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Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #38
>From: Il KiNGS <IlKiNGS at aol_com>
>Exactly what happens when a crypt "melts". I have heard this term used
>several times but can't find a definite answer to what it is.
>
When you see it, you will know it. The leaves turn a kind of glassy green
and fall apart. They turn to mush.
-------------------------
>From: "Jennifer Koopmansflyer@" <flyer at island_net>
>Subject: Strange Algae
>
>Hi everyone,
>I have a strange algae growing on the sides of my tank that I don't
>recognize. I looks like little (1mm) olive gray pompoms on the glass. Does
>anyone know what it is? It doesn't seem to be spreading very fast but
>neither Otos or SAE's seem to eat it.............
It sounds like it may not be algae at all, but colonies of Vorticella, a
cup-shaped ciliate with a stalk. Some species of Vorticella have large
branched colonies with a common stalk, others, just single individuals,
each with their own stalk.
>From: T Borich <tborich at usa_net>
>Subject: Co2 Reactor
>
>Hi all,
>I have been using a DIY Co2 system for about a month now, and am seeing
>some growth even though I have been feeding the Co2 into the intake of my
>power filter (I could tell it wasn't working very well, big bubbles were
>showing up in my filter). So, I am now feeding the bubbles into a
>plastic container that is floating at the top of the tank. It can hold
>21/2 cups of gas and about 25+ cubic inches of surface area for gas
>exchange. Still, it is constantly full and practically all of the
>bubbles escape. Alas, I do not know what to do.
>Suggestions?
>
The gas that persists in the floating container almost surely has the same
composition as ordinary air. When you bubble in CO2, the CO2 starts
diffusing into the water, but the water is also in equilibrium with
atmospheric N2 and O2, and these gasses immediately start diffusing out of
the water into the CO2 bubble. They will continue to diffuse into the
bubble until their partial pressures in the bubble are the same as they are
in the water. You are left with a smaller bubble whose gas composition is
in equilibrium with the dissolved gasses in your water. When you add more
CO2, these processes start all over and continue until the bubble is again,
in equilibrium with the dissolved N2 and O2 in your tank. The bubble will
grow as long as you add CO2 to it, even though almost all the CO2 is
getting into your tank water. The best thing to do is vent the bubble out
of the floating container every once in a while. You won't be losing very
much CO2 when you do this.
------------------------------
>From: Martyn Mitchell <kathmart at istar_ca>
>Subject: manganese
>
>Hi folks:
>
>The trace element mix I bought does not contain manganese. The mix
>recommended by Paul Sears recipe (as found in "the Krib") for PMDD does
>include manganese. Does anyone know of anything I might add to my mix to
>include the manganese?
Epsom salts is a cheap source of MgSo4. Drug stores often carry epsom
salts. also, many garden stores carry magnesium sulfate in five or ten
pound bags. Magnesium, however, is one of the macronutrients, not a trace
element.
-----------------------------------
>From: cprokes at awinc_com (cp)
>Subject: Ion exchange water softener
>
>Could some one, please, explain to me why water softened by ion exchange
>water softener should not be used in fresh water aquarium. Even at 440ppm
>hardness, the process adds only about a tea spoon of salt per five gal of
>water, about the same amount recommended by some to add anyway!?
>A clear explanation will be much appreciated.
>
All the calcium in the calcium bicarbonate and all the magnesium in the
magnesium bicarbonate are replaced by sodium during the ion exchange
process, and you now have a lot of rather too alkaline sodium bicarbonate.
Your plants need calcium and magnesium, anyway.
Paul Krombholz, in beyond soggy central Mississippi where the inch of rain
forcast became 4 inches.