No this is not true. I use poor light lots of times and I never have spindly growth.Poor light will create spindly plants with small leaves.
No, this isn't true either.Leaves often fall off towards the bottom leaving it bare.
No this is not true. I use poor light lots of times and I never have spindly growth.
No, this isn't true either.
Poor CO2 and poor flow/distribution causes both of these symptoms.
And no, light is never a nutrient in any sense of the word. Light is an engine and nutrients are the fuel.
Cheers,
Ceg what you think is the cause of this paleness?No this is not true. I use poor light lots of times and I never have spindly growth.
No, this isn't true either.
Poor CO2 and poor flow/distribution causes both of these symptoms.
And no, light is never a nutrient in any sense of the word. Light is an engine and nutrients are the fuel.
Cheers,
Nope just grows slower.Doesn't light affect a plant's appearance like the size of its leaves for example? Aren't there plants for which more light is essential?
Yes but in that case light can never be a limiting factor. Is this possible?Nope just grows slower.
Yes light can definitely be limiting. Every plant will have a <"light compensation point" (LCP)>, where photosynthesis and respiration are balanced, if the light level doesn't reach the LCP in a leaf, then that leaf will be shed. Because you have green leaves lower down the plant I don't think it is a light issue.Yes but in that case light can never be a limiting factor. Is this possible?
Chlorosis is a symptom rather than a separate condition, but it is quite likely to be iron (Fe) deficiency. As "banthaman.jm" quotes iron isn't mobile within the plant and causes chlorosis in the new leaves, this is due to problems with chlorophyll synthesis.Is the pale greenness due to iron deficiency or chlorosis?Iron - New Pale growth of new leaves
Yes, any factor involved in growth can become limiting. That is undeniable.Yes but in that case light can never be a limiting factor. Is this possible?
Ceg what you think is the cause of this paleness?
Thanks a lot for these infos. Tank water is hard so this could be an issue. Dosed a bit more iron yesterday and today saw a bit better condition. Too early to say it's improving though. Will keep an eye on this.Hi all,Yes light can definitely be limiting. Every plant will have a <"light compensation point" (LCP)>, where photosynthesis and respiration are balanced, if the light level doesn't reach the LCP in a leaf, then that leaf will be shed. Because you have green leaves lower down the plant I don't think it is a light issue. Chlorosis is a symptom rather than a separate condition, but it is quite likely to be iron (Fe) deficiency. As "banthaman.jm" quotes iron isn't mobile within the plant and causes chlorosis in the new leaves, this is due to problems with chlorophyll synthesis.
You can discount magnesium (Mg), nitrogen (N) or potassium (K) deficiencies, all of which causes chlorosis because all these elements are mobile within the plant and would effect older leaves first. If you have very hard water chlorosis is more likely to appear, due to interference in uptake because of the high level of Ca++ ions.
You could add some more iron in a chelated form, I always use FeEDTA, but other chelators are better at higher pH values. If it is iron deficiency, the pale leaves won't green up, but anew leaves will be normally coloured.
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cheers Darrel
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Thanks a lot Ceg for the vital info and suggestions. Substrate is fluval stratum which is around 2 months old. Previously i had the spraybar and wave maker whose positions weren't good for a good flow. For last 2 week changed their positions and removed the spraybar. Flow is good, infact a bit high causing more surface agitation. Is this good as more gaseous exchange will take place or will it cause loss of co2?Yes, any factor involved in growth can become limiting. That is undeniable.
In our experience however, the minimum required level of lighting is almost NEVER reached in our tanks.
By an overwhelming majority, the cause of problems with growth or deterioration of plant tissue is poor gas exchange.
There is a deadly combination of poor CO2, which is needed in large quantity in order for the plant to feed itself (plants are about 40% Carbon), and even worse is poor Oxygen, which cause suffocation.
Gases move very slowly in water, about 10,000 time more slowly than when they are in air. So the struggle of a plant being under water has all to do with obtaining the gases they need to breathe and grow. So many people focus solely on light that it has become almost a religion to add more light. In fact adding more light increases the growth rate and therefore increase the rate at which nutrients and gases are needed.
But rate of growth has nothing to do with health. These are two separate issues. There are many tanks where the growth rate of the plants is high but they are unhealthy. There are other conditions where the growth rate is slow but the plants are healthy. Of course there are many conditions in between.
Since gases move slowly in water the only way to mitigate the problem is to move the water so that the gases contained in the water can reach the plants. Because the tank is a closed box, and because there are many obstacles, every tank presents a puzzle in terms of moving the water in an organized fashion to satisfy all the plants.
Here is a general of thumb.If you are dosing nutrients regularly and if the plants still exhibit a nutrient deficiency such as paleness, discoloration or certain types of algal blooms, then it is almost a certainty that flow and distribution of the water is the culprit - at least in the area where the symptoms appear.
In the image in the original post, the plants look fairly healthy. I don't think there is need to panic. The substrate looks clean and there is good color on the plants. The lower leaves are still intact but they are a little grubby. You can give the tank a trim to free up space and improve flow, or you can look at ways to improve flow/distribution. As plants grow their increased mass starts to block flow, so the tank is sometimes a victim of it's own success.
This could be a micronutrient issue, but that looks like brand new Amazonia Aquasoil (or equivalent) and if so this should not be an issue because the sediment is rich in nutrients.
Is that some kind of textured background? I can't quite tell but is so they adversely affect flow.
The Ludwigia also look as if the lower leaves are unhealthy, so there is definitely a flow issue. Generally, faster stem plants are relegated to the back of the tank. If placed in from like you have it then they can cause problems unless kept low by trimming.
I would trim off the healthy tops and discard the bottoms of a lot of the tall plants in front, investigate ways of improving the flow such as removing some filter media, I's add a bit more of every nutrient, but I definitely would not worry too much about the paleness of the P.stelletus for now. We often cause more problems than we solve when we make panic knee-jerk reactions.
Cheers,
Hi,Substrate is fluval stratum which is around 2 months old. Previously i had the spraybar and wave maker whose positions weren't good for a good flow. For last 2 week changed their positions and removed the spraybar. Flow is good, infact a bit high causing more surface agitation. Is this good as more gaseous exchange will take place or will it cause loss of co2?
Macro dosing is as per EI and i using Rexolin CXK as micro. I have added 50 gms in 500ml water and dosing 5 ml 3X days alternately and iron 50 gms in 500ml soln and dosing 2 ml 3X days alternately. Is my micro dosing fine?