growing too. I can see small babies growing around those that I have planted. unfortunately, the anubias is still getting used to the new environment. The background plants are dying too.

I will get a KH test kit. Any to recommend?

thanks!

[Mendistan]

hi hi.. just got my KH reading. not good.

only reading 3
with a ph of 7.0 I am looking at less than 10 for CO2..

It is either the flipper isn't efficient or my CO2 not enough... but, the mixture used is from Nutrafin leh.. how ah?

[geoffrey]

Before you write-off that flipper, what is your tank size? If it is small, the flipper might just work. Now, try to get you bubble rate up higher by adding a bit more yeast.

[Mendistan]

my tank size is 32wx 26hx 24d

thanks. will getting something to trap the co2 bubbles from escaping work?

You mean to add more of my own yeast to the Nutrafin package is it?

Thanks.