Author Topic: Tank photo containing live plants (Read 10442 times) 61 replies

fcmf · « **on:** February 08, 2020, 08:20:19 PM »

Tank photo, containing some live plants (limnophila sessiliflora, bacopa caroliniana, vallis) that have actually survived for 5 whole weeks(!) plus one (Amazon sword) that is somehow clinging onto the land of the living after 4 months. [For those interested in tank aesthetics, I suggest you avert your eyes.]

jaypeecee · « **Reply #1 on:** February 08, 2020, 09:51:17 PM »

Hi @fcmf

Your tank and plants look really nice. And no algae in sight. Well done! It would be interesting to get an update on which fertilizers you are currently using and how frequently you dose them.

Edit: is that a JBL i60 in the rear RH corner?

JPC

fcmf · « **Reply #2 on:** February 08, 2020, 10:12:15 PM »

Thanks for the kind words, @jaypeecee .

The A.S. does get diatoms / brown algae on its leaves; admittedly

, I take it out of the tank and give each leaf a wipe with the fishkeeping toothbrush during each water change to avoid it getting consumed by that. I've put 4 finger-sized wedges of Superfish Phos Pad into the filter for the past couple of weeks but haven't noticed a discernible drop in phosphate levels (still ~5ppm although it's maybe dropped by 1ppm, API kit). I also have 2 finger-sized wedges of Arcadia Poly-Filter in the filter.

The L.S. and the more-alive part of the two sections of A.S. have a Seachem Flourish root tab underneath. I dose a 'thread' of a capful of liquid Seachem Flourish 2x per week.

Yes, it's a JBL corner filter - actually the i80 in the corner. If you have a search around the forum, you may see a post about the waterproof magnets I have to keep it attached to the tank wall and prevent livestock going behind it - a real downside of that filter. The neon green rasboras had a tendency to squeeze behind anything, so you may also notice some sponge / wool wedged near the top where the suction cups create a small gap.

Littlefish · « **Reply #3 on:** February 08, 2020, 10:18:31 PM »

Well done with your plants @fcmf

jaypeecee · « **Reply #4 on:** February 08, 2020, 11:13:46 PM »

Quote from: fcmf on February 08, 2020, 10:12:15 PM

The A.S. does get diatoms / brown algae on its leaves; admittedly , I take it out of the tank and give each leaf a wipe with the fishkeeping toothbrush during each water change to avoid it getting consumed by that. I've put 4 finger-sized wedges of Superfish Phos Pad into the filter for the past couple of weeks but haven't noticed a discernible drop in phosphate levels (still ~5ppm although it's maybe dropped by 1ppm, API kit). I also have 2 finger-sized wedges of Arcadia Poly-Filter in the filter.

Yes, it's a JBL corner filter - actually the i80 in the corner.

Hi @fcmf

Firstly, the A.S. If it really is diatoms, these are usually the result of silicate, not phosphate being too high. You may wish to take a look at this:

https://www.jbl.de/en/blog/detail/416/getting-rid-of-diatoms-no-problem-at-all

Obviously, this is a plug for JBL products. You could use an alternative test kit and silicate filtration media.

With reference to phosphate, I don't use filtration pads. I prefer loose media. One product that comes to mind is Rowa-Phos but Seachem is very likely to have a similar product. I don't believe that Poly-Filter removes phosphate but you may want to check that. @Hampalong is a Poly-Filter user.

I used to have a JBL i80 but it got very noisy so it now gets little use. It is also not such a good design but that's a topic for another day.

JPC

fcmf · « **Reply #5 on:** February 09, 2020, 01:20:17 PM »

Thanks, JPC.

I'm not that fussed about the brown algae / diatoms (if indeed that's what it is) as it's only ever present on some plants and not elsewhere. I get black beard algae on the silk plants and what remains of the anubias. In both cases, though, the fishkeeping toothbrush resolves all during tank maintenance. The filtration pad was under £5, so worth a try; if the situation gets worse, though, that's useful to bear in mind the alternative and more expensive products.

The Poly-Filter was bought on the back of a forum discussion earlier in the year - not designed to remove phosphate, but more "peace of mind" in the event of any heavy metals.

Completely agree about the corner filter's design, at least as far as its inability to fit snugly against the glass is concerned - mine floated right out (until the purchase of strong magnets resolved the issue). Very surprised at its poor design - JBL products are normally excellent. Barneyadi finds the OASE BioPlus corner filter doesn't have this problem; no idea what Eheim's corner filter is like but I have a small PickUp filter for my QT.

Matt · « **Reply #6 on:** February 09, 2020, 07:14:39 PM »

Congrats @fcmf we’ll turn you into an aquascaper before not too long!!

jaypeecee · « **Reply #7 on:** February 09, 2020, 08:43:59 PM »

Quote from: fcmf on February 09, 2020, 01:20:17 PM

Completely agree about the corner filter's design, at least as far as its inability to fit snugly against the glass is concerned - mine floated right out (until the purchase of strong magnets resolved the issue). Very surprised at its poor design - JBL products are normally excellent. Barneyadi finds the OASE BioPlus corner filter doesn't have this problem; no idea what Eheim's corner filter is like but I have a small PickUp filter for my QT.

Hi @fcmf,

Quite apart from the filter's fitting issues, there is something more fundamental about that range of JBL's filters that I didn't like.

The crux of my concern is that adding additional baskets with, say, phosphate removal media is not going to work very well because a lot of the water may bypass it by flowing through the other baskets. The water will flow through the path of least resistance. I can't adequately explain this without drawing a diagram. I just tried and deleted what I'd written!

JPC

fcmf · « **Reply #8 on:** March 04, 2020, 05:09:58 PM »

This is a common experience I've had with live plants - leaves developing a brownish algae (I assume). Hoping one of those with aquascaping experience can confirm if this is brown algae / diatoms? I have a Seachem root tab under each, as well as the Seachem Flourish that I dose a couple of times per week.
I'm not able to start buying / experimenting with other products such as CO2 or LED lighting. However, any other suggestions to eliminate it, besides giving each leaf a swipe with the fishkeeping toothbrush, would be welcome. Would transferring the plants to a QT and keeping them in darkness for a few days help at all for this or would that be detrimental?

Final photo is not algae-ridden but just a plant not faring very well. It is the other part of the plant in the first photo - I separated them at the outset; the former has done better than the latter, for whatever reason (and despite moving the latter's position around the tank in an effort to resurrect it).

Hampalong · « **Reply #9 on:** March 04, 2020, 05:48:35 PM »

Yes, PolyFilter removes phosphates.

(Some?most?) Terrestrial plants respond badly to too much physical interference (they all have their tolerance levels) so I would assume aquatic plants are the same. Being uprooted must be (imo) quite stressful for them...

jaypeecee · « **Reply #10 on:** March 05, 2020, 10:12:35 AM »

Hi @fcmf

I think your plants are deficient in one, or all, of the macronutrients - nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Neither Seachem Flourish nor Flourish Tabs provide significant amounts of these macronutrients. One solution would be to switch from Seachem Flourish to TNC Complete. Obviously, leave the Flourish Tabs in the substrate.

Amazon Swords don't need much light. The more light that plants receive, the more nutrients (fertilizers) they need. You could shade (some of) your submerged plants with floating plants. No doubt you are aware that some of the latter don't take well to droplets of water on their leaves.

Those are my initial thoughts. I will re-visit this later today when time permits.

JPC

fcmf · « **Reply #11 on:** March 05, 2020, 01:23:31 PM »

Thanks, JPC.

I thought, in view of my high phosphates (5ppm - not lowered by either the PhosPad or Poly-Filter), we had decided against TNC Complete... plus my keenness not to increase nitrates. From a bit of digging around on the www, it seems that elderly fish are even more sensitive to any nitrates than ordinarily the case, so I don't want to be taking any risks with so many approaching the end of their lives.

Those two pieces of Amazon Sword have been odd - the piece in the centre of the tank but immediately under the filter's outflow (possibly being shaded by the moving water) has done so much better than the piece originally in the shade (but since moved around a bit to experiment with location). Unfortunately floating plants tend to get singed in my tank, and have been £ down the drain; however, now that I seem to have one plant that's flourishing (the limnophila sessiliflora), I'll see what I can hide underneath it. Alternatively, I might put them in the no-light quarantine tank for a while (I can almost hear Mr FCMF groan at the thought of resurrecting it) so that there is only natural daylight or room light reaching them.

jaypeecee · « **Reply #12 on:** March 05, 2020, 08:22:31 PM »

Hi @fcmf

My apologies for overlooking your high phosphate level. Yes, using TNC Complete is not the way to go. What is your current nitrate level? The leaves of some of the plants look a bit 'washed out'. Is that really the case or is this a photo-related issue? The lighting looks bright. Is that how it appears to you? The lack of a source of sufficient carbon is also something that needs to be considered.

One thing that we have not mentioned (I don't think) is how long you have your tank light on. How many hours per day? Given the constraints in which we're working, I think we may need to reduce the tank lighting duration.

JPC

Matt · « **Reply #13 on:** March 05, 2020, 09:35:00 PM »

Not a bad shout that at all JPC...

fcmf · « **Reply #14 on:** March 05, 2020, 09:56:05 PM »

Thanks, JPC.
Nitrates approx 20-25.
Yes, leaves are indeed as you see them and lighting bright (although don't have a comparator) but think the latter is why floating plants singe and smell singed in the past and water temp always higher (26-27 even in winter and without central heating on) than heater (24).
Lighting on 2pm-9pm each day - maybe worth reducing by an hour, would you suggest?

jaypeecee · « **Reply #15 on:** March 06, 2020, 02:56:27 PM »

Quote from: fcmf on March 05, 2020, 09:56:05 PM

Lighting on 2pm-9pm each day - maybe worth reducing by an hour, would you suggest?

Hi @fcmf

Thanks for the info. Nitrate is good. It does ring a bell that not only do you have 'bright' lighting but the tube(s) are obviously radiating a good deal of heat. Not good. No surprise that floating plants suffer. I can't remember how many (fluorescent?) tubes you have installed. Is it just one?

I think the way forward is to reduce the duration for which the lighting is ON (known as the photoperiod for obvious reasons). I would reduce the photoperiod from 7 hours to 6 hours, as you say, initially. And repeat this, if necessary, until you see an improvement with your plants.

Please keep us posted.

JPC

fcmf · « **Reply #16 on:** March 06, 2020, 03:37:46 PM »

Thanks, JPC - yes, just the one fluorescent tube, but it is indeed mighty hot to touch.

Plants were re-positioned yesterday evening. I delayed the switch-on today until 14:20 so will alter it tomorrow to 14:40 and then 15:00 the following day (gradual change to avoid jetlag on anyone's part), so that the photoperiod is of 6 hours' duration from then on. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again.

fcmf · « **Reply #17 on:** June 02, 2020, 06:21:50 PM »

As an update to this thread, I've taken some photos of the algae on my plants currently - any idea what the type of algae is?
I've deliberately zoomed in so that it's easier to identify (and so that no-one sees the sorry state of some of my plants). Of some consolation is that the hygrophila guanensis is continuing to produce fresh leaves at the top.

Two updates to this thread:
* my new nitrate testing kit which is so much easier to read suggests my tank nitrate level is 1 ppm (although I'd been doing daily water changes under the assumption I had a trace of nitrite but it now seems as though that is not the case after all - cf separate thread re cardinal tetras);
* I have a new light - an Aquael Leddy LED Sunny tube Retro-fit 8w.

Matt · « **Reply #18 on:** June 02, 2020, 06:46:53 PM »

This is likely to be the cause of some of your struggles with plant growth. They have used up all the available nitrogen and so it would be advisable to begin to add some complete liquid fertiliser containing macro nutrients (N P and K)

fcmf · « **Reply #19 on:** June 02, 2020, 06:50:10 PM »

Thanks, M. That's exactly what I wondered. I have high phosphates, though (5ppm, although lowered a bit currently with my phosphate pads), so maybe it would just be the N and K to add?

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Tank Photo Containing Live Plants

Tank Photo Containing Live Plants

Author Topic: Tank photo containing live plants (Read 10442 times) 61 replies

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