plant growth

[cbster]

I planted fifty plants on dec. 24 and as of right now they really haven't grown much. i put flourish tabs in the substrate and dose with flourish weekly. i have diy co2. and 2.18 wpg of light (i can have 2.90 wpg). for filtration i have an emperor 400 (this one is gone as soon as i can since it is not good for the co2) and a hot magnum 250. and i have a uv sterilizer because i couldn't get rid of green water. i also have 10 fish. and i keep the tank at 78 degrees. my tank readings are ph 7.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5 ppm, kh 8, and gh 7, so according to the co2 chart that should be 15.103 ppm. and i do a 50 % water change every week. so is there anything else i can be doing? i have four plants (which i can't seem to find the list of what they are) that are getting brown leaves on them. i would really appreciate some help with this. Thank Alot Greg

[djlen]

Greg -
What size is your tank?

Len

[cbster]

Hi Len,

Sorry I forgot to put that in there it is a 55 gallon regular.

Thanks Again Greg

[odessa]

I would up the Nitrate to about 10 ppm. Also check phosphate levels they should be in the 0.5- 1.0 range. Also need a souce for potassium 20 ppm. Flourish dose not have enough of these nutrients. You can buy these Macros seperately from seachem. or you can buy in bulk from hydrponic shops. I would also dose the flourish twice a week. You can take the bio wheels off of your emporer 400 to help with the loss of c02.

[jeffro426]

It depends on what kinds of plants...some of my plants grow like weeds, some dont grow at all, just survive. My Java fern doesnt really grow all that much...maybe an inch or so every few weeks at the most. My anarchis on the other hand grows an inch or so every other day.

[djlen]

The CO2 ppm is very reasonable for DIY in a 55 gal. tank. But would be better without the bio wheel as Odessa points out.
I agree with her as well on the P, but disagree on the K.
I would get a source of KNO3 and dose that to 10ppm and it will supply your N and at least half of your K. With the small fish load you are probably not holding enough N and will probably see an improvement with the KNO3. Then later if you feel that the plants are lacking in K, you can add more of that as well.
I would recommend testing regularly for N and P content and a weekly water change also.
I would stay with the 2.18 wpg until you get a handle on what's going to work at that level, and then increase if desired.
I'm a bit confused......did you plant 50 plants of 4 different types of plant or are there 4 plants out of 50 that are browning?
What plants are in the tank? Jeffro makes a good point about some plants just not working in certain tanks.
This is not to say that you don't need to balance your nutrients as mentioned above though.
See how eliminating the bio wheel changes your CO2 absorption and if needed try to push some more into the tank. Shoot for at least 25ppm. I think, with all this, you will see an improvement.

Len

[cbster]

Thanks everyone.

I planted 50 plants but there are probably 9 diffrent kinds and i am still looking for the list when i find it i will tell you the kinds.
As for kno3 can i use the spectracide stump killer for that or is there something else i should use?
I will take the bio-wheels off and see if CO2 goes up.
I was thinking about getting an xp3 to replace the bio-wheel with is that a good choice or is there one that is better for around that cost.

Thanks Again Greg

[djlen]

I use and XP2 on one of my 55s and am very happy with it. Zero surface disturbance and it does a great job. But I have a very light fish load. I would recommend an XP3 for your 55.
One thing that everyone who gets an external cannister should know, and I was never told initially, is that they should be placed so that the top of the cannister is a minimum of 24 - 30" below the surface of the water in the tank. I tried to run mine in my lower 55 with only an 18" drop and it wouldn't run right. So keep that in mind.
That brand of stump remover is the type I have been using and it's pretty pure. I also found an outlet for Salt Petre nearby and will be using that when the Spectracide runs out. It's finer, whiter and looks absolutely pure KNO3, but I can vouch for the Spectracide.

Len

[cbster]

Hey Len,

I couldn't find the stump killer but i did find the saltpetre. but i have no clue how to go about putting it in the tank and how much to start off using. i guess you would keep adding it until you reach 10 ppm. my N reading today is 5 ppm. so if you could give me some direction in this i would appreciate it.


Thanks Greg

[djlen]

Good, it'll do a nice job for you.
Give it a level 1/4 tsp. poured slowly into the HOB filter so that it goes into the filter and doesn't over flow into the tank. It won't hurt the fish if a bit goes in, but try to keep it in the filter to dissolve. Then wait an hour and test again. 5ppm is Ok, 10ppm is better.
If you are not dosing Fleets Enema, pick some up and give the tank 3 drops and test for P content. 0.5 - 1.0 is where that should be. If it's already at that level wait on dosing the P.
When you get the cannister, put the KNO3 and the Fleets into a large glass of tank water and mix well and dump it in. I try to keep the contents away from the fish, but the **** little peckers will swim right into the flow if allowed.
It's always a good idea to take a sample of tap water, set it on the counter for 3 - 4 hours to gas off and test for everything....pH, kH, gH, N, & P to see what you're re-introducing into the tank at water change.

Len

[cbster]

Well the tank is at 10 ppm and i have an xp3 on the way. so what would you use in the cannister filter as a media? i'm not sure how many different medias you can have in an xp3 but i would like to be ready when it shows up.


Thanks Again Greg

[djlen]

I believe XP3s have three media baskets. The filter should come with two different filter pads(two of each type, I think).
To that you can add ceramic stars and/or crushed coral for colonizing your future bacteria colony. I've even heard of people using their kids plastic army figures in the media baskets for this purpose. Anything that will allow a bunch of surfaces for the bacteria to cling to is good.
Don't use the carbon pad.
That should do it.

Len