Re: drooping Giant Vals

To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
Subject: Re: drooping Giant Vals
From: rjw at aluxs_att.com (Ronald Wozniak)
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 96 16:51:02 EST

>From: Mike Variano <mvariano at vnet_ibm.com>
>Date: Mon, 18 Mar 1996 18:33:38 -0500
>Subject: drooping Giant Vals
>
>My giant Vals tend to grow to the top of my tank, and then
>after a week or so they lay down on the lower plants. It
>doesn't happen all at once, but they seem to all do it
>eventually. The upper layers of my tank is sparce.. All else
>seems to grow well. PH-6.8, gh-4, temp 78, 90watts full
>spectrum on 40gal tall. (24"). Yeast CO2 and laterite in the
>substrate. Iron unknown, KH unknown... What am I missing?
>Is there something I should adjust for there liking? I'm
>buying both iron and KH test kits, do they prefer high KH?
>thanks for any advice,
>Mike

I have Crystal River Vals and sometimes have the same problem.
I use DIY C02 from a 10lb tank and manual control.  In the 
early days, water would somehow siphon up the C02 tubing
(even through the check valve!?).  When the timer turned the CO2
back on, there was enough pressure to force the water out, and
the CO2 was blocked.

Anyways..., before I knew it the pH would jump up from 6.8 to
about 7.4 (GH-4, KH-2).  I don't know if it's the pH change or
that the pH it's 7.4 pH, but the vals would turn from green 
to a brownish green, most would droop, and about half would die.
Luckily, they recover quickly (2-3 weeks) once the pH stays 
below 7.0 and relatively constant.

It wasn't until it got a electronic pH meter that I am better able
to spot these pH shifts.  But that's a subject of another story.

Ron Wozniak  Allentown PA, USA