new tanks pearl less easy?

[gregorsamsa]

Hey folks, i have a newly set up tank about 5 days old

467x260x270mm
actual water volume about 29-30 litres of water
fan cooled
eden 304 filter
JBJ base fert topped by lapis gravel
lighting is 2x15 watt FL (6200K), 10 hours controlled by timer
Co2 injected via ceramic diffusor @ 2 bps


No fauna

Flora: glosso, hairgrass, rotala sp green rotala waichii, l. arcuata, MM

About half of the tank is planted with the stemmed plants while the remaining is the low lying plants.

Problem:

i have started to dose about half of (1/4 tbs KNO3 rice grain PO4 and 10 drops LGmicros). after noticing that my plants o not pearl and that new growth of L. Arcuata is actually reddish or transparent, i topped up the other half.

there have been no algae problem, but neither is there significant pearling. Most of the bubbles are Co2 trapped on the leaf. It may sound paranoid, but should i pump in more fert? or should i just stick to the dosing and wait till next week when the plants have grown in.

when there was no algae on my tank despite what i feel was OD, there was no algae, but neither was pearling, signifying the lack of nutrients? Or should i change the light tubes? because i think 6500K is the better range for lights. maybe i'll change to Arcadia t8s.

Lastly, how do i mix dry compounds with 500 ml of water. Im kind of confused with Chuck's Calculator formula. Meaning whats the normal tbs of KNO3 and PO4 to 500ml of water. I know juggler posted it once but cant find that thread.

sorry for the questions

jiesheng the paranoid

[|squee|]

The plants are just 5 days old, they are still adjusting to your tank. They have to be established first. 2 weeks later and they should be growing.

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_aquacalc.htm

The above is the program version, which has calculation for dry compounds to be added directly to your tank. I don't know about mixing stock solutions though

[PeterGwee]

What is your CO2 level? Is the tank heavily planted? The nutrients are easy to address via the EI method which you probably did enough or in excess and so the next biggest player is CO2. Try to get 30ppm and keep it there throughout the photoperiod. You should see the plants pearl if the plant mass and CO2 is good.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[gregorsamsa]

hey peter,

kh 2 ph 5.5, sera test kit, CO2 should be off scale high (inaccuracies inaccuracies).

i hope its because of low plant mass because the arcuata turning transparent suggest missing something.

what about the 6200K lights? is it an issue?

[PeterGwee]

gregorsamsa, try dosing the macros every other day and the micros the day after the macros.

Eg. Day 1: Macros: KNO3, KH2PO4
Day 2: Micros
Day 3: Macros
Day 4: Micros
Day 5: Macros
Day 6: Micros
Day 7: Macros
Day 8: Water change and then repeat

Keep a close watch on the CO2 and make sure it is stable. Get something that measures better..AP kit measures at 0.2 intervals if I'm not wrong. 30ppm is a good number to hit and keep during the photoperiod but you are not bound to it if something does not seem right and you are dosing enough nutrients.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[gregorsamsa]

hey,

thanks peter. i used that regime once but gave up because i have to mix it every day. currently, i have observed growth in my rotala indica, as well as a slight case of hair algae and spotting on my rotala "green".


will post pics of my tank as soon as there is rabid (yes rabid) growth of the rotalas.

regards

jiesheng