Newbie Questions + Ph Issues

[mark4785]

I am not that experienced when it comes to caring for aquatic plants and I thought I'd post some questions here since I've run into a few problems with a handful of plants that I currently have in my aquarium.

I currently have an Anubias plant that I'm told has diatoms (a form of algae) growing on it's leaves. Why is this happening and how do I get rid of the diatoms? A picture of my anubias can be seen below.

I also have a plant named Cryptocoryne and Elodea denas which are not growing that well and seem to be quite flimsy/weak. The Cryptocoryne can be seen in the picture below.

The aquarium in which these plants are situated has 2 24W T5 bulbs that are switched on for a period of 6 hours. The aquarium is dosed with Tetra Plantamin (liquid fertilizer) every 4 weeks which tops up micro-nutrients and root fertilizer tablets named Tetra Crypto which again top up the micro-nutrients are installed quite often at the base of all three plants. The macro-nutrients, namely nitrate can only be at a concentration of 10-15 ppm due to a delicate species of fish which is in the aquarium. I'm quite sure some phosphate will exist in the water too because I wouldn't have diatom algae if this wasn't the case.

I feel the micro/macro nutrient concentrations are sufficient but something is still causing the plants to look unhealthy. For instance, some of the cryptocoryne leaves are going yellow and diatoms are forming on it too.

So onto the questions...

1. There is an aquarium airstone switched on 24/7. This is providing oxygen for the fish. Do airstones and plants mix since plants need to find c02? Should I turn it off, and if I do how reliable are a few plants at providing oxygen to the fish?

2. The plant roots are planted in sand produced by a company named 'Caribisea'. The substrate is called 'Torpedo Beach Instant Aquarium' substrate. Is this substrate good enough to enable me to grow healthy plants?

3. I am told that the anubias has parts on it which should not be submerged in the substrate. With this in mind, is it possible to allow anubias to grow at the surface of the aquarium or is it possible to tie it to something like bog wood? I was a bit concerned that if the roots aren't within substrate that it would struggle to survive.

4. How essential is liquid carbon for the health of just a few plants? I'm not a huge fan of planted aquariums that look like jungles but I am aware that if plants don't get c02 they will not survive.

Miscellaneous information:

Aquarium capacity is 120 litres and is configured for tropical fish.
It contains 2 German Blue Rams and 2 different species of Tetra.


Any pointers/advise from somebody with experience with growing successful plants would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Mark.

 

[PDSimon]

i can answer queston 1

Airstones do drive out the c02 which won't be helping the plants! Actual airstones don't provide that much oxygen compared to surface agitation which does. Depending on your filter but the best thing you can do for plants and fish is to get it to agitate the surface, causing ripples but not so much that its splashing.

vaguely to get things going...

anubias can certianly grow on the substrate but if the rhizome goes under the substrate it rots and the plant dies. I suppose you just have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get covered up ifyou really want it in the substrate.

liquid carbon isn't essential but the crypts would appreciate it. If i were you i'd get some amazon swords(echinodorus bleheri). good looking plants and really easy to grow. Faster growing plants like this will hopefully out compete the algae.

Also I noticed changing around with my filter so that there is more circulation within the tank helps against the algae

 

[mark4785]

i can answer queston 1

Airstones do drive out the c02 which won't be helping the plants! Actual airstones don't provide that much oxygen compared to surface agitation which does. Depending on your filter but the best thing you can do for plants and fish is to get it to agitate the surface, causing ripples but not so much that its splashing.

Hey PDSimon.

Well I can tell you that there's no splashing caused by the filter outlet (just ripples) but the airstone is causing an accumulation of bubbles which do splash when they pop lol. I'm not sure that should be a problem though.

Thanks for you input as always

 

[PDSimon]

It definately drives out the c02, i'm sure one of the more experienced members will agree

 

[mark4785]

It definately drives out the c02, i'm sure one of the more experienced members will agree

So the bubble-popping is enough to deplete c02? Maybe I should turn the power down on the air pump; you can adjust how much air pressure goes through the pipe to the airstone on this one.

If I am able to stop bubbles from reaching the surface (hard to do in this predicament) and end up with small ripples, are you saying that is good for the plants?

 

[PDSimon]

What filter do you have? If your filter doesn't cause water agitation then maybe its a bad idea to turn the airstone down

 

[mark4785]

What filter do you have? If your filter doesn't cause water agitation then maybe its a bad idea to turn the airstone down

The filter is called 'Bluewave 05'. There's definitely water agitation. I took a picture of the water surface just now and attached it below; the ripples are caused by the filter and the bubbles are all from the air stone.

 

[PDSimon]

If it was me i'd turn the airstone off completely but then again it might not matter as you don't have many plants. Airstones are just for people who like the look of bubbles really and for tiny tanks/hospital tanks without much circulation/filtration. but if you want the best conditions...you know what to do! btw if you were going to get easycarbo you can order a 250ml bottle for like 6-7 quid and it'll last you quite a while! i dose 2ml a day so 125 days..not bad really

 

[ian]

Yep, I agree with SI.

 

[mark4785]

If it was me i'd turn the airstone off completely but then again it might not matter as you don't have many plants. Airstones are just for people who like the look of bubbles really and for tiny tanks/hospital tanks without much circulation/filtration. but if you want the best conditions...you know what to do! btw if you were going to get easycarbo you can order a 250ml bottle for like 6-7 quid and it'll last you quite a while! i dose 2ml a day so 125 days..not bad really

Ok. I've turned the airstone off.

As the airstone is effectively injecting oxygen into the water, presumably the carbonic acid/carbon dioxide levels are becoming depleted. Would this explain why my PH level is rising by 0.4 every 2 days?

I've had to do another 20% water change to get the PH down to a reasonable level for my stock, it's getting quite stressful not knowing why it's rising!

 

[PDSimon]

Certainly is stressful... I'm still suspicious of your gravel even though it says its neutral. Why don't you stick some of the substrate in a bucket, with that airstone (if possible just to circulate the water). It'll atleast rule it out.

my pH comes out at about 7.3 and then settles at about 7.5 but it doesn't explain it progressing upwards, its not enough 02 to have any huge effect, 1-2 pH max.. if any

 

[mark4785]

Certainly is stressful... I'm still suspicious of your gravel even though it says its neutral. Why don't you stick some of the substrate in a bucket, with that airstone (if possible just to circulate the water). It'll atleast rule it out.

my pH comes out at about 7.3 and then settles at about 7.5 but it doesn't explain it progressing upwards, its not enough 02 to have any huge effect, 1-2 pH max.. if any

I've already done something similar to that. I've grabbed two beakers, filled one up with water and filled the other up with water and placed the sand substrate into it. I keep mixing the solution and ensuring I don't cross-contaminate and I plan to test the PH of each soon.

Maybe it would be better to use a bucket with airstone as you say. I'll think about it.

Edit: This is my e-mail to Caribsea and their response regarding the possibility of their substrate influencing PH levels:

Mark,

All of our Instant Aquarium substrates, including Torpedo Beach, are pH neutral. You are correct that many marine sands will influence pH but this product is different from them. Unfortunately at this time we do not have a UK product support line. You can email me directly for best results.

Thanks,
Jud McCracken
Product Support,
CaribSea, Inc.
772-461-1113 ext 14
jud@caribsea.com


----- Original Message -----
From:
Sent: Mon, July 19, 2010, 11:23 AM
Subject: I Need Tech Support


Hello,

I recently purchased a product from you which is a part of the instant aquarium substrate range. The product is called 'Instant Aquarium - Torpedo Beach'. I was wondering if this substrate in anyway influences the PH level of aquarium water or not?

Somebody I know told me that many sand substrates can raise the PH and make it become quite alkaline.

I'd appreciate it if you could get back to me with an answer as the answer will determine what kind of stock (fish) I can place in the aquarium.

Thank you,

Mark Roe

 

[mark4785]

I've tested the PH of both the beakers; the one containing water and the other containing water & the substrate and they both have a PH reading of 7.4. I'm going to test them again tomorrow and then the day after to check for any different patterns that may emerge between them.

Could their be left over substances from the sodalite still within the tank? This would explain why the PH is still rising.

Mark.

 

[PDSimon]

ok...

if you think there is left overs just keep changing the water and do a sand syphon

 

[RadaR]

The aquarium in which these plants are situated has 2 24W T5 bulbs that are switched on for a period of 6 hours. The aquarium is dosed with Tetra Plantamin (liquid fertilizer) every 4 weeks which tops up micro-nutrients and root fertilizer tablets named Tetra Crypto which again top up the micro-nutrients are installed quite often at the base of all three plants. The macro-nutrients, namely nitrate can only be at a concentration of 10-15 ppm due to a delicate species of fish which is in the aquarium. I'm quite sure some phosphate will exist in the water too because I wouldn't have diatom algae if this wasn't the case.

Firstly, phosphates do not cause algae.
You're not dosing any where near enough. Micro nutrients arent as important as macro nutrients but should still be dosed 2-3times a week.
Dont worry about macro nutrient toxicity. Time and time again it's been proven that dosing N+P will not harm your fish even up to 100pm, Don't be afraid to dose/overdose your tank. Do these fish look sick?

That amazing tank gets about 1/3 cup of KNO3 per day, a few table spoons o KH2PO4.

Using products such as Easylife Nitro, Easylife Fosfo will make sure you have enough macro nutrients for the plants. With that lighting, you;ll need some CO2 addition. If you can afford pressurized then best go with lquid carbon.

I feel the micro/macro nutrient concentrations are sufficient but something is still causing the plants to look unhealthy. For instance, some of the cryptocoryne leaves are going yellow and diatoms are forming on it too.

Are you judging that you have enough macro nutrients by testing the water? If so, don't trust the readings. Nitrate and phosphate test kits are very innacurate. A reading of 80ppm could even be 5ppm. The diatoms suggest nutrients aren't up to par. If the plants look unhealthy then obviously something is wrong. Here is a guide to deficiencies.