Red Vallis

[alex1]

I have recently set up my 160l tank - now about 2 months old. I started with fast growing plants and am now changing slowly to some more interesting slower growing plants.
I have some vallis in the back of the tank - my question is, it started off a fairly green colour but now seems to be turning a reddy brown colour, much redder at the top near the lights. I do have some of the leaves dying off occasionally, usually just the odd one or two and they usually go a light brown colour and go soft.
I am aware that I have rather low light levels - 1.4wpg( by my calculations), but I do have injected co2, and feed trace plant feed once a day and liquid fertilisers once every 5 days or so at water changes. My plants were pearling well in the beginning but now things have slowed down a bit, still some pearling but not as fast.
I would really like to add an extra light, but the expense and the difficulty of getting it in my existing hood - plus my partners constant nag , 'you have enough light now, why do you need more?'put me off.
My water tests at
Nitrite 0 - 0.25
Ammonia Nil
Nitrate 5
Ph 7.2 - 7.4
Kh 14
Any ideas about the Vallis?I may ask about the cheaper way to add extra lights in the relevant area.

 

[alex1]

Helloooo, anyone out there?
Have I asked too many questions at once?

 

[Jen]

I started to reply yesterday, but had a million things going on, and forgot to hit send.

Anyway. I have a ton of val in my tank. I have 2 kinds... the really thin stuff and the kind that is about an inch wide. (see picture here)

it starts green at the base, and just like yours, gets more red near the light. I'm pretty sure it's just becuase of the lights.

If you are adding co2 and extra ferts, it would be worth while to add another light. You will be bound to get some nasty aglae at some point. Have you read the pinned articles at the top of this section about algae, co2 and the EI method (about ferts)?

 

[The-Wolf]

what you both have is Vallisneria gigantea Giant vallis.
it is perfectly natural for it to have a red tinge at the top

 

[alex1]

Thanks for the replies, I have read, and tried to digest the lighting articles etc. I am acutely aware that I need some extra lights but I am unsure how to go about it.
I have asked in the LFS over here but - surprise ,surprise- most of them say why more lights? You have 2 tubes already.
One shop offered to add more lights into my hood, but at a price.
I have not actually seen extra lighting units for sale over here. They must exist but I need to track them down. I intend to try on the internet in the German sights.
I don't have a clue how I will find room for them in my hood.
Thanks again for the reassurance about my Vallis

 

[zig]

Helloooo, anyone out there?
Have I asked too many questions at once?

Patience my friend patience............

Its unusual your question went unanswered but before you got a reply it was less than 24 hours hardly a long time.

Anyway........one thing i notice about your tank stats is that your nitrate levels are very low for a planted tank at 5ppm, you run the very real risk of getting BGA (blue green algae or cyanobacteria) this can be difficult to get rid of once you get it in a tank and can also be your worst nightmare algae wise if you get a bad strain of it, you should keep an eye on those nitrate levels or consider dosing nitrate in the form of KNO3 or in a liquid form like seachem nitrate, 10ppm or above is a much safer level IMO, bga thrives in tanks with low nitrate levels.

My own main tank is also 160 litres and for the past 6 weeks i have run this tank with only 1.4 WPG down from its normal 2.8 WPG, even though i added proper amounts of CO2 and fertiliser the tank never pearled in this time and i would not expect it to either, pearling is usually associated with tanks with higher amounts of light so i would not worry about that one. Perhaps you are seeing pearling after water changes this is quite normal but not pearling in the true sense.

You can still have a beautiful planted tank with only 1.4 WPG and they also require a lot less maintainence than a higher light tank, the fact that you use CO2 even at 1.4 WPG means you will still get fairly decent growth levels possibly 3-4 times more growth than without the CO2, so the tank will change and wont be boring, you just have to pick plants that are appropriate for the level of light you have and then you will have success, if you pick plants that need more light you will have failure, so just choose carefully and do some research HERE is a good place to do research on plants appropriate to your light levels. I have found that many grass type carpeting plants do surprisingly well at 1.4 WPG i got good growth from E. Tennellus, Eleocharis acicularis and also lilaeposis species grass type plants as well, most of these you would you would usually associate with higher light tanks, granted they grew slower but they also grew without a hint of algae and grew well.

Most of us here have done modifications to our hoods to incorporate more lights and you would be surprised what you can fit in, power compacts are a good option if you are stuck for space but just be aware of the heat issues associated with these particular lights and again do some research and ask questions here if you are unsure as to what to choose in the way of lighting.

Also just be aware of the extra work associated with high light tanks you need to be on top of the game most of the time as regards CO2 fertilisers etc or you will have issues with algae sooner than you would like, it is undoubtably rewarding being able to grow most species of plants but low light tanks can be pretty cool also.

What size is you tank btw what are the dimensions of it?

What type of CO2 are you useing? pressurised or DIY?

And before i forget its also a good idea to have a phosphate testkit for planted tanks so you might want to invest in one of those.

I know lots of Germans are into planted tanks so i would have thought getting pretty much anything would not be a problem over there, i know there are lots of aquatic internet sites so i would say getting lighting online will not be a problem, you could also consider building your own hood to incorporate more lights this is what I and many others here have done also.

Anyway good luck with it keep us informed of your progress.

 

[alex1]

Thanks again for the comprehensive reply.
My tank dimensions are
100cm by 40cm by 40cm.
I have pressurised co2 running at about 26-30 ppm with a shut off during the night.

I have not seen seachim nitrate over here, but my LFS does have a very small supply of a sort of nitrate and phosphate liquid, no levels listed on the bottle and not made by any recognised firm.

I do have a phosphate test kit , it tests at 1.5 at the moment, nitrate has dropped to 1. I really must think about dosing with nitrate, would it be going over the top with the low light levels?

Talking about algae, I have a few small areas with what looks like dark brown fluff, is that BGA?

Just one other quick question, what does IMO mean?

 

[zig]

IMO = in my opinion

Even with low light levels you will still need nitrate the fact you are injecting CO2 is driving the growth levels higher than they would normally be for a tank with this amount of light, if you are only getting readings of 1ppm nitrate you are definatly in BGA territory it will start showing up sooner than later, Here is a German internet site where you can buy Seachem nitrogen online, i know Kent also do a liquid version of this as well, also if you could track down KNO3 you could make up your own. I would probably skip the liquid from the LFS as you dont really want any higher levels of phosphate in your tank.

The dark brown fluff is probably just diatoms and will easily be removed with an old toothbrush or wiped from the glass, Ottocinclus (ottos) will also eat this stuff and clear a tank of diatoms very effectively, higher light levels would probably also help with this also but the other methods will work just as well.

 

[alex1]

I just have to say a big thank you for the link to the great sites, I intend ordering some ferts ASAP.
I was also looking at the planted site and, horror, I think my algea is that awful brush algae they mention. I must do a lot of reading to see what I can do about it. I do not like the idea of the overdose of excel stuff as I have quite a few shrimps and snails. It is not out of hand yet but I do not want it to get that way.
I hope that starting to get my nitrates up a bit and upping the co2 might help.
I have just realised that I swapped my lights over from the pinky one to the front and the stronger whiter light to the back and that is when I started to notice the algea more on the 'new Zealand' grass at the front. It may be coincidence but I have now swapped them back.
Is my phosphate level OK at 1.5?