dwarf hairgrass stop spreading!

[lzw814]

Hi guys, I noticed that the hairgrass carpet in my tank has stop spreading and not even growing. This has been for a few months already actually, but didnt have time to find out the problem. And it doesnt seem to be causing algae so I just left it. Until now I decided to do something about it.

Could this be because of lack of fertilisers? I only dose weekly seachem flourish and occasionally excel. I have co2 running at 2bps. Light is green evo led light 60cm.

Really appreciate any help! Thanks!

[thebaldingaquarist]

are there other plants in the tank?

stunting of growth suggests a limiting factor is present. any change to lighting and Co2 regime?

if no change to lighting or CO2, then you may be lacking the macro nutrients (since you are dosing flourish already). Nitrates, Potassium or Phosphates.

[lzw814]

I'm starting to dose tropical growth premium fertiliser already. Will see if they can recover. Any idea how long they will take to recover from stunted growth? Especially since they have been stunted for a few months. Will they still recover?

I also have some blyxa japonica in my tank.

Thanks!!

[Urban Aquaria]

In your other thread asking about Tropica fertilizers, you hadn't mentioned about dosing of Seachem Flourish and stunted growth of the hairgrass... so i recommended the Premium version based on the limited info of your tank conditions posted in that thread.

With this new info, it could be an indication that macro nutrients might somehow be in shortage, so in this case the Specialized version (with nitrate and phosphate content) might have been a better recommendation instead. I guess you could also just dose those macro nutrients separately if required.

Once plants get the necessary nutrients they require (balanced with the lights and Co2), they will usually respond quickly and resume healthy growth.

Just curious, which brand of soil substrate are you using?

[lzw814]

I'm using ada amazonia soil. The soil is about 1-2years old.

Okay will monitor if required to dose macro separately.

Thank you for your help UA! Hope to see more updates on your website

[Urban Aquaria]

Yeah, ADA soil after being used for 1-2 years would usually need additional fertilizer treatment to rejuvenate its nutrient content... maybe also consider using roots tabs or fertilizers sticks that you can inject into the soil substrate, the benefit is those nutrients are available only to the rooted plants and not mixed in the water column, so algae cannot take advantage and use it.

[lzw814]

I see! Was thinking of inserting root monster from ocean free also.

[lzw814]

Hi shifus, my hairgrass is still not seeing much progress after almost 1 month of dosing tropica premium. Sigh. I guess the problem lies with NPK. I'm intending to get lushgro aqua. Is this combination of tropical premium and lushgro aqua good?

Or dry ferts like KH2PO4, CaNO3 and K2SO4(NPK?) be a better option compared to lushgro aqua?

[Urban Aquaria]

Hi shifus, my hairgrass is still not seeing much progress after almost 1 month of dosing tropica premium. Sigh. I guess the problem lies with NPK. I'm intending to get lushgro aqua. Is this combination of tropical premium and lushgro aqua good?

Or dry ferts like KH2PO4, CaNO3 and K2SO4(NPK?) be a better option compared to lushgro aqua?

If you are planning to use lushgro aqua, its formulated as an all-in-one fert with both macro and micro nutrients, so you could just use that on its own... no need to combo/add-on with Tropica Premium.

Dry ferts will be cheaper on the long-run (though the overall savings are usually more significant in larger tanks than smaller tanks), just follow the dosing calculations and be diligent in your water changes if doing EI dosing.

Also look at using root tabs (your 1-2 yr old aqua soil would probably have exhausted most of its nutrient content by now), the hairgrass roots can absorb the necessary nutrients more directly that way and there is less chances of excess nutrients filling the water column.

Try inserting a few root tabs in a test area and see if the growth improves amongst the plants there, that'll be an interesting comparison to observe.

[lzw814]

If you are planning to use lushgro aqua, its formulated as an all-in-one fert with both macro and micro nutrients, so you could just use that on its own... no need to combo/add-on with Tropica Premium.

Dry ferts will be cheaper on the long-run (though the overall savings are usually more significant in larger tanks than smaller tanks), just follow the dosing calculations and be diligent in your water changes if doing EI dosing.

Also look at using root tabs (your 1-2 yr old aqua soil would probably have exhausted most of its nutrient content by now), the hairgrass roots can absorb the necessary nutrients more directly that way and there is less chances of excess nutrients filling the water column.

Try inserting a few root tabs in a test area and see if the growth improves amongst the plants there, that'll be an interesting comparison to observe.

Hi UA,

Thanks for clearing my doubts.. but I have more questions

I read that lushgro aqua lack some nutrients that I have to make up for by dosing other ferts. And most of the articles that I read are based on EI method. However, I am not able to do the EI method as I saw weekly dosing for EI is not recommended(not at home on weekdays). And yeah, I inserted a few root monster into my soil already.

Questions are:

1)how much do I need to dose for lushgro aqua if I'm not going for EI. Is it okay to ignore all the "ppm" calculations and just blindly follow the dosing instruction on the Lushgro aqua bottle, "add 1-5 drops of this solution PER TEN LITRES to the tank 1-2 times a month or whenever you change the water"? Lazy man

2)Do I need to dose KH2PO4 considering that lushgro aqua does not contain phosphorus?

[Urban Aquaria]

If you are not doing EI method with regular large water changes, then just follow the Lushgro bottle dosage recommendations for a start.

You can adjust the dosage higher or lower depending on plant mass and growth rate.

Phosphate can be dosed too if the amount from fish waster or food are insufficient, or if your plants show deficiencies, if its too much and algae starts getting out of control, then reduce dosage accordingly.

[lzw814]

Just bought lushgro aqua and seachem phosphorus from NA. Just dosed in the afternoon. Will see the effect and adjust accordingly on next bookout! Hopefully still can salvage!

[thebaldingaquarist]

Hi lzw814,

to me personally there are 3 levels of dosing an aquarist (not scientist) can take.

level 1 - basic.
this type of dosing, follows strictly what is written on the bottle. an aquarist will buy comprehensive fert solutions and feed the fish on a periodic basis to make up for any trace missing.

level 2 - EI or PMDD
this dosing comes with the objective of not assuming nutrients will come from any source, other than the ones provided by the aquarist. in this form, the aquarist must understand all 17 elements that is required and what for. the aquarist also needs to understand any peculiar needs the plants might have before dosing. following the EI dose also means that aquarist understands how much of each element is required based on water volume and plant mass.

level 3 - experience based dosing
the hardest to attain. based on experiences with tank size, soil type, water volume, plant selection, fish food element composition, the aquarist makes educated estimates as to how much of each element to dose and in what form. level 3 requires experiences based on level 2 and 1.


nutrients here includes CO2.

lushgro aqua does have phosphorus. can see if this is the version you bought?
http://www.ecocityhydroponics.com/lu...ua-liquid.html

and KH₂PO₄ also has phosphorus.
Potassium Phosphate (KH₂PO₄) contains 22.8% phosphorous (P) and 28.7% potassium (K)

if you are feeding fish food (and you have livestock eating the fish food), i suggest you stop dosing Potassium Phosphate and use the lushgro aqua only.
as to how much lushgro is required.. take a look at your tank.. if its not scarcely planted, then follow the instructions on the label and do a water change of at least 20% every week at least.

will take about 1 or 2 weeks to see a difference.

with this recommendation, i am making assumptions that the co2 is well distributed and your tank has a KH of 1 or 2.

[lzw814]

Hi lzw814,

to me personally there are 3 levels of dosing an aquarist (not scientist) can take.

level 1 - basic.
this type of dosing, follows strictly what is written on the bottle. an aquarist will buy comprehensive fert solutions and feed the fish on a periodic basis to make up for any trace missing.

level 2 - EI or PMDD
this dosing comes with the objective of not assuming nutrients will come from any source, other than the ones provided by the aquarist. in this form, the aquarist must understand all 17 elements that is required and what for. the aquarist also needs to understand any peculiar needs the plants might have before dosing. following the EI dose also means that aquarist understands how much of each element is required based on water volume and plant mass.

level 3 - experience based dosing
the hardest to attain. based on experiences with tank size, soil type, water volume, plant selection, fish food element composition, the aquarist makes educated estimates as to how much of each element to dose and in what form. level 3 requires experiences based on level 2 and 1.


nutrients here includes CO2.

lushgro aqua does have phosphorus. can see if this is the version you bought?
http://www.ecocityhydroponics.com/lu...ua-liquid.html

and KH₂PO₄ also has phosphorus.
Potassium Phosphate (KH₂PO₄) contains 22.8% phosphorous (P) and 28.7% potassium (K)

if you are feeding fish food (and you have livestock eating the fish food), i suggest you stop dosing Potassium Phosphate and use the lushgro aqua only.
as to how much lushgro is required.. take a look at your tank.. if its not scarcely planted, then follow the instructions on the label and do a water change of at least 20% every week at least.

will take about 1 or 2 weeks to see a difference.

with this recommendation, i am making assumptions that the co2 is well distributed and your tank has a KH of 1 or 2.

Hi thebaldingaquarist.

oh! i just realise lushgro aqua contains phosphorus! The label itself on the bottle only states "The solution contains N, K, Mg, S, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, and Mo. It is a complete balanced liquid fertilizer for aquatic plants - a PMDD formulation." so I assumed it does not contain P. Looking at the link you provided, it also has the same label however the description below states it contains P.

I using a insta co2 inline reactor. I hope its working well. My co2 indicator seem to be yellowish green all the time, even when co2 is off. Do you have any idea why is that so? Yesterday i just changed the indicator solution, yet to see whether it helps.

And thank you for your detailed explanation. Hopefully after I Serve And F o, i can go to level 2 type of aquarist

[thebaldingaquarist]

Don't worry. A matter of time before you go level 2. It's a hobby, don't stress it.

The indicator liquid in the morning.. Before co2 start.. Is it green? If yes then I think the indicator liquid is screwed.

Ista max mix? I am thinking of starting a fan club. Lol

[Pork Life]

Lushgro aqua shouldnt have P as its based on PMDD. Think you can check out the pdf link on Lushgro aqua at singapore hydroponics website.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

[bennyc]

http://www.ecocityhydroponics.com/lu...ua-liquid.html

I think there is a misprint or typo. The use of short forms becomes confusing. Is P = phosphorus or potassium i think they are confuse already.
However if you based on Dr Mallick label on the bottle, my understanding is it is short of phosphorus.

"The solution contains N, K, Mg, S, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, and Mo. It is a complete balanced liquid fertilizer for aquatic plants - a PMDD formulation."

[Urban Aquaria]

I using a insta co2 inline reactor. I hope its working well. My co2 indicator seem to be yellowish green all the time, even when co2 is off. Do you have any idea why is that so? Yesterday i just changed the indicator solution, yet to see whether it helps.

Co2 is a resource that accumulates in the water... usually during the night time when the lights and Co2 injection are off, the Co2 will usually off-gas through surface gas exchange, but if your Co2 levels are relatively high during the day time and you don't have much surface agitation during the night, the Co2 levels may not change much and can "carry forward" to the next day too, so you could see the drop checker still showing green to light-green color.

Usually this isn't a problem because the next morning when your lights come on, the plants will resume using the Co2 for photosynthesis... but do monitor and watch that the CO2 levels don't gradually creep up higher until the indicator become bright yellow color over time or your fishes start gasping at the surface. Just adjust accordingly to moderate the Co2 injection amount and keep it within safe levels.

To check if your Co2 indicator is working properly, just remove it from the tank and attach it outside the tank for 1-2 hours, observe if it turns back to blue color. If it does turn back to blue color then its working properly, put it back into the tank and it should turn back to green color after a while.

If the indicator still stays green after a few hours outside of the tank, then the indicator solution probably got contaminated or perhaps expired, so time to change it.

Just to add, i'm also using the ISTA Co2 reactor and its very efficient in dissolving Co2 in the water, at just 1 bps injection rate my Co2 drop checker also showed light-green from day to night until the next day too... nowadays i tune the injection rate to just 0.5 bps and it seems to be just right, with the daytime indicator color light green, and the night time indicator color darker green (there is still sufficient Co2 for the plants with lots of pearling and the lower bps rate helps avoid excessive Co2 accumulation over time, safer for the fishes and shrimps). I guess its just a matter of adjusting the injection rate to find your ideal configuration.