Plants not growing well...

KRUNNCH540

KRUNNCH540

AC Members
Jun 7, 2007
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Tarpon Springs, Florida
I am trying to figure out why my plants are not growing well. Here is the information about my tank.

Tank Information:
75 Gallon Tank (built in overflow)
30 Gallon Sump (Mag Drive 9 return)
Aqua Clear 70 on far left side
Penguin 400 on far right size
130W Compact Fluorescent 6700k/10,000k fixture
54W T5 6700k fixture

CO2, Ferts & Substrate:
Hagen DIY? C02 w/ ladder
Flourish Excel (2 capfuls every other day)
Flourish (2 capfuls twice a week)
100-120lbs? of Eco-complete

Plants:
4x Micro Swords
1x Sagittarius
2 handfuls of java moss

I do not have that many plants in the tank because I am trying to iron out what is going on before I take the big leap into many plants. What I think my biggest mistake is I have a sump tank that produces a lot of gassing off when it hits the sump. The second big mistake I think I made is not having pressurized C02 injection. Here is my thought, if I go down the pressurized CO2 route and inject a larger than normal amount into the tank to compensate for the gassing off...would that work? Lastly, I think my other problem is my PH averages 8.2 and my KH is off the charts and so is my GH. I tried softening with peat, but that was futile. Reverse osmosis help?

Please enlighten me, as the plants are not dead, just not growing rapid. The Sagittarius is bright green, but has some dead leaves. The java moss is bright green in some spots and VERY dark green in others. The micro sword is bright green, but has a few brown leaves.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Kristopher
 
KRUNNCH540 said:
Flourish Excel (2 capfuls every other day)

4x Micro Swords
1x Sagittarius
2 handfuls of java moss

What I think my biggest mistake is I have a sump tank that produces a lot of gassing off when it hits the sump. The second big mistake I think I made is not having pressurized C02 injection. Here is my thought, if I go down the pressurized CO2 route and inject a larger than normal amount into the tank to compensate for the gassing off...would that work? Lastly, I think my other problem is my PH averages 8.2 and my KH is off the charts and so is my GH. I tried softening with peat, but that was futile. Reverse osmosis help?
Click to expand...

Suggestions: ease up on the Excel, not good for mosses, not needed w/ CO2, unless there's an algae problem

Do add more plants. Check your NO3 levels - you may well be over-fertilizing for the plant load you're carrying.

There's no way to keep CO2 in the system w/ 2 power filters (HOB) & a sump going. I'd ditch the power filters & do whatever it takes to get water flowing smoothly down the stand pipe and into the sump. Anything that makes it all quieter is probably a step in the right direction. Get a CO2 tank & deliver CO2 to a reactor in the last chamber of the sump or through a diffuser or reactor right into the tank. DIY & a ladder will not keep up witht he demands of a well planted 75g tank even if there's no surface agitation. As to cranking up CO2 from a bottle until you hit reasonable levels despite outgassing - it can work, until a pump quits for some reason, then your CO2 input can kill your livestock if it builds up to toxic levels. Also - why waste the $ on excess CO2 just to fight a filter you may not need? Get a drop-checker along w/ your pressurized stuff. If a lack of HOB filters means too low circulation in the tank, get power heads.

You probably ought to take steps to get pH down, but you also have to figure out why it's so high to begin with. Is your tapwater really hard & high in pH? If so, cutting it with RO should help. Keeping pH down also helps keep ammonia protonated. Peat may lower your pH a little but it will not soften your water.

If I were you, I'd investigate the root cause(s) of the water's excessive GH, KH & pH, minimize agitation, but a CO2 rig, then worry about fooling w/ the water chemistry.
 
:iagree:

And, unless I'm missing something, I don't see any macro ferts. You also make no reference as to fish.- i.e. -Nitrogen.

IMO, Flourish is great, but I don't think you get enough macros from it.
 
My apologies, I left out my fish list.

Fish in tank:
1x Golden Nugget 3"
1x Common Pleco 5-6"
1x Bala Shark 8"
1x Marble Angel 3-4"
1x Clown Loach 4-5"
1x Clown Loach 2"

Everybody gets along really well, I built an array of slate caves for the bottom dwellers and I don't see them very much. Anyways, so if I am understanding you right, I place the reactor diffuser into the furthest chamber of the sump tank or directly into the main tank? How would I reduce the agitation in the sump if it is a perfect straight drop from the top tank to the bottom. I read somewhere someone stuffed bio balls in there drain tube....? Would sealing the sump tank prevent gassing?

Regarding the water chemistry. Yes, the water coming out of my tap is extremely hard and chlorinated. Florida water... I have been considering for a while to install a reverse osmosis and using a 50/50 mixture in the planted tank. The other tanks it doesn't really matter as they are acustom to it and have been for a year or more. Even the purified water filter thingie that I drink does not remove this whitish residue left in my glass cups. Appears to be an abudance of calcium.
 
yeah
i heard that when a bulb gets to be a year or so, it kinda gives out
i know i need to replace mine... all my plants are falling apart:wall:
 
I'd get an accurate measure of your kH, so you can get an idea of how much CO2 you have in the water. Covering the sump can prevent some CO2 loss. I'd also get an accurate measurement of KNO3, PO4. I'd bet you levels are low. In order for plants to grow you need light, CO2, macros, trace (and water of course, :) ). You have light, you have traces, I'm not sure you have enough of the middle 2. Get these at the right levels, I don't think your hard water will matter. And get more plants, its straightforward doing a slow growth tank, or a high growth tank being in the middle can be a little trickier and IMO a high growth tank with a low level of plants is probably going to be a lot of problems.
 
You may be overdosing slightly on Flourish, and most likely you don't have enough CO2. Get a drop checker, figure out how muc CO2 is in your tanks. You'll most likely have to use pressurized CO2 to get to 30ppm. If you go pressurized, you'll be able to/want to stop dosing with Excel except for algae outbreaks.

Also, you probably want to start dosing macro ferts. Flourish is traces only, so it's not going to give some of those basic building blocks the plants need.


I have a 30 gallon with 3 2L bottles producing CO2 and I'm just over 15ppm of CO2 using the Hagen Ladder.
 
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