Tom43
Member
I have a dilemma about which way to go next with my planted aquarium, as I'm seeing some signs of deficiency on the stem plant leaves. At the same time, my tap water supply has changed chemistry a bit of late.
SOME CONTEXT
- tank was planted about 2.5 months ago
- aquarium is a 200L Lido, standard T5 (2x 28W bulbs) flourescent lighting on 8 hours a day with siesta of 4 hours (until a week ago I had blue LED moonlight on auto timer coming on for 3 hours each evening; I now have this on manual switch for viewing only when I'm there rather than always-on each evening)
- CO2 gas injection via CO2Art single stage regulator on timer (on 2 hours before lights on, off one hour before); drop checker shows green before lights on
- about 40% of tank base is planted; 30 WCM minnows and 6 Peacock Gudgeons, 17 Amano shrimp
- daily dosing alternate days of Seachem Flourish Trace and EasyLife Profito; Seachem Flourish Excel added every other day
- Back of tank substrate is Seachem Flourite (red) underneath AquaSoil (small grains), and front substrate is small grey gravel mixed with small river pebbles and stones
- External filtration via Fluval 306, aerating surface at night time (by raising Lilly pipe)
- weekly water change 50%, and gravel cleaned via siphon; fish and shrimp fed 5 days a week with mix of live food, frozen food and pellets
THE 3 (RELATED) PROBLEMS
1. Algae returning
On return from holiday, I'd left the tank without water changes for 2.5 weeks. Chemistry was okay with slightly raised ammonia (from zero to approx 0.1/0.2) and nitrates, and slightly lower PH, but nothing to worry about. Chemistry now back to normal again (2 weeks later) with PH 7.5, nitrites and ammonia showing zero or close to zero, and nitrates at 10ppm. But algae seems to be increasing, especially fine hair-like algae on my weeping moss (mid way down the tree trunk; the weeping moss at the surface/top of the tree trunk seems much less affected). Also brown diotome algae increased on stones and tank glass since the holiday. Algae was previously brought under control using Seachem Excel over-dosing via spot-treatment with syringe, and hence I add a bit of Excel as part of my dosing regime.
2. Changing water chemistry of tap water
I learned from my LFS that whilst away, clients had been reporting higher silicates in the tap water; so I bought a JBL SiO2 test kit which shows >6ppm in the tap water which I use for water changes. My weekly tank water chemistry testing also showed PO4 had gone down to zero from a consistent 0.5mg/l (I use PhosGuard in the filter, as previously my tap water PO4 was off the charts). So I also tested the tap water for phosphates, and PO4 level has reduced in the tap water from 5mg/l to 2mg/l.
3. Stem plants showing small signs of deficiency
Playing with a new macro camera lens and flash, I noticed that the plants were showing some black spots on the leaves. Looking closer at the photos, there are no black spots at the top of the tank only mid way down. At the bottom, some leaves are melting. This problem didn't exist before, and seems to have occurred in the last 2 weeks or possibly whilst I was away on holiday (and not dosing fertilisers etc, though I had reduced the light from 8 hours a day to 6 hours a day, and reduced CO2 in line with this).
Top of tank: no signs of black spots on leaves, less algae on moss
Close-up near top of tank: no black spots
Mid way down the tank: Black spots on leaves near the shrimp... lower down by the substrate the problem gets worse...
Mid way down: you have to look closely to see the black spots, and hence I hadn't spotted the problem sooner...
CHOOSING A COURSE OF ACTION: OPTIONS
I've been reading up on this forum about EI fertilisers and contemplating this regime, and also reading up here and elsewhere on the debates about algae and its causes. In a nutshell, my understanding from Tom Barr and others (for a high tech aquarium) is that plant health is the key factor to focus on and hence this post. I also understand that light and CO2 seem to be the most important factors driving growth, followed by nutrients. I note there is some debate about limiting PO4 but that debate went a bit beyond my current understanding...
So my question is which combination of these actions should I take (I realise these things are related, hence the request for advice!):
1. Increase CO2 (ie up the bubble rate); I have a suspicion the dispersion of CO2 is better in parts of the tank than others, and the stem plant affected in the photos above seems to be getting fewer bubbles from the CO2 diffuser - I use a small circulation pump to blow the bubbles around and create some flow in the tank, but this stem plant is somewhat in the 'shadow' of that pump and its flow. I could also experiment with different positions for the CO2 diffuser, but is this splitting hairs?
2. Increase light: I've been contemplating using the Arcadia LED bulbs that fit my T5 lighting, probably their Freshwater Pro light. I understand this would increase the light output which might help some of my struggling carpet plants at the bottom of this deep tank. However I'm wary of adding more light and increasing algae if my CO2/nutrient levels are not sufficient...
3. Change to EI ferts from my liquid ferts
4. Take out the phosphate remover from my filter: my tank water is now showing zero PO4 and yet my plants need it, could this be the cause of the black spot deficiency signs? If PO4 in the tap water goes up in future, I can always put it back... I've also read that PO4 doesn't cause algae blooms anyway, and plant health is more important...
5. Add a silicate-remover?
Clearly I could change these variables one by one, 2 months at a time, and have the answer in a year... but I'd be happy to take a punt on the combined experience here and short cut the learning process!
Thanks for your advice.
SOME CONTEXT
- tank was planted about 2.5 months ago
- aquarium is a 200L Lido, standard T5 (2x 28W bulbs) flourescent lighting on 8 hours a day with siesta of 4 hours (until a week ago I had blue LED moonlight on auto timer coming on for 3 hours each evening; I now have this on manual switch for viewing only when I'm there rather than always-on each evening)
- CO2 gas injection via CO2Art single stage regulator on timer (on 2 hours before lights on, off one hour before); drop checker shows green before lights on
- about 40% of tank base is planted; 30 WCM minnows and 6 Peacock Gudgeons, 17 Amano shrimp
- daily dosing alternate days of Seachem Flourish Trace and EasyLife Profito; Seachem Flourish Excel added every other day
- Back of tank substrate is Seachem Flourite (red) underneath AquaSoil (small grains), and front substrate is small grey gravel mixed with small river pebbles and stones
- External filtration via Fluval 306, aerating surface at night time (by raising Lilly pipe)
- weekly water change 50%, and gravel cleaned via siphon; fish and shrimp fed 5 days a week with mix of live food, frozen food and pellets
THE 3 (RELATED) PROBLEMS
1. Algae returning
On return from holiday, I'd left the tank without water changes for 2.5 weeks. Chemistry was okay with slightly raised ammonia (from zero to approx 0.1/0.2) and nitrates, and slightly lower PH, but nothing to worry about. Chemistry now back to normal again (2 weeks later) with PH 7.5, nitrites and ammonia showing zero or close to zero, and nitrates at 10ppm. But algae seems to be increasing, especially fine hair-like algae on my weeping moss (mid way down the tree trunk; the weeping moss at the surface/top of the tree trunk seems much less affected). Also brown diotome algae increased on stones and tank glass since the holiday. Algae was previously brought under control using Seachem Excel over-dosing via spot-treatment with syringe, and hence I add a bit of Excel as part of my dosing regime.
2. Changing water chemistry of tap water
I learned from my LFS that whilst away, clients had been reporting higher silicates in the tap water; so I bought a JBL SiO2 test kit which shows >6ppm in the tap water which I use for water changes. My weekly tank water chemistry testing also showed PO4 had gone down to zero from a consistent 0.5mg/l (I use PhosGuard in the filter, as previously my tap water PO4 was off the charts). So I also tested the tap water for phosphates, and PO4 level has reduced in the tap water from 5mg/l to 2mg/l.
3. Stem plants showing small signs of deficiency
Playing with a new macro camera lens and flash, I noticed that the plants were showing some black spots on the leaves. Looking closer at the photos, there are no black spots at the top of the tank only mid way down. At the bottom, some leaves are melting. This problem didn't exist before, and seems to have occurred in the last 2 weeks or possibly whilst I was away on holiday (and not dosing fertilisers etc, though I had reduced the light from 8 hours a day to 6 hours a day, and reduced CO2 in line with this).
Top of tank: no signs of black spots on leaves, less algae on moss
Close-up near top of tank: no black spots
Mid way down the tank: Black spots on leaves near the shrimp... lower down by the substrate the problem gets worse...
Mid way down: you have to look closely to see the black spots, and hence I hadn't spotted the problem sooner...
CHOOSING A COURSE OF ACTION: OPTIONS
I've been reading up on this forum about EI fertilisers and contemplating this regime, and also reading up here and elsewhere on the debates about algae and its causes. In a nutshell, my understanding from Tom Barr and others (for a high tech aquarium) is that plant health is the key factor to focus on and hence this post. I also understand that light and CO2 seem to be the most important factors driving growth, followed by nutrients. I note there is some debate about limiting PO4 but that debate went a bit beyond my current understanding...
So my question is which combination of these actions should I take (I realise these things are related, hence the request for advice!):
1. Increase CO2 (ie up the bubble rate); I have a suspicion the dispersion of CO2 is better in parts of the tank than others, and the stem plant affected in the photos above seems to be getting fewer bubbles from the CO2 diffuser - I use a small circulation pump to blow the bubbles around and create some flow in the tank, but this stem plant is somewhat in the 'shadow' of that pump and its flow. I could also experiment with different positions for the CO2 diffuser, but is this splitting hairs?
2. Increase light: I've been contemplating using the Arcadia LED bulbs that fit my T5 lighting, probably their Freshwater Pro light. I understand this would increase the light output which might help some of my struggling carpet plants at the bottom of this deep tank. However I'm wary of adding more light and increasing algae if my CO2/nutrient levels are not sufficient...
3. Change to EI ferts from my liquid ferts
4. Take out the phosphate remover from my filter: my tank water is now showing zero PO4 and yet my plants need it, could this be the cause of the black spot deficiency signs? If PO4 in the tap water goes up in future, I can always put it back... I've also read that PO4 doesn't cause algae blooms anyway, and plant health is more important...
5. Add a silicate-remover?
Clearly I could change these variables one by one, 2 months at a time, and have the answer in a year... but I'd be happy to take a punt on the combined experience here and short cut the learning process!
Thanks for your advice.