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what nutrient is missing? the rest of the long story.



Please forgive for grammar, punctuation or spelling errors.

	I have some questions. I have a grass like plant, can't give the
scientific name, but it grows very tall about 15" and sends runners, medium
green in color (Kermit the frog green :). Well the first question is the
grass, some leaves and only a couple of them. Have turned a rust red, are
very brittle and are hard to the touch. 
		
	The second problem is, I believe the plant is called a Ludwigia(?).
It is a green/red leaf, stem, bunch plant that grows to the top of the tank
(24"). This plant it seems to be melting away from the top down. I have seen
it do something like this from the bottom up but not the other way around.
And again it is only a couple of the plants. All of them have healthy root
systems and are anchored well in the substrate.
   	
	I  also have a few bulb plants that I bought, which were named
African violet lilies(?) that sends out heart shaped leaves which measure
about 2 inches across and are red in color with dark red/brown patches. That
is how one looks now, bought a few weeks ago so they are probably not full
grown as yet. The question with this one is. How long will the leaves last?
A few months, weeks? And in general how long do leaves last that are  from
bulb plants?	    

Aquarium parameters:
100 gals, co2 bottle and few bubbles a second injected into a fluval 403
(the only filter with ceramic disks and polyester from the local craft
store) 1/2 fluorite 1/2-2mm gravel about 3 inches thick, two 175 watt mh.
5400 deg. K. on 12 hours timer. Some fairly old (over a year) driftwood not
the Malaysian style but meant for freshwater. Also a under gravel heater
bought from McMaster Carr keeping the tap water temp about 79 to 80 deg.
Been higher, now that spring has arrived living in AZ. going to get hotter
thou. Have a small fish load: 2 male FFFs, 1 Botia (sniffle), 2 CAE, 2 C.
Fighting fish (they get along, can you believe it :)  

All tests are the Hagen brand except the one noted. 
NO3: 5-10 ppm (tap water is agriculture run off, thought this should be
higher)
NO2: 0
Fe    : .1 (hard to hold)
NH4:  0
KH  :  18deg (see below)
Co2 : 35 (can't trust this because of the Kh debacle, again see below)
pH   : 7 - 6.9
Phosphate (po4?) - .5 or less (Seachem)

Started using the pmdd formula as listed at the Krib and add job spikes
about a month ago, with the slight exception of the PNo3, the hydroponics
store stopped carrying this additive. But they did have CaNo3. Didn't think
much of this so I bought it. Well at first everything was going great. The
plants started pearling practically the next day and grow wonderfully for
about 3 weeks.  
Had some hair algae problems &  BGA. Introduced two male FFF's (via this
list) and bye bye hair algae. So next thing to tackle was the BGA. Had this
for about a year now, this stuff is the definition of persistence. I was
using Seachem Iron, Flourish and the Excel when this stuff appeared. Have
since stopped using it. 
Well I moved and this meant tearing down the tank. Cleaned the tank
thoroughly, moved everything. Set it back up no more BGA till the second
day. Started using the pmdd with the CaNO3, but still had the BGA and it was
growing as well as the plants. Well my Kh was rising and I was lowering the
co2 thinking it was getting to high (via the list pH/Kh = co2 at the krib).
Then did some more reading and found out my mistake. Did a huge water change
and unfortunately found a decaying Botia (doesn't look like aggression of
the FFF, he was trapped in a cavity of the wood, moved during a water
change), removed him and the Kh is starting to come down. I also increased
my co2 bubble rate via B. Barr's persist comments and since the Kh reading
are flawed. Am I right about this?    
Sorry about the rant, but everything is looking good and growing well, the
BGA is on the decline but green spot is rearing it ugly head (I use razor
blades, have had no problems). Need to find some SAEs. Got snookered into
some flying foxes that do nothing, didn't know any better but I am learning.
Thanks to everyone who contributes to this list. My hat is off to you all.
Just wish I trusted the net sooner could of saved myself some cash and
trouble.  

P.S.  I made my own bubble counter, went down to the A.S.U. laboratory
supply store and bought 1. 3mm wide test tube, 1 corresponding stopper and 1
length (2 ft) of 3/16 glass tubing. 
Drilled two holes in the stopper, inserted a 4" & 2" length of glass tube.
Filled the test tube with distilled water. Past the bottom of the 4"
section. Sealed the tube with the stopper, place the hose from the needle
valve on the 4" length and the hose to the reactor on the 1.5" tube. works
wonderfully and only cost .43 cents total. Have to top off the tube
occasionally but for less then half a buck, who cares. (just need to find
suction cups to keep the tube vertical, I used the FLuval tube holder the
larger one works perfectly. and place a check valve in line from the tube to
the reactor. No need for an explaination here but, pleasing a disgruntled
wife because of a soggy carpet is not easy or cheap.