Ludwigia palustris advice needed

[Onoma1]

I have just set up my first planted aquarium and am definitely not an expert - so please excuse my naive questions.

The tank:

The 60cm tank has five large pieces of larva rock in it (placed on polystyrene blocks) which retain a bank of amazonia substrate in which I have planted Ludwigia Palustris. I have a small 'lawn' of of Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo' at the front and in the rocks, Staurogyne repens has been placed in the gaps between the rocks. The tank had 'yeast' co2 and as of last week now has injected co2 and I am using an in-line reactor/ diffuser. I haven't put fish in it yet, however, have added six amano shrimp. It was cycled for two months before planting and has regular water changes. It has an 'ADA like' LED light which is on for 10 hours a day. The MC is growing well - bubbling and seems now to be flattening out more.

The problem (help please):

The Ludwigia Palustris is growing reasonably well, however, the leaves on the lower half seem to be dying off, are covered what seems to be black/ green algae? and the stems are sprouting lots of roots (please see the photo). Should I cut it back and replant the tips, compost the plants, or just be patient and wait.

Any advice would be welcome!

 

[Edvet]

To much light for the amount of CO2 is what it looks like.
Reduce light to 5/6 hours and crank up the CO2. We need pics to see how it is all situated in the tank and preferably a pH profile to judge CO2

 

[Onoma1]

Thank you for the rapid response. I have cut back the lighting and will test the PH. A photo will follow.

Should I cut back and replant the tips or just compost the plants?

 

[alto]

Trimming & replanting the tops should be fine

When you see such algae infested leaves, remove as they aren’t contributing anything “net” to the plant but rather costing energy to maintain

Add 12 or so Clithon corona snails as they will eat the bba in the early stages (mature bba is definitely tougher/possibly “bad” tasting), try to find a shop that knows their snails are Clithon species & not simply “Nerite” species

Adding additional shrimp will likely also help especially if you have significant algae - watch shrimp to see what they are eating ... there are some “like” Amano shrimp that are actually better bba consumers
Don’t feed any additional food during this time

While combating algae, increase water changes, 50% daily if possible - clearing away any debris

Check filter for debris as well (likely weekly check of fine mechanical filter media is often enough) - check ASAP though if this isn’t something you’ve done recently

pH profile - I’ve not done one in years, if you have the kits/pH checker go ahead, if your budget is a consideration, then just leave this for now ... you can increase CO2 & observe plants, shrimp

Definitely adjust light - possibly dim (depending), reduce photoperiod to 5-6 h but also note ambient light about tank


More details is great - substrate, light (watts, lumens, name), filter (flow rate, outlet, inlet style), fertilizers, etc etc

 

[Onoma1]

Thank you for all the advice. I have cut the lighting down to 6 hours, cleaned the filter and ordered another smart plug so that I can schedule the Co2 to turn on an hour before the light and will increase the water changes and cut back any leaves with algae. At the moment I am not following any fertilizing regime, although I have bought some ADA long tabs...just not sure which approach to take. The kit is as follows (all second hand or e-bay):


JBL CristalProfi E701 Greenline External Filter ( 700 l/h)
Glass Lily Pipe with glass inflow
The light is a 39W 117 PC Led 5800 Lumen , 8000k 'ADA' style
Turbo CO2 Reactor Diffuser

I have just bought at Glass Water Surface Skimmer to clean the surface and increase gas exchange and will buy an in-line heater (debating about a SunSun from China of a more well known brand).

Photos of the tank are above This is my first 'test' attempt, the tank is an old one which will be replaced when I understand more. Please excuse the lack of a neutral background! Any advice would be very welcome.

 

[Edvet]

That's very little plantmass. I would chuck in some cheap plants ( pond oxygen plants). More plantmass always helps at the start, maybe even add some floaters.

 

[Zeus.]

Any advice would be very welcome

As Edvert and

As Edvert and Alto suggested OFC

Also the different colour of the the leaves in the MC you have

reminds me of my MC and HC in one of my tanks, which i have and it looks like there may be an issue with Flow and CO2 distribution at the carpet level compounded my too much light. Sorted mine out by better flow so nice even colour.

Dont think having the lily pipe at the back is making the most of its output as the energy in the water movement will soon be reduced by the rocks at the back before getting to the front of the tank. I would swap the heaters and Lily pipe outlet positions over if you can

 

[Onoma1]

Thanks for all the advice! Edvet, I have taken out two stones and will replant this area to increase the bio-mass. Zeus, I have also moved the Lilly Pipe as suggested to increase the flow. Alto - I am following all of your advice! I will post some more pictures in a couple of weeks. I very much appreciate your advice.

 

[alto]

Buy the most reputable heater you can find - a heater that fails by not heating is fine, a heater that fails through “sticking” ON will kill all your livestock & damage your plants
(You can easily find these devastating reports on various forums)

Using a heater that is slightly underrated for your tank volume helps limit its ability to overheat the water
I don’t use an inline heater as they are much higher wattage than I need for my tanks ... I’m quite adept at not seeing the heater

 

[alto]

I found this article helpful when deciding on filter inlet/outlet placement

 

[sparkyweasel]

Also, an in-line heater will reduce the flow through your filter.
An in-tank heater can be hidden behind plants once they are growing well.

 

[Onoma1]

Thanks Alto and Sparkyweasel. Will hold off on the inline heater!

 

[Onoma1]

I found this article helpful when deciding on filter inlet/outlet placement

Alto, could you possibly send me the link again? I couldn't see it.

 

[alto]

Embedded link in the word article
- just opened for me

 

[Onoma1]

Embedded link in the word article
- just opened for me

Ah ...thanks!

 

[Onoma1]

Ah...ok! Just read the article...very informative. Will try the flake technique tomorrow.

 

[Onoma1]

Thanks for all the advice - which I followed. The tank seems to be slowly maturing and the algae has gone. I will post some photos when the lights are on tomorrow. The plant growth is, however, very slow. I have just started dosing with Aquascaper Complete Plant Food (2ml per day) and will see what the results are like after a couple of weeks.

 

[Onoma1]

The algae on the plants has gone and overall I am happy that, as a test tank, the plants are growing! The MC isn't growing as hoped, however, with a new fertilizing regime and more C02 I am hopeful that this will improve. The Ludwigia is growing well, however, still a bit anemic. Does anyone have any suggestions on ways in which I can improve the red coloration?