plants not bubbling well....

[jon]

hi all

for the past week or so my plants have not been bubbling well at all. usually at bout 4-6 in the afternoon i can see lots of bubbles. but now very little.
the water is a little cloudy lately, since i put in my discus. (not green water tho)

can anyone help?

tank size - 3feet (bout 40-45 gallons rite>?)
kh - 4
ph - 6.5-7
NO3 n NH4 at normal levels, NO3 might be a little above zero tho.

temp - 26-28C
c02 - 1.5-2bps
light- 100Watts (2xFL tubes @ 18W each and 2XPL at 36W each)
fert- seachem flourish, trace, potassium, nitrogen, iron.
filtration - external filter. (taiwan brand, getting a little weak on the flowrate)

plants - e.tennellus, japonica, balanse, wendii, amazon swords
bioload- pretty high, coz i added my discus a week back.

pls help! i want to see my plants bubbling again!!

[bclee]

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On 6/26/2003 6:08:29 PM


plants - e.tennellus, japonica, balanse, wendii, amazon swords
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Errr... these plants that you have do not normally bubble unless there is a nick on the leaves.

BC

[PeterGwee]

You should be more concern about the growth and health of the plants rather than the amount of bubbling although it is good to see some. ...I recommend you get a pH test pen or monitor to get a more precise pH reading as the range given by you is rather great. pH at 6.5 would give you good CO2 level whereas pH at 7.0 and you are on the low side. (Look at your CO2 level properly then your NO3 -->you mention it is just above zero...if it is accurate, then dose some KNO3 or seachem nitrogen to bring the level up to 5-10ppm).

[jon]

hi peter n bclee

yes i know there has to be nicks on the leaves =)
ive got lots on my crypts n tennellus =)

i'll take a look at the NO3 level later, n dose as necessary.
as the the ph level, i cant really give a very accurate level unless i get a ph pen. how much is it?

will keep u guys informed,
jon.

[vinz]

Well, you'll be surprised how much difference a little cloudy can make to the light the plants are getting.

Time to clean filter for sure even if it's just to unclog it. The additional bio-load may have triggered a bacteria bloom in the water, while your filter tries to catch up. Clean the filter and make sure you don't damage the bacteria colony.

You been changing water? IME, a mature tank that turns slightly cloudy will clear by itself in a few days if you leave it alone.

If your KH is 4 and pH 6.5, I won't be worried, but if the pH is 7, then CO2 may be a little low.

[vinz]

A pH tester would be about $60 for the Milwaukee brand one, if I'm not wrong.

Oh yeah, how many discuses did you add? They would be consuming O2 in your tank and reducing the saturation. I wonder if they can make a difference though. But given that you tank bubbles so late (I assume the lights have been on for a few hours by the that time), it just might.

[jon]

hi

my NO3 is at 5mg/l
is it enough?

hi vinz,
well i added 5 juv discus.
i took out about 16 other smaller fishes tho.

i'll clean the filter later. should i change water as well?

how much CO2 should i inject? 3bps?

jon.

[vinz]

NO3 seems fine.

Yah, change the water as well. Give the filter bacteria a chance to catch up by ridding of some of those in the water.

If your plants were bubbling before and you've not mess with the CO2, then I'm guessing there's enough CO2. The risk of upping it is CO2 OD and possibly poisoning. If you do that, do so on a weekend where you can be at home most of 2 whole days and observe the fishes for CO2 OD symptoms.

I wouldn't go up an entire bps.. normally I just turn the needle valve knob a tiny fraction and then measure KH/pH a few hours later.

[jon]

hi vinz

changed the water, washed the filter.
should i add the liquid ferts? how bout BB? (cycle)

anything i should do?

hmm btw my water's pretty cloudy now. forgot to put a net over the outlet so now i got lotsa air bubbles n debris floating ard lol. did manage to catch bout half of the debris with a net tho. lucky.

btw my temp can go all the way down to 25.+ degrees on cools days, like today.
is it ok? i think the fan works too well.

jon.[:]

[PeterGwee]

Jon, dose the ferts back to induce strong plant growth which will only do well for the fishes. Drop the Seachem trace as flourish would do but get some source for PO4. Bio bacteria? No worries...your plants would take care of your fishes and suck all the available ammonia before they make it to NO2 if you grow them well.

Regarding debris coming out from your filter outlet...did you clean those tubings? I hope you clean it though...Just grow the plants well and all should be fine. (Mmmmm..you had lower temperature recently..might well be the reason why less bubbling as cold water holds more O2.)

[jon]

hi peter

havent clean the tubing =)
coz my canister lousy one. very troublesome to prime.

oh yes, how much baking soda do i add to increase 1 degree of kh for a 3 feet tank? (bout 40-45 gallons)

jon.

[vinz]

Jon, check the Aquatic FAQ. The baking soda info is there.

I don't think your fan works too well.. it's great. I wish I can get 25 celcius on my tanks with just fans.

[TBI]

hi vinz,
as u said that clowdy water affects e light penetration....how bout e surface protein affects e light penetration???
i am not using surface skimmer cuz don like to see that black thing there, just wondering will it affect alot of light pene...or it is ok??
cuz if it affect alot i mite wan to put back e s-skimmer or mite try clearing e protein more often. thanks

[PeterGwee]

No worries....unless you can't see through the water..[:]

[jon]

thanks vinz

i checked the tank just now. altho its still somewat cloudy the plants are bubbling better.

anything i should maintain or do to the tank?

oh yeah, just wondering but doesnt your aro attack when u put your hand in the tank? my old LH used to do that all the time. i usually get quite a few nicks n scratches after cleaning out the LH tank.

jon.