Reply With Quotewith my limited knowledge, i think your CO2 is on the low side. pump in more to try out, for me it is trial and error till i get the right balance.
Hi bros,
Need to ask for some advice on how to encourage plant growth without the algae problems.
I have recently installed a CO2 (1 bubble per 5 seconds) system in my 19 galleon tank (40HX60WX30D) and coupled with the 2X24W lights. I thought this would be enough to encourage the plants to grow. (currently have ludwiga, corkscrew val, dwarf hair and glosso)
With the glosso and dwarf hair, I would think there are enough fast growers to absorb all the nutrients in circulation? However it seems that I'm simply promoting more algae growth which has covered the entire front panel of the tank in like 3 days.
To reiterate here are some stats of my tank:
Size: 60x40x30
Lights: 2X24W for 12 hours
Co2: 1 bubble every 5 seconds
Plants: ludwiga, corkscrew val, dwarf hair and glosso
Am I getting some of the stats wrong? Should I be pumping more CO2? Or reducing the light duration?
Thanks in advance for all your help.
with my limited knowledge, i think your CO2 is on the low side. pump in more to try out, for me it is trial and error till i get the right balance.
You CO2 is too low. Your light also too long. Pump more CO2 maybe 2 bubble per second. It would be great if you have drop checker to estimate the ppm. If new tank, reduce your light duration to 6 hours a day. Once plants start growing, you can increase it but try not more than 10hours a day
What substrate/soil are you using?
Plants need nutrient, light and CO2 to grow. Its grow will stunt if any of these not available or limited.
ok I'll try upping the CO2 and reducing the light duration.
Can you share with me how will I know when i've found my 'perfect' combination?
My gravel is that black soft gravel like stuff meant for shrimp tanks? Don't think it's ADA material but it's similar.
are you dosing fertilizer?
You need to find out whether your substrate contain nutrient or not. If not you need to dose fertilizer. You can increase the CO2 but if there is no nutrient available the plant grow will stunt
Hi bro,
i also noticed that you switch on your lights for 12 hours for your new tank. Try cutting down the duration. 6 - 8 hrs should be sufficient. Initially, for a new tank setup would be more prone to algae or dirt build ups on the side panes just manually use a soft sponge to wipe them away. They should not come back. Introduce some nirite snails too.
This isn't a brand new tank actually. Unless you restart your timing everytime you make changes to the flora in the tank. This tank has been setup for about 2 months? And the last change of flora was about 1 week ago where I planted the glosso.
I'm increasing the CO2 to 3 bubbles a second, and reducing the lights to 7 hours a day. Is temperature a factor as well? I was told that because I maintain my water temp at around 23.5 then the plant growth will also be adversely affected? I'm currently upping the tank temperature to 25 average.
As for nutrients in the gravel. I believe that bag did advertise that the gravel had plant beneficial nutrients along with being suitable for shrimp and PH neutral.
Hey guys,
Ok I think I'm a bit closer to the perfect ratio. Right now I've installed a CO2 reactor kit and the lights are only scheduled for 7 hours daily. Everything seems to be ok, and I've seen my glosso starting to send runners out to the sides.
But the glosso still aren't pearling? This is particularly confusing as I'm noticing small bubbles of air EVERYWHERE else in the tank. The lilies seem to be producing bubbles, the corkscrew val are producing bubbles, the red ludwigas are producing bubbles, even the gravel and rocks seems to be 'leaking' bubbles. But the glosso seem content to just send their runners out and not make a single blip.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought that the Glosso would be the one producing the bubbles more than anything else in the tank?
Here are my revised stats for the tank:
Tank Dimensions:
Size: 60x40x30
Lights: 4X24W for 7 hours
Co2: 1 bubble every 1 seconds for the same time period as the lights.
Temperature: 24 degrees
Plants: ludwiga, corkscrew val, dwarf hair and glosso.
Does anyone have any idea why the glosso aren't showing their magic?
Lights: 2X24W for 12 hours ....problem
My way - New tank (3-6 months old) need 4 hours. Lights are not needed if plants are not making food.
Anyway, I think it is a good job on your part. Plants are doing well. No worries, glossostigma is doing well if they are crawling.
colin | The Wilderness and Forest | FTS
Hi Guys,
ok as an update to my tank, things are moving a long so much better now. I can regulate the CO2 and the lights using timers and the solenoid is really a very useful piece of equipment!
But I'd like to ask about the CO2 reactor and it's usage? the reactor I have is a vertical column with the CO2 diffuser located at the bottom and the water being pumped in from the top. I assume that the water agitation in the high CO2 environment is supposed to help with the saturation of CO2 into the water. But I've noticed that at the beginning of the day, the air trapped in the reactor is minimal, and by the time the lights and the CO2 cut off about half the reactor is filled with air. I assume this means that the diffusion of CO2 into the water isn't as fast as the bubble counter. But does this have any significance to how long I should keep my lights on? Is it a problem is CO2 rich water continues to be produced without any lights?
Right assumption. No impact on how long you should keep the lights on.I assume this means that the diffusion of CO2 into the water isn't as fast as the bubble counter. But does this have any significance to how long I should keep my lights on?
Is it a problem is CO2 rich water continues to be produced without any lights?
No - but you need to disturb the surface of the water a little bit. Oxygen is needed at all time; this includes photosynthesis period or dormant.
The importance of O2
colin | The Wilderness and Forest | FTS
thanks for the info. . . .but can I clarify something?
To me, if the CO2 reactor is continuing to produce CO2 rich water after the lights and CO2 canister shut off, couldn't this be counter-acted by simply shutting off the CO2 earlier? or prolonging the light duration? Or is the agitation of the surface enough to maintain enough oxygen in the tank for the fish not to die over night.
If I remember my science, plants make O2 through photosynthesis, but produce CO2 at night. So it would sound to me that the CO2 levels in the tank could reach potentially high levels if the reactor and the plants are both producing CO2 through the night?
are you injecting CO2 24 hours? if yes then you might want to add air pump at night depending on your bioload. If not then nothing to worry about, the residual CO2 pressure should not last more than 30 minutes. What I mean is after the CO2 shut off, I still able to see bubble coming out in my bubble counter for few minutes.
Oh no. I'm not injecting CO2 24 hours. OMG that would be insane. It's just that I'm concerned that the CO2 levels in the water might get dangerously high because at 10pm when my CO2 and Lights cut off simultaneously, the reactor is half-filled with CO2. So I believe that even after the lights have been turned off, CO2 is still being aerated into the water by the reactor. I stress this is a CO2 reactor not a diffuser, so the CO2 gas trapped inside is quite a lot.
Yes. Like Shadow said.. nothing to worry about.
colin | The Wilderness and Forest | FTS
Hah hah ok ok. I get it. Nothing to worry about. Sorry. IT's just that my GF and I have been investing a lot of money into the tank and gotten very attached to it's occupants. We are deathly afraid of losing any of our 'children'. So I'm doing my part to make sure they all lead happy happy lives.
Sorry if it seems like I've being stubborn about it. I won't bring it up again.
Thanks for all your inputs bros.
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