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Lighting/Pearling



Anthony C. wrote:

>>Every day at about 4pm, a shaft of sunlight passes across my tank.  As
this
happens, the entire tank suddenly starts pearling and bubbling;  the water
looks
positively 'fizzy'.  After the light passes, the plants continue to bubble,
but
at a MUCH slower pace.  There is almost no bubbling prior to the sunlight.<<

Anthony: the same exact thing is happening to me. I have two aquariums: one
has 3 w/g and the other 4 w/g.  The 3 w/g tank will pearl occasionally, but
not very much. The tank with 4 w/g is the one that gets the shaft of
sunlight (one side of the tank).  When the sunlight hits the tank, the
plants on the sunlight side go crazy with bubbles. The side of the tank with
no sunlight, may have some bubbles, but not very many.

Also, since I have been doing this plant thing for over a year now, I have
experience with all four seasons and would like to comment on pearling after
water changes. Last year during cold weather, I noticed a great deal of
pearling in both of my tanks after water changes. I asked the list members
why this happened and I got several responses. Some said that I could have a
deficiency that was retarding photosynthesis, and when I added fresh water
to the tank, the deficiency was overcome and the plants immediately began to
photosynthesize/pearl.  Others mentioned that the fresh water could have
large amounts of undissolved  gases and when the water entered the aquarium,
the gases were released and the plants "channeled" the escaping bubbles.
Since I have not noticed this phenomenon since warm weather arrived and my
tanks' temperatures do not change, I have to opt for the latter explanation.
Of course, there is always the possibility that I overcame a deficiency too,
but I doubt it. I guess this winter will tell for sure, eh?

My conclusion from all of this is that although "real" pearling may be
effected by numerous things going on in the tank (CO2 concentration,
chemical balances, types of plants, temperatures, etc., etc., etc.),  the
variable that effects my tanks the most is the amount of light reaching the
plants, and, in my case, it has to be more than 4 w/g.  I know there is
probably someone out there who has pearling going on with 2 w/g or less. If
you are one of them, maybe you could share your method of success with those
of us who are less fortunate.

Regards,

Ken Guin
Kenguin at homemail_com