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Re: rooting Elodea
>Subject: rooting elodea
>
> I am a science teacher and periodically we use elodea in experiments.
>We normally buy it at a local pet store, but at times it's not available
>and when I need to do a lab it can present a problem. Can you tell me
>how to root it, and what elements and concentrations I need in a 10
>gallon fish tank. Other information like temperature and what else I need
>to know would be very helpful to my students and I. I have a greenhouse
>to grow it in.
>
Put about 1 to two inches of topsoil on the bottom, and weigh down the
Elodea with pebbles. It should root easily. It grows well with bright
light, some snails, and some Daphnia to keep green water under control.
Put in a small peice of dried liver now and then to feed the snails and
indirectly fertilize the Elodea. If the older leaves are dying off, add
about 5 CC of 1 molar KCl.
>Subject: Enigma
>
>I have a 150 gal. heavily planted tank, fertilized with CO2 and PMDD. =
>Nitrates are 5-6 ppm, Fe is 0.5 mg/ml, GH =3D 120-130 ppm, Ph is 6.4-6.6, =
>phosphate level is below 0.1ppm. The weird thing is every time I do a =
>water change I suddenly see a burst of activity in my plants, i.e. the =
>plants release oxygen bubbles like crazy. This, to me, indicates a =
>nutrient deficiency but I can't figure out what it could be. Any =
>idea's???
This has been reported before, and there was a long discussion about a year
ago. If the new water comes right out of the tap, it may be supersaturated
with dissolved gasses, having been under pressure. These gasses may come
out of solution on the plants, or they may even diffuse out of the
supersaturated solution into the air channels in the plants and make it
look like they (the plants) are making more oxygen than they are. Tell us,
Does the new water come out of the tap? If it does, try storing it for a
few days and then adding it. After a few days of storage, the dissolved
gasses should be in equilibrium with the atmosphere, and any additional
bubble production after adding the stored water could only be due to either
some additional CO2 in the stored water or some nutrient that the plants
were deficient in.
Paul Krombholz Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS 39174
In soggy Jackson, Mississippi where it raind about 1.5 inches yesterday.