Plants Made Simple?

[elmo666]

Hi all. Have read with interest the wealth of info in the plant resources. I have a simple Juwel 90ltr set-up with sand and lots of wood. Plants are vallis, hygrophila and lots of java fern. It is clearly low-tech, and was going well until I started dosing with ferts. The large hygrophila quickly started sulking, holes in leaves, then they turn brown and fall away. It was suggested this was down to a lack of co2. Ok, I can handle that. Question I want to ask is why does adding a nutrient source result in symptons that then suggest an alternate nutrient defiiciency? I have just stripped down a 450ltr tank with 4 36w T5 tubes and yeast co2, so could add co2 to this tank. Do I add co2 or scrap the ferts? Whats your thought's pls? Thanks

 

[Ps3Steveo]

If your ferts had nitrates and phosphates in then the plants will be looking for more CO2 to use up the ferts, same way as adding loads of CO2 and no N&P and your plants will show deficiencies looking for the N&P.

 

[elmo666]

Right, I see. My afore mentioned home-made co2 worked well, approx. 1 bubble per sec. I placed the end of the tubing into the uplift pipe for my aquaone 2450 external so it had a long contact time with the water. Whats the best way of increasing this now as I don't have an exte
rnal now, just the bog standard juwel internal. Would an airstone be of any help? Thanks.

 

[DrRob]

The lowest tech CO2 addition is to increase surface agitation, as it moves the CO2 in the tank nearer to atmospheric and exposes the tank to a near unlimited supply, however the concentration is very low so any supplement will help. If you're adding CO2 then an airstone may help, but a bubble tower or similar would be the most common approach and would suffer from less issue with pressure requirements.

 

[elmo666]

Thanks. Not familiar with a bubble tower. Is it anything like the bubble ladder that comes with the nutrafin co2 kit? I was thinking of maybe using one of the plastic diffusers, thinking this may need less pressure.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

If you go CO2 mate then you only want a slight ripple tho on the surface otherwise valuable CO2 will gass off.

 

[elmo666]

Thanks, would you use a diffuser to disperse the co2 or, as I did previously with my external, should I relaese it into the intake section on my juwel filter to increse contact time?

 

[Ps3Steveo]

I'd use a diffuser if its yeast as you can keep an eye on the rate it's being fed into the tank.

 

[elmo666]

Sounds logical to me Captain, thanks. btw, did you think that ferts on there own was the cause of my problem? So it has to be no ferts at all, as in a very basic low tech, or ferts and co2 combined?

 

[Ps3Steveo]

No you could try ferts with no N&P in them, might help, what's your lighting and tank volume?

 

[elmo666]

85 ltrs and standard t8 single tube, juwel hood only has capacity for one tube, tho it does work out at 1 wpg. I have an arcadia daylight tube.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Well you have nice low light so could try CO2 and your complete feet or just fert with trace in.

 

[elmo666]

Ok, thanks. Will have a play with co2 and see what happens. Thanks for input.