Not pearling regularly....

[Godslayer]

In my quest to learn more and more about the intricacies of life in general and planted aquaria more specifially, I have noticed the my 10G will only pearl after a water change.

A logical theory:

1) I am missing a key ingredient that only my tap water can supply.

This must be calcium because I can cover everything else with chemical additives.

Carbon
Nitrogen
Potassium
Phosphate
Iron
Traces

My gH test kit doesn't work for some reason, therefore I am unsure of my Magnesium levels but we have moderately hard water here and Mg should be covered. However if the Mg was covered by the gH then Calcium should be covered also.. correct?

I'm not sure what's going on. Any ideas from the elitists?

2.6WPG CF 6400K

Bob

[djlen]

I'll be very interested in the responses to this one, as I get a lot of pearling, but not as much as the day I do my water changes.
Len

[odessa]

Your new water you are adding to the tank is supersaturated with co2 this is what causes most of the pearling. The water also has some trace minerals and some people even have good amounts of phosphates, all of wich are happily consumed by the plants.

[Fishiebusiness]

CO2 is pretty helpful in getting pearling.

Fresh tap water has lots of gases dissolved since it was under pressure in your pipes. The bubbling after water changes is a combination of plants producing some o2 and a lot of dissolved gases coming out of solution.

[dillct]

I'd check my CO2 lines. I had a cat chew a very small hole in my hose between my reactor and my bubble counter. I thought CO2 was getting to the tank but wasn't. I've stopped checking CO2 versus Ph and Kh a long time ago so this was partially my fault. Frustrating problem though.

Chaz

[BluEyes]

I'd agree with Fishiebuisness, that it has to do with dissolved gasses in the water supply. Hasn't anyone ever seen bubbles all over the inside of a brand-new, freshly filled tank? Lots of gasses dissolving out. If you add plants to that, there's even more gas trying to dissolve into the water, resulting in lots of pearling.
OTOH, if your local tap water has very few dissolved gasses you would have a lapse in pearling after a change as the plants have to resaturate the water with O2 before pearling can resume again.

[Godslayer]

Interesting.

A few points.

1) CO2 is not an issue, I used compressed and in fact I have more than I should.

2) Phosphates should also be covered because I dose them also.

I have to agree that gases coming out of solution after a water change makes sense. But it seems I should still see some pearling at other times. Yesterday I dosed about twice my normal fertilizer regimine to see if I could inititiate some pearling. The result was slightly cloudy water and a few small bubbles on the crypts (which is normal). I have heard people mention that they get pearling at times other than after a water change. Is this true?

Bob

[BluEyes]

yup, when you get everything growing right, plants will be pearling about all day long.

What about the rest of the setup? What plants, substrate, nitrate, fertilizers, etc? What about the filter?

[thom336]

guys, lets try not to turn our aquariums into chemistry sets, aie?

[Godslayer]

Chemistry set hehe.... sounds like fun.

My setup is as follows:

10hr photoperiod
2.6WPG CF 6400K
100% Flourite
pH 6.6 kH 3
gH ??
Fluval 1+ Internal Filter

Plants:

3/4 substrate covered with dwarf hairgrass
1 large bunch of Hygrophilia Difformis
2 large bunches of Crypt Wendti

I add for ferts:

1/8 tsp KNO3
1/8 tsp K+
4 drops PO4
2 ml Flourish
1 ml Flourish Iron

I also have available Epsom Salts, Seachem root tabs, and Jobe's sticks.

Bob

[thom336]

mines tests good, plants and fish looking good, gravel clean, water clear, light output still strong, filters flowing like the wind, and side glasses clear of algae.

my plants are:
-vallis
-broad leaf amazon sword (ones got a shoot of babies coming out)
-and other plants im no good with the names of

i use a nutrafin fertiliser

i dont see the point of treating it like a chemistry set like that, i know when somethings wrong - and at the moment its in perfect balance. of course, i do test regularly.

but if you want the proper stats of my aquaria, im about to do my tank specs...

[BluEyes]

dunno, don't see anything lacking. It looks like you've got a very high-energy tank there. You';re adding more ferts to a 10g than I add to my 20g (it isn't pearling either, but...) 2.6wpg on a 10 is actually more light than 2.6wgp on a larger tank, because the lights are closer to the substrate and all.
What are your nitrate levels though? You really want to keep the levels non-zero, but low, like 5ppm or so.

sorry, thom, it is a chemistry set...

[Starry]

I don't think you should be so concerned about pearling. How are your plants growing? If they're growing, then they're using up the oxygen they're generating. Pearling means they're just generating way too much oxygen and it can't diffuse into the water nice and slow, so you get it in bubbles. You don't really need this, although it does look pretty. You've probably noticed "pearling" on injured plants. That means they're losing the oxygen, can't keep it in, not that they're growing out of control. My sagittaria pearls a little bit in normal conditions, but you should see what comes out when I snip off a leaf! I'd say that if your plants are growing, then who cares if you can see the oxygen or not? If you really wanna see it, snip off a leaf :)

As for water changes - it's all the dissolved gases in your water. You get it on the glass as well, don't you? And in bad cases, when adding warm water to cold, also on the fish.

Edit: We actually have a very similar set-up. except my kh and ph are higher. but same size, same lights. ah supply 2x13W? :)