Glosso In Gravel

[Rlon35]

Will glosso do well in gravel, within my 55 g tank, with only a fermentation co2 kit??? I dose flourish excel every other day, and use ferts once a week, days apart from eachother (Flourish Comprehensive and a TPN-like product, without N and PH). I planted the glosso over a week ago, so how long would it take to spread, if it will? My riccia also looks bad and may also need more co2 to flourish. I am using over 2 watts per gallon. Should I plant more of the glosso, alter my sytem, or just wait for it to spread?

P.S. Any advice on how to physically catch clown loaches and trade them in for credit??? They live in holes in my driftwood, and my driftwood is now heavily planted, so to speak. It's hard enough to get them to stick around when I approach the tank, let alone try to stick my hand in their when they are around.

 

[jb12288]

it will take about 2 months for your glosso to spread in a full carpet. um i am not so sure about the ferts as i am new to the planted aquarium, but if i were you i would stop using the excel when you run out and get dry ferts and use EI, much easier on your wallet as well. your lighting seems good, but i think yoou should switch your yeast co2 to pressurized co2. you get a more stable co2 level than with yeast as it fluctuates.

to catch your loaches, i would take the drift wood out of the tank and put the wood in a rubbermaid tub full of water and let them swim out in there then net them.

 

[Mr Bliss]

What kind of a diffuser do you use for CO2? I found that using a DIY diffuser like the one in the picture below increased the efficiency and stability of my DIY CO2 a lot. When the current is strong enough but not too strong, the CO2 bubbles will swirl around in the reactor (I used a half-litre Coke bottle) without any gas escaping, so this thing dissolves every bit of CO2 you inject. A large bubble of CO2 may build up at the top, which should stabilize things when your DIY mix starts to run out as the CO2 from this "reservoir" keeps dissolving. Works like a dream; it took 5 minutes to build this thing and I didn't have to silicone anything (used tightly packed filter foam around the inlet tube to ensure a tight fit with the top of the bottle ). All I needed was some tubing, a t-piece for the CO2 inlet, and the bottle.

edit: however it's important to always disconnect this kind of a diffuser from the filter/powerhead before turning the power off. Otherwise the CO2 will flow back and fill the impeller chamber with gas, preventing it from turning back on. I'd therefore run it on a separate powerhead rather than your main filter to prevent disaster after a power outage.

 

[Rlon35]

What kind of a diffuser do you use for CO2? I found that using a DIY diffuser like the one in the picture below increased the efficiency and stability of my DIY CO2 a lot. When the current is strong enough but not too strong, the CO2 bubbles will swirl around in the reactor (I used a half-litre Coke bottle) without any gas escaping, so this thing dissolves every bit of CO2 you inject. A large bubble of CO2 may build up at the top, which should stabilize things when your DIY mix starts to run out as the CO2 from this "reservoir" keeps dissolving. Works like a dream; it took 5 minutes to build this thing and I didn't have to silicone anything (used tightly packed filter foam around the inlet tube to ensure a tight fit with the top of the bottle ). All I needed was some tubing, a t-piece for the CO2 inlet, and the bottle.

edit: however it's important to always disconnect this kind of a diffuser from the filter/powerhead before turning the power off. Otherwise the CO2 will flow back and fill the impeller chamber with gas, preventing it from turning back on. I'd therefore run it on a separate powerhead rather than your main filter to prevent disaster after a power outage.

Thanks for that information. I use the Turbo CO2 fermentation system/kit (store bought with it's own internal pump), as I, infortunately, am not very handy. The system is for tanks up to 40 gallons, while mine is 55 gallons and probable has about 40 gallons of water of so in it. It doesn't seem to be working very well, as I don't see my 'CO2 flourishing' plants flourishing.

 

[jb12288]

get the red sae co2 system works good

 

[Rlon35]

to catch your loaches, i would take the drift wood out of the tank and put the wood in a rubbermaid tub full of water and let them swim out in there then net them. ^^^^^^^^^

I was afraid, I have pieces of java moss tied driftwood sitting on top of my main driftwood piece, and I have a flourishing wisteria plant attached to the main piece. I also have rotala walicii filling up the spaces in the driftwood, coming up like bushes from the gravel. Taking out the driftwood was soemthing I hoped I could avoid, but I don't know if there is another way, aside from using frozen blood worms and trying to net one when he is greadily munching on the cube. I can jsut be patient and trade in one at a time, as I manage to catch them.

 

[jb12288]

you could always be patient and snag one when he pops out.

 

[RadaR]

2WPG over a 55gallon (110W) with only fermentation CO2 is just asking for algae. Without the stable, right amount of CO2, the plants wont be able to absorb the nutrients you are providing. CO2 will be the limiting factor and those algae spores will gladly populate.

but if i were you i would stop using the excel when you run out and get dry ferts and use EI

Excel is a source of liquid carbon and isn't anything to do with nutrients that is provided by TPN(+) or EI.

 

[aaronnorth]

glosso is fussy about CO2 and nutrients, so i wouldnt attempt it until you get these sorted.

Riccia agin loves CO2.

cant you use less light until you get a CO2 pressurized kit, your plants would do better without it.

 

[Rlon35]

glosso is fussy about CO2 and nutrients, so i wouldnt attempt it until you get these sorted.

Riccia agin loves CO2.

cant you use less light until you get a CO2 pressurized kit, your plants would do better without it.

I must be starting to get the plant thing a little because I though of this, and, no I can't use less light, as I am on the lowest setting. I am just going to have to get the CO2 system sooner than as budgeted. I am fighting a losing battle against algae (sopt and hair), and there is no way the riccia and glosso will thrive under the present conditions. The tank looks nice, but looks can be deceiving. I have spent money to keep planting it and make it look nice, but, obviously, the key is to have the existing plants flourish so you never need anymore plants. I should have only bought the Pelia by itself, instead of using it on driftwood, along with the riccia piece. I should have used it for the foreground instead of the glosso, and never bought the riccia until I upgrade CO2. at any rate, that's how you learn, I suppose.