Please Help My Plants Are Growing Funny

[donkey]

Hi Guys.
Can anyone please tell me what wrong with my plants. some of them are haveing a problem getting up they are bending and twisting. i am running a 60 U.S gallon tank with 144 watts of light. i have 30ppm CO2 and i am doseing both Micros and Macros everyday.
Thanks.

pic

pic 2

 

[fozziebear]

hmm looks like your H. polysperma is straight as a pole, cabomba is a very delicate stem plant, have you got any strong flow going over it? that could be causing it to grow this way, other than that im not sure.
lovely discus btw hehe.

 

[donkey]

Hi there. no strong flow. glad you like the discus

more pics

another

yet another

That last pic i put up is also growing funny. its more bushy at the bottom than the top. and the top bud is going red. is that normal ?

 

[fozziebear]

how long have the plants been in the tank? also how long after light on were the pics taken, and its normal for the plants to get red at the tips where the light is strongest, looks like you have good lighting too.

 

[frozenbarb]

Plants bending over means you have good light. I would think that the plants have all the lights they need and don't need to reach for the top anymore.

 

[donkey]

The plants have been in the tank for about a week. pictures where taken after about 2 hours of the lights been on. but they stay all bent like that even after 10 hours of the lights been on. do you think my lights are up to the job . or do i need to add more light

 

[fozziebear]

id give em another week to fully settle, see how they adapt, but it looks like you have good lighting judging by the reds in your plants.

 

[donkey]

Thanks for that fozziebear. well tonight i did a water change and while cleaning the glass i brushed my hand up against the cabomba and it just snapped off .so maybe there lacking in something ? i do have other lights i could use so i might start another thread on that and see what you guys think

 

[fozziebear]

yeah post up your lighting details cant hurt, what are you dosing? EI method?

 

[donkey]

ok this is what i dose

Macros
25g Potassium Nitrate
2.2g Potassium Phosphate (monobasic)
22g Potassium Sulphate
16g Magnesium Sulphate Heptahydrate (Epsom Salts)
500 ml distilled water


Micros powder from A.E
30G with 500ml of De Ionised water

i put in 12 ml of Macros and 6ml of Micros. i do this everyday and dose both at the same time

 

[fozziebear]

i have always thought and read you shouldnt dose them on the same day its traces on the odd days and your macros on the even days, something about it reacting and creating something that the plants dont use im not sure though, im not a scientist like some on here hahaha, i dose KNO3 and KH2PO4 on sunday tuesday and thursday, traces on monday wednes and friday, saturday is a rest day, and sunday is 50% water change day, i also dose with dry ferts cos im lazy and cant be bothered getting ionised/distilled water.

 

[donkey]

so far it seems to be working good. it was passed on to me by another forum member ( SuperColey1 ) and hes been a big help to me. this is where it come from.

http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/PMDD.htm

 

[SuperColey1]

You can dose on the same day no problem. Its just that you can't mix the macros and micros into one solution due to the reaction. Once diluted in circulating water then it won't happen.

The 3 day split is more to make it easier than dosing 2 solutions each day.

Some like myself dose macros then micros every day 7 days a week!!!


The plants look like they are bending (as stated above) because they have enough light where they are and aren't needing to get to the surface to get it. You have VERY HIGH lighting seeing as your tank is quite large and also T5s are no good to gauge by the WPG rule.

There are many different opinions on the exact amounts that they are more efficient than the WPG rule but they range from 1.2x to as much as 3x.

I have said myself that T5s could be as much as 2x the WPG rule (meaning 1W of T5 = 2W on the WPG rule)

If I were you I would reduce the lighting to 120W or less (If it were my tank then I would be trying to get it to around 80-90W!!!!)

The weak Cabomba suggest to me a defficiency of boron so maybe up your traces a little.

As an addition bit of info reddish leaves are not just caused by light. It can sometimes be caused by a shortage of Nitrogen!!! In your case I think it is because your lighting is so high!!

Andy

 

[donkey]

Hi Andy
i could remove one of my 4 foot tubes . this would leave me with three 4 foot tubes giveing me about 108 watts of light. or i could remove all the T8 tubes and put in my 2 46inch T5 tubes. this would give me 108 watts as well. not to sure which is the best way to go.

 

[SuperColey1]

If you have reflectors then I would go for the 3 tubes rather than 2.

Although the 2 are T5 having 3 tubes would allow you to space them better in the hood and therefore spread the light out better i.e. measure your hood into quarters and each light can go inbetween each quarter (1front, one centre and one back)

Andy