HC Leaves turning white and silky white stuff

[Reckless]

Some patches of my newly planted HC is turning white with white silky thread like stuff around them.

Are they dying? Is the white silky stuff algae?

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About 10% of my HC patches have this issue. is it something that I done wrong?

[Urban Aquaria]

It could be mold or fungus feeding on the residual nutrient gel or melting HC which are still in transition... they will usually disappear once all the nutrients in that area are consumed.

If the wispy thread like substance starts to turn brownish, then it could be filamentous brown diatoms (ie. synedra), relatively common in new tanks setups and will also usually disappear as the tank matures. Anyways, when you add in shrimps (after the tank is cycled), they will also help eat it up.

If the threads start to turn green, then it'll be hair/thread algae.

Either way, you can manually remove those wispy thread-like substances with a pair of tweezers or tooth brush (just twirl it into the brush and remove).

[Reckless]

I am looking at an increase from 10% to 30% of the HC population turning white and silky. Is there something I did wrong. Anything I can do to ease the transition?

I have been dosing co2 60-80 bubbles per min. Giving them 6-8 hours of T5HO light a day. Did I overdoes co2? Iron,? Nitrogen or any of the liquid nutrients?

[Ingen]

I am looking at an increase from 10% to 30% of the HC population turning white and silky. Is there something I did wrong. Anything I can do to ease the transition?

I have been dosing co2 60-80 bubbles per min. Giving them 6-8 hours of T5HO light a day. Did I overdoes co2? Iron,? Nitrogen or any of the liquid nutrients?

Did I read wrongly, 60-80bpm? I would think it's too much, or are you using those very fine glass bubble counters that flow insanely fast?

[atolylica]

60-80 bpm is 1-1.3 bps.

That's not a lot.

[Ingen]

60-80 bpm is 1-1.3 bps.

That's not a lot.

oh yah, hahaha thought was 60-80 per second

[markus92]

Do me I always adjust according to the bubble flow coming out of my counter instead of counting the bps, more of gut feeling and estimation

[wuguidan]

For co2, i think its better to check your co2 checker whether is it in green colour range. Different tanks different needs.

[Urban Aquaria]

60-80 bpm is 1-1.3 bps.

That's not a lot.

Yeah, thats actually a rather conservative bps injection rate for his tank size... considering that its a 4ft tank with volume of around 297+ liters (as mentioned in his other tank setup thread).

[wuguidan]

I read before that if the cycling tank has only plants inside, one can increase the co2 bubble rate, even to the extend of the co2 checker turning yellow. Increase in co2 can help boost plant growth?

[Urban Aquaria]

I read before that if the cycling tank has only plants inside, one can increase the co2 bubble rate, even to the extend of the co2 checker turning yellow. Increase in co2 can help boost plant growth?

Yeah, without any livestock in the tank, its okay to keep higher Co2 levels. The ample carbon supply allows the plants to fully utilize all the available light and nutrients for maximum photosynthesis and growth.

[markus92]

Yeah, without any livestock in the tank, its okay to keep higher Co2 levels. The ample carbon supply allows the plants to fully utilize all the available light and nutrients for maximum photosynthesis and growth.

i have always wondered what if i on purpose injected more co2 to increase co2 levels and ran an airpump at the same time, does it counter each other?
if doing so would it be advisable to run a air pump aswell to give oxygen for the bb to break down nitrate levels? or would that be counter productive as it will reduce the "higher" co2 levels for the plants?

[Urban Aquaria]

i have always wondered what if i on purpose injected more co2 to increase co2 levels and ran an airpump at the same time, does it counter each other?
if doing so would it be advisable to run a air pump aswell to give oxygen for the bb to break down nitrate levels? or would that be counter productive as it will reduce the "higher" co2 levels for the plants?

Well, extra surface agitation from air pumps would increase the rate of Co2 off-gassing at the water surface, so it is abit counter productive as you'll need to inject more Co2 to make up for the losses.

If your tank has alot of plants which are actively photosynthesizing (ie. pearling), the oxygen levels will be at maximum saturation levels, so the livestock and beneficial bacteria would be getting alot of oxygen already, hence an air pump during this period isn't necessary.

What most people do is schedule their timers to only activate the air pump after the lights and Co2 injection are off. The air pump will then help in maintaining higher oxygen levels in the water during the non-photosynthesis period.

Note that in heavily planted tanks (especially for those with relatively low bio-loads), very often the high amount of oxygen production during the active photoperiod is usually more than enough to also retain high oxygen levels throughout the night and sustain the livestock comfortably, so air pumps tend to be more of an optional item for such tanks.

[markus92]

Thanks for the detailed explanation to solve my headache.
To sum it up time to get another timer to activate the air pump when my co2 and lightnings are off