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Day 60!

I have increased the light intensity to 80% yesterday. I wonder when will be the right time to stop increasing intensity? Do I have to see negative effects to stop?

At the moment there is growth for my mosses and my tripartia but not much for montecarlo and parvula.

Also started to add Magnesium which I didn't before...
 
You need to slow down your increasing rate. Give about 2 weeks for your plants to accomodate and check the grow. The worst thing you might have from too much light vs. other nutrients - you start to grow algaes. I think green algaes will start first.
 
Day 60!

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I bet your stauro started to grow finally. It's slow starter but then it's go quite steadily.

Your photo still looks dark for me, but as I said I'd slow down with light increase rate from now.
 
Day 62!

Nothing to report. Did an 80% water change today.

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Thanks
 
Day 64!

I increased the light intensity to 90%...now I wait a bit longer than usual!
 
Day 67!

Intensity of light is at 90% without any adverse effects. Plants are growing steadily but some are struggling.

Full front view
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Limnophilia looks a it dull and grows really slow now
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Flame moss and Christmas moss are growing slowly
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Stayrogyne repens are healthy but not growing much
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Eleocharis parvula doesnt grow but montecarlo has runners
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Java moss has new leaves and looks like its starting to grow a bit
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Tripartia has new leaves every week
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Hemianthous Microtrichoides struggles and isnt healthy at all
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Fissidens funtainus doesnt look to grow or get any greener
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Thanks!
 
Day 72!

The light intensity is now 100% and 55 cm from the substrate. I have added a lid to the aquarium so as to add fish and shrimp in the near future so now its only natural that the light levels have dropped both due to the glass and the condensation on the glass. Next step is to lower the lights closer to the substrate. I am thinking of doing it 5 cm at a time. Does it sound reasonable and safe enough?

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Thanks!
 
I think 5cm step a time is safe enough. It looks you need lower your lamp at least 15-20 cm, I'd say judging from the last photo.
 
Day 74!

The intensity is full on at 100% and the height from the substrate is at 45cm. Lets see how this goes.
 
Hi Jaap, thanks for link to your journal. I had read it before but didn't make any comments as Clive and a few others have covered all the major issues.

I think that your most major issue is the temperature. You added the plants when at 32'C which is way to warm for most plants. It's also your toughest to sort out. If it were me and I really wanted it to work I'd go for a small chiller. It would help keep your tank at a constant temperature. Plants and fish the same they need stable water conditions. They can adapt to extreme conditions as long as the change is gradual and then they are constant. Like clive said also I'd stop using the reactor and dose your co2 directly to the canister outlet or an in tank difusser. Then you will at least see the fine mist of co2 and can see where it's going in your tank.

The plant list you gave earlier clearly the ones in yor tank and not hugely light demanding so I really don't think that the issue is the lights.

Others mentioned that the spray bar needed to be raised you do want that as high as can be or drop your water level to create good turbulence on the surface.

Also mentioned already when in a chrisis I'd do daily water changes, at least 20% per day and make sure your top up water is pure! No chlorine for sure. I always use RO and add what I want in there. These water company's are dumping all kinds of crap into our drinking water so it can't be trusted from the tap!

You have been very patient as your tank is well into its life over 70 days and if things had been ideal,I'm sure you would have seen great growth. In 2 weeks mine had to be cut back already. Some plants are slow growers but the ones you have should be faster. Especially the Java moss.

Id really hold back on the fish idea until you start to get it looking like you want. But shrimp are another mater. I started mine with 25 amano shrimp and 25 red cherry shrimp in 150lt they are worth their weight in gold and keep all the scum, microfilm and algae at bay.

But back to the first issue I said you had the temperature. If you live in a hot climate soon it could warm up again and 32'C will be way to warm for your shrimp let alone the plants. Maybe you should keep a bare bottom discus tank ;) just kidding but that is ideal for them. But you will need to know that when the ambient room temperature goes up you can keep your tank cool. I used to have this issue with a reef tank as I ran triple metal halides over it and the room got hot and so did the water. In the end I was running air con in the room and a chiller on the tank. It kept the tank at a cool 26'C for me even in room ambient temperatures of 32'C

Plants do prefer acidic water. A lower acidic Ph helps them in the uptake of nutrients. Maybe your high PH is inhibiting nutrient uptake and could be causing nutrients to no longer be available. Mine is 5.8 to 6.4 it peaks at max co2 exposure at the 5.8 and just before the co2 kicks in Im at about 6.4. I chose a substrate that helps keep the ph down as well as I like the black water look also. So went for tropica aquarium soil.

Like I say your plants are not that light demanding and some should be growing really fast.

For me I'd work on keeping the temperature and PH down. RO water really helps.

Here is my tank after 18 days...

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I've had to cut the echinodorus belheri back and the aponogetons as well a lot! I do have a slow grower for a carpet and its a real challenge my lilaeopsis brasiliensis has given me only 2 new leaves in that time and if you look at the start picture if anything has receded! The echinodorus tenellus is doing well though. Both these are at about 55cm from my light source as it rests on the glass drip trays.

Sorry about flooding your post but maybe something here will help.

Temperature constant and down max 28 best 26 try using a small aquatic chiller.
pH down 5.5-6.5 best
Spraybar higher have some surface agitation if you can hear it even better.
Better co2 injection and circulation.
Regular plant feed at the correct doses.

Once this is achieved I'd add amanos and sooner than later as they are worth their weight in gold for cleaning and eating algae.

Good luck and hope you manage to get a good lush green growth of plants soon :)
 
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Hello Bhu and thank you for the long post! It was very informative and did not flood it at all.

So lets start with the changes I have made so far throughout the advice I got from Clive and the other members of the forum:
1. I have raised the spraybar higher and I can now see the ripples of water on the surface and also hear the water rippling.
2. I have added the CO2 through the inline atomizer and into the inlet of the filter. I have left the reactor running also as any CO2 escaping from the filter will dissolve in the reactor.
3. The temperature has dropped now to 26 degrees Celsius since the climate is becoming cooler but before I manages to keep it at those temperature levels as well using a fan. It will become cooler as winter approaches. Next summer I will need a chiller but for now I think I am good.
4. Unfortunately I have no way of keeping my pH down to 5.5. Its around 6.8 when I inject CO2. Our tap water here is very alkanine.
5. I am dosing the ferts correctly and my pH profile indicates a good drop so a good CO2 injection.

I have noticed that plants health improved a I gradually increased the light intensity from 30% to 100% throughout the previous weeks. This is why I thought that it might be the lights that are the problem here and up until now it was the lights that caused poor health conditions. I have added 3 guppies for the past 3 days and I am monitoring them to ensure I don't gas them out. I chose fish since I can see their reaction and understand if they are under distress but I can't do the same with shrimp. After a few days though my aim is to add 5 red cherry shrimp as a start and take it from there.

The lights are now at 100% intensity and 45cm from the substrate. After I add the shrimp I will wait a bit to see if the plant health improves as they will clean detritus and bits of algae from the plants. After a week or so I might lower the lights another 5cm.

That is my plan for the moment!

Thanks!

Temperature constant and down max 28 best 26 try using a small aquatic chiller.
pH down 5.5-6.5 best
Spraybar higher have some surface agitation if you can hear it even better.
Better co2 injection and circulation.
Regular plant feed at the correct doses.

Once this is achieved I'd add amanos and sooner than later as they are worth their weight in gold for cleaning and eating algae.

Good luck and hope you manage to get a good lush green growth of plants soon :)
 
Sounds a good plan to me. Can you not install a reverse osmosis unit? They are quite affordable these days and will bring your water hardness down and PH. You have put so much effort and handwork in I really wish you get some good success. Please do keep us posted with new images and updates of any progress.
Best wishes
Bhu
 
The plants you have on the left do look very healthy now. Good colour and shape. Now maybe they will grow tall :)
 
Day 79!

Not much to report apart from the addition of a few Eleocharis Vivipara plants. The lights are on 100% and at 45cm from the substrate with a glass lid full of condensation in between. The pants are doing ok...not too good not too bad. I have also added 3 guppies monitoring them to ensure that tank conditions are good enough to house a few shrimp.

Maybe I will lower the lights another 5cm to 40cm from the substrate....or is this too risky? Whats the worse that could happen? Some algae? I don't think at this point the plants will melt due to high light and low CO2 because it seems my CO2 and flow are fine. Comparing 2 pictures of the tank two weeks apart, the growth is little but noticeable.

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15/10/2014
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Thanks!
 
I have added 3 guppies 8 days ago and they are doing fine. On Thursday I have added one Amano shrimp and one Otto. Today, 4 days later, the Otto is alive but just hangs out in the tank without doing much and the shrimp is dead. I used to dose Excel 5ml per day in this 40L tank but I have stopped doing so on Wednesday. So The day I bought them and onwards I haven't dosed any Excel. Also I have lowered the CO2 a bit once I saw that the Otto isn't moving much so I thought he might not be as ok as the Guppies with the CO2 levels since the Guppies can breath from the surface of the water, however the Otto never showed signs of distress except the fact that it wasn't moving much.

What can be wrong here? I wouldn't want to kill any more Ottos or Amanos....

Thanks
 
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