plantnoobdude
Member
this should work well for you.
yep, mine was is a pale yellow colour almost completely clear... odd.
nice fancy bottles! should make the plants grow atleast 10% better. LOL
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Consistency Deficiency
- Thread starter Hufsa
- Start date
nice fancy bottles! should make the plants grow atleast 10% better. LOL
Fingers crossed! Im hopeful it will help with the chlorosis, I might need to tweak the overall dose but hopeful
Pale yellow could be a very dilute super-lime-green color perhaps?
Did you use vitamin c or potassium sorbate in your solution?
Yess
plantnoobdude
Member
vitamin c is ascorbic acid correct? any way yes, I do use the recommended amounts in my stock solution.Fingers crossed! Im hopeful it will help with the chlorosis, I might need to tweak the overall dose but hopeful
Pale yellow could be a very dilute super-lime-green color perhaps?
Did you use vitamin c or potassium sorbate in your solution?
Yess
plantnoobdude
Member
hmmn I need to dig the bottles out lol let me double check.
plantnoobdude
Member
Hmn, I found something interesting. Is it possible you got sodium molybdate instead? where did you buy your salts and what brand?
this shows that the colour can change due to various factors, certainly in line with your experience.
this shows that the colour can change due to various factors, certainly in line with your experience.
Wookii
Member
Just a few additional notes for the record
Decreased macros a bit the same day I set up the new micro mix. I think EI amounts of phosphate might not play nice with lean levels of micro, so took it from 30:3:30 to 20:2:20. Will probably still need some additional tweaking to find a good spot for my tank. I took top-down photos of all the plants the day before new micro mix was dosed, and will retake photos at least every weekend or so, hope to see some improvement of the paleness in new leaves in 1-2 weeks time.
The picture is showing some of the Hydrocotyle tripartita that grows in a basket at the waters surface. This basket sits directly below one of the fluval lights, and it is here that I see the highest degree of paleness, more than any other plant in the rest of the tank or the same species further from the light. The new shoots that grow at this location are starting to go almost white. Unless I am entirely mistaken I think this shows in a very real way that more light does indeed drive the plant harder, so more light does make deficiencies worse.
I just thought this was a neat little thing and I wanted to share it with you guys.
The plants growing in this little basket also do the most pearling, and I see the pearling drop off as the distance to the light increases. Isnt it neat
Decreased macros a bit the same day I set up the new micro mix. I think EI amounts of phosphate might not play nice with lean levels of micro, so took it from 30:3:30 to 20:2:20. Will probably still need some additional tweaking to find a good spot for my tank. I took top-down photos of all the plants the day before new micro mix was dosed, and will retake photos at least every weekend or so, hope to see some improvement of the paleness in new leaves in 1-2 weeks time.
The picture is showing some of the Hydrocotyle tripartita that grows in a basket at the waters surface. This basket sits directly below one of the fluval lights, and it is here that I see the highest degree of paleness, more than any other plant in the rest of the tank or the same species further from the light. The new shoots that grow at this location are starting to go almost white. Unless I am entirely mistaken I think this shows in a very real way that more light does indeed drive the plant harder, so more light does make deficiencies worse.
I just thought this was a neat little thing and I wanted to share it with you guys.
The plants growing in this little basket also do the most pearling, and I see the pearling drop off as the distance to the light increases. Isnt it neat
MichaelJ
Member
Yes there is probably a reasonable limit to how much you may want to add - you just need enough to knock down the pH to prevent precipitation, For my 500 ml trace mix I use 300 mg of Ascorbic Acid and 300 mg of Potassium sorbate (preservative). I believe this was recommended to me by @X3NiTH back in the day. I never had any issues that I am aware of.
Cheers,
Michael
Ah I think I add a little bit more than this.. I think I got my original dosing instructions of these from Aquaplantscare.uk actually 🤔
Its 0,5 gram of Ascorbic acid and 0,2 gram of Potassium sorbate per 500 ml.
Maybe I should reconsider it if more reliable sources state otherwise?
Hmm no hang on I just checked IFC and it also uses this amount so should be ok.
I think it might just be down to ascorbic acid not always playing nice with things.
For instance my macro mix always turns slightly yellow over time, as I understand it ascorbic acid oxidises (or something) slightly.
Maybe it would be worthwhile to look into another means of acidifying my fert solutions
Wookii
Member
Isnt it neat
. . . more importantly though, what is that slimy red blob in the top right of the photo?
plantnoobdude
Member
yep probably. I've heard of issues with copper precipitating ascorbic acid, I've seen vinegar proposed as a substitute. never used it though.
Oh you werent supposed to see that, im afraid I will have to kill you now that you know.. it is actually a top secret mossy project.. thing..
...
No just kidding 😁
Its a piece of takeout container (the styrofoam-y kind) wrapped with some DOOA Terra Tape.
On top of it I have placed a few sprigs of emersed Ammannia pedicellata 'Golden' and one entirely unimpressed sprig of Pantanal. This was to act as a sort of Noah's ark in case my ineptitude totally obliterated the specimens that I have growing in the water. Luckily it doesnt seem like those are going to die, they're just unhappy and stunted as expected, so I might be able to discontinue the ark soon. Probably for the best, as the ark didnt work as well as I had hoped 😅
My Fluval lights rest on two beams going across the width of the tank, and these beams sit super close to the waters surface. This ensures that I have TERRIBLE light spread on my tank even with two lights, and it is annoying me greatly
I have experimented with placing the lights on top of the hood instead, but I run into issues because then the lid doesnt fit and evaporation goes crazy and all manner of problems.Ah I like to make up my ferts to last 4-5 months, I find it to be too much work otherwise
I havent had any precipitation or mold issues so far, so it seems I have been able to get away with it.
I actually want to try stretching it out even further eventually, I think I just have to take more care not to contaminate the containers the longer I want it to last.
I keep forgetting to get back to you with this post, sorry 😅
My wood is not really that clean, I think maybe I got lucky and cropped out most of the surrounding algae. I dont scrub or brush, but have taken wood pieces out to treat with glutaraldehyde for BBA a couple of times over the years
🚨 Picture warning 🚨
FTS. Doesnt look like much, especially with the water marks on the glass and all the bubbles in the water column, but the plant mass is gradually increasing, so I am happy about that.
New micro ratio and dose has not worked so far
Plants are just as pale as they have been. I know I said I would give this dose two weeks to work, but im not even seeing a hint of improvement, and I am concerned my plants will eventually go from chlorotic to necrotic if things get severe enough. So I am going to double it as of today, from 0,1 to 0,2 and let that run all of the coming week.
A completely unrelated note, look how pretty Crypt spiralis red is. Oh my god. I cant wait for it to turn more red rather than pink, but damn its looking so nice already. Im definitely not regretting getting this plant.
I think my Tonina is being a real trooper as well, despite being paler than a vampire on the beach they are gaining in size and just doing their very best.
Both posh Ludwigias are also very chlorotic. Isnt it amazing that this is the same species, just two different variants, and they are so different in difficulty. The Cuba is looking like a monster next to the stunted Pantanal. The Pantanal is holding on for dear life, which I am very grateful. Just hold on little plant until I can figure you out. Then we shall be best of friends 😃
You know you've got a BBA problem when you have BBA on Hygrophila polysperma
It got a real good hacking back a few days ago, its just growing so vigorously compared to its neighbors.
This plant is not among those showing the worst paleness, I think it might be really good at uptake so its beating all the other plants to whatever it is that is lacking.
The Ludwigia sp. Marilia is missing a few top shoots, I placed a package of other plant trimmings for sale locally last weekend, and the bids on the trimmings went so high that I felt the winner needed to get a few bonus items as well, so I pinched a few Marilia and some mosses to sweeten the deal.
Not much new to report in this area other than the paleness starting to show up in P. helferi as well.
Both Blyxa and helferi got a trim last weekend, other than the paleness the helferi seems extremely happy with the CO2 addition, and it was putting out sideshoots like it was going out of fashion.
The main stems are massive and the leaves are very solid.
Myriophyllum sp. Guyana seems like a very thankful little plant, its just steadily growing, not making a fuss about anything. A good little plant.
Trimmed down Blyxa and some mosses got relocated. To the left is the new pebble of Pearl Moss (Plagiomnium cf. affine). This moss has not been growing well, it had relatively large leaves in the cup it came in, but the shoots grown in my tank are small knobbly little things that are growing straight up towards the surface. If this was a moss I had picked from nature I would have said it didnt look like it wants to be under water. Since my current collectoritis infection is always having me low on space however, both this moss and mini christmas needed a trim. The mini christmas has grown beautifully and transformed from stringy emersed growth to beautiful little fronds. Its on the pebble in the center of the image. I replanted it sparsely, I believe christmas moss attaches to hardscape, and I feel the moss attaches better if it is not laid on too thickly. So it looks sad right now but it should grow out super lushly.
Just in case the newly planted moss pebbles fail to thrive, I have placed a backup of both species in the windowsill. The one I am most concerned about is the Pearl Moss though.
Rotalas also same paleness as before. Veeeery slowly increasing in size. I think the amount of light they get in this location could be higher for their liking. I know my buce is covered in BBA right now but look at the magnificent blue shine on the Brownie Blue variant 🤤 So pretty!
Im also really loving Cryptocoryne "Purpurea". Its so easy to grow and the pattern is striking but still somewhat subtle. This crypt is like "Is this tap water? SWEET, I LOVE TAP WATER!". Totally uncomplicated plant. The leaves are gaining massively in size for each one it puts out.
Various mosses, H. tripartita standard variety bottom center and Mini to the right. I think its fair to say Mini is about 1/2 to 1/3 the size of standard.
I am wanting to grow both of them to maximum potential, take a good comparison picture and then I will only keep the Mini.
The difficult crypts are slowly making new leaves, and the old leaves get covered in BBA just as fast as they can make them. Sorry lil plants, im working on it!
The Ark project has been partially taken down, the takeout-raft now houses only standard tripartita and a Ceratopteris sp.
Same old for paleness here as well.
I think you can sort of see what I was talking about with the light spread, the light is so close to the water that it does not illuminate the sides of the waters surface. Not ideal when im trying to grow plants up here.
Emersed Fissidens mosses in the windowsill are growing well, although I think they could be a deeper green. Might be affected by the same issue the tank has.
They get sprayed with tank water whenever I can remember to do it. The Pepsi (TM) terrariums keep the humidity in very well. (Not sponsored by Pepsi Corporation, although I could be, give me a call guys 😘📞💵)
The Ammannia Golden and Pantanal were transferred from the Ark to their own setup. Hope the slightly low temperature in the kitchen and natural window light will be ok for them.
These Rotala sprigs were growing up on the ark, much closer to the light than their brothers in the main colony. Look how much more developed they are. Im not sure if this is just simply because they have grown faster, or if the light levels in my tank are a bit suboptimal for light demanding plants. I would have liked to increase it a bit to see, but with the algae issues and paleness issue being as it is, stepping on the "gas pedal" further would probably be a bad idea. Need to get that sorted before I can play with light intensity. Besides, the main colony of Rotala is slowly growing themselves closer to the light anyway, so it will gradually get better for them as long as they keep growing.
You may have noticed my sand is a bit different. I have sprinkled in an assortment of larger grains, to see how I feel about it. So far I am not entirely sure if I like it or dislike it.
Some of the mosses from the mossy project. They are covered in algae but surviving. A while ago I threw away some of the samples that only grew stringy stuff straight up. Not interested in keeping 9 different species of super undecorative mosses. But these three remain, plus the fontinalis, fissidens and riccardia. The moss in the last picture of these three intrigues me. Its totally covered in thread algae but the moss itself is interesting, because it grows in a weeping fashion. If I can get it clean of thread algae and growing well I think it could make a decorative little moss.
Oh before I forget, I ended up cancelling my order of the Hanna meter. @KirstyF was really kind and gave me a really great deal on her previous Hanna PH meter 😊 Saved me a ton of money and I cant wait for it to arrive! Thanks again dear 😍
FTS. Doesnt look like much, especially with the water marks on the glass and all the bubbles in the water column, but the plant mass is gradually increasing, so I am happy about that.
New micro ratio and dose has not worked so far
Plants are just as pale as they have been. I know I said I would give this dose two weeks to work, but im not even seeing a hint of improvement, and I am concerned my plants will eventually go from chlorotic to necrotic if things get severe enough. So I am going to double it as of today, from 0,1 to 0,2 and let that run all of the coming week.A completely unrelated note, look how pretty Crypt spiralis red is. Oh my god. I cant wait for it to turn more red rather than pink, but damn its looking so nice already. Im definitely not regretting getting this plant.
I think my Tonina is being a real trooper as well, despite being paler than a vampire on the beach they are gaining in size and just doing their very best.
Both posh Ludwigias are also very chlorotic. Isnt it amazing that this is the same species, just two different variants, and they are so different in difficulty. The Cuba is looking like a monster next to the stunted Pantanal. The Pantanal is holding on for dear life, which I am very grateful. Just hold on little plant until I can figure you out. Then we shall be best of friends 😃
You know you've got a BBA problem when you have BBA on Hygrophila polysperma
It got a real good hacking back a few days ago, its just growing so vigorously compared to its neighbors.This plant is not among those showing the worst paleness, I think it might be really good at uptake so its beating all the other plants to whatever it is that is lacking.
The Ludwigia sp. Marilia is missing a few top shoots, I placed a package of other plant trimmings for sale locally last weekend, and the bids on the trimmings went so high that I felt the winner needed to get a few bonus items as well, so I pinched a few Marilia and some mosses to sweeten the deal.
Not much new to report in this area other than the paleness starting to show up in P. helferi as well.
Both Blyxa and helferi got a trim last weekend, other than the paleness the helferi seems extremely happy with the CO2 addition, and it was putting out sideshoots like it was going out of fashion.
The main stems are massive and the leaves are very solid.
Myriophyllum sp. Guyana seems like a very thankful little plant, its just steadily growing, not making a fuss about anything. A good little plant.
Trimmed down Blyxa and some mosses got relocated. To the left is the new pebble of Pearl Moss (Plagiomnium cf. affine). This moss has not been growing well, it had relatively large leaves in the cup it came in, but the shoots grown in my tank are small knobbly little things that are growing straight up towards the surface. If this was a moss I had picked from nature I would have said it didnt look like it wants to be under water. Since my current collectoritis infection is always having me low on space however, both this moss and mini christmas needed a trim. The mini christmas has grown beautifully and transformed from stringy emersed growth to beautiful little fronds. Its on the pebble in the center of the image. I replanted it sparsely, I believe christmas moss attaches to hardscape, and I feel the moss attaches better if it is not laid on too thickly. So it looks sad right now but it should grow out super lushly.
Just in case the newly planted moss pebbles fail to thrive, I have placed a backup of both species in the windowsill. The one I am most concerned about is the Pearl Moss though.
Rotalas also same paleness as before. Veeeery slowly increasing in size. I think the amount of light they get in this location could be higher for their liking. I know my buce is covered in BBA right now but look at the magnificent blue shine on the Brownie Blue variant 🤤 So pretty!
Im also really loving Cryptocoryne "Purpurea". Its so easy to grow and the pattern is striking but still somewhat subtle. This crypt is like "Is this tap water? SWEET, I LOVE TAP WATER!". Totally uncomplicated plant. The leaves are gaining massively in size for each one it puts out.
Various mosses, H. tripartita standard variety bottom center and Mini to the right. I think its fair to say Mini is about 1/2 to 1/3 the size of standard.
I am wanting to grow both of them to maximum potential, take a good comparison picture and then I will only keep the Mini.
The difficult crypts are slowly making new leaves, and the old leaves get covered in BBA just as fast as they can make them. Sorry lil plants, im working on it!
The Ark project has been partially taken down, the takeout-raft now houses only standard tripartita and a Ceratopteris sp.
Same old for paleness here as well.
I think you can sort of see what I was talking about with the light spread, the light is so close to the water that it does not illuminate the sides of the waters surface. Not ideal when im trying to grow plants up here.
Emersed Fissidens mosses in the windowsill are growing well, although I think they could be a deeper green. Might be affected by the same issue the tank has.
They get sprayed with tank water whenever I can remember to do it. The Pepsi (TM) terrariums keep the humidity in very well. (Not sponsored by Pepsi Corporation, although I could be, give me a call guys 😘📞💵)
The Ammannia Golden and Pantanal were transferred from the Ark to their own setup. Hope the slightly low temperature in the kitchen and natural window light will be ok for them.
These Rotala sprigs were growing up on the ark, much closer to the light than their brothers in the main colony. Look how much more developed they are. Im not sure if this is just simply because they have grown faster, or if the light levels in my tank are a bit suboptimal for light demanding plants. I would have liked to increase it a bit to see, but with the algae issues and paleness issue being as it is, stepping on the "gas pedal" further would probably be a bad idea. Need to get that sorted before I can play with light intensity. Besides, the main colony of Rotala is slowly growing themselves closer to the light anyway, so it will gradually get better for them as long as they keep growing.
You may have noticed my sand is a bit different. I have sprinkled in an assortment of larger grains, to see how I feel about it. So far I am not entirely sure if I like it or dislike it.
Some of the mosses from the mossy project. They are covered in algae but surviving. A while ago I threw away some of the samples that only grew stringy stuff straight up. Not interested in keeping 9 different species of super undecorative mosses. But these three remain, plus the fontinalis, fissidens and riccardia. The moss in the last picture of these three intrigues me. Its totally covered in thread algae but the moss itself is interesting, because it grows in a weeping fashion. If I can get it clean of thread algae and growing well I think it could make a decorative little moss.
Oh before I forget, I ended up cancelling my order of the Hanna meter. @KirstyF was really kind and gave me a really great deal on her previous Hanna PH meter 😊 Saved me a ton of money and I cant wait for it to arrive! Thanks again dear 😍
plantnoobdude
Member
I think this has to do with the conditions of where the plant was from. if a plant grows in the wild in very softwater with very little Ca it'll probabaly have ways to stop absorbing too much Fe. In my tank, an example of this would be tonina, such a plant probably doesn't 'gather' Fe very well, whichis why it shows horrible Fe deficiency for me when something is wrong. if plants are used to very hard water, then they should be very good at sequestering iron.
anyways, very nice pictures.
those buce look gorgeousssss
crypt purpurea looks stunning aswell, striolata just looks crazy.
love the tank, it looks really good. I wanna get some pantanal aswell.
Thats a really good point. Some plants are adapted to live in conditions where there are "tons of Fe compared to little of everything else". It makes sense then that the plant "runs with the handbrake on" when it comes to Fe uptake, otherwise it would uptake toxic levels of Fe. Makes sense that Tonina coming from soft waters (more available Fe due to low PH ++) would be one of those.
I dont know where Hygrophila polysperma grows but I would put money on it being a lot less specialized.
I can definitely subscribe to this idea
Thanks @plantnoobdude
👍
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Hi all,
cheers Darrel
I'm sure you are right. Iron (Fe) is a two edged sword, too little you get chlorosis and <"too much is toxic">. Plants from <"reducing acid conditions"> have to deal with toxicity, plants from <"alkaline ones, shortage">.
cheers Darrel
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