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Some of my plants aren’t growing?


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Heyo, so I’m having a bit of a hard time with my plants. Most of them aren’t doing anything or they’re producing new growth really slowly. I’m running a Fluval 3.0 with settings on 100% and I’m dosing 10ml easy green and 10ml easy iron each week. Plus everything is planted in Fluval stratum. I honestly thought that I’d be growing an algae farm by now but some how the diatoms I had are starting to disappear. The only real growth I’ve seen is from the water sprite but not as much as I’d expect. Any tips?

Parameters/Plants:

44 gallons

Ammonia - 0 ppm

Nitrites - 0 ppm

Nitrates - 25 ppm

pH - 7.4 - 7.6

GH - 250 - 300 ppm

KH - 80 ppm

Plants - Staurogyne Repens, Water Sprite, Anubis, Scarlet Temple, Pearl Weed, Money Wort, Mayaca Fluviatilis

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Hi @Lucid_Reese

That is going to be a nice looking tank once you get it 'dialed in', balanced and stabilized.  I'm giving +1 for @JoeQcomments about your light intensity.  With a tank that is 17.7" tall and allowing for substrate depth about 16" from top to substrate running your Fluval 3.0 is providing about PAR@90.  You did not mention CO2 so I am guessing none is being used.  PAR@90 is 50% more light than I would recommend as a maximum for a 'low tech' tank without CO2 injection.

On my 'low tech' tanks I typically run about PAR@50 maximum. 

I run Fluval Planted 3.0 lights on my tanks and have access to a PAR meter and I would recommend the following settings for your fixture to start (Use Pro-Mode).
Red@100%
Blue@100%
Cold White@100%
Pure White @50%
Warm White@50%

I would start with a photoperiod of about 6 hours maximum.  Increase 1/2 hour per week until algae becomes an issue.

As for dosing I recommend 3 ml twice (2X) a week of Easy Green and continue to monitor your nitrate ppm level - adjust your dosing to stay in the 20-30 ppm range.  I would dose the same amount of Easy Iron as you are dosing Easy Iron.  Why?  Because at a pH of 7.4 - 7.6 basically none of the EDTA chelated iron in Easy Green is available to your plants.  The Easy Iron contains DTPA chelated iron and about 50% of it will be available at the pH of your tank.

Try the above for about a month and see how things are going.  Keep us posted with updates.  -Roy

10 gallon low tech with PAR@45 and minimal nutrients

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Edited by Seattle_Aquarist
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@Lucid_Reese I was going to tag Roy, but he already chimed in while I was busy blowing up your image of your tank so I could see better.

He has taught me more about iron absorption at higher pH than the dozens of books I have read over the decades, and more importantly explained it in a way that made sense to my brain.

Streetwise and Mmiller are the other two who help me do better at planted tanks.

The only thing I would add to what Roy said, from my personal experience, is to split the photoperiod in two since you aren't running CO2. I can get you some research if you are interested in going full geek on the data. However, I am autistic, and not everyone appreciates an info dump, so I will leave it at:

You have gotten great advice already, and if you make the changes Roy recommended and take pictures now and pictures in two weeks to compare to the ones today, and you will see a difference. We chatted in the Member's live stream yesterday, and if you want more data/peer-reviewed data to see the results in research and then follow how that research plays out in your tank, I am more than happy to share.

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PS- Wait until you test out Roy's recommendations for 2 weeks before adding a new variable with a siesta (split photo-period).

It makes it easier to understand how each change impacts growth.

@JoeQ &  @Streetwise

I believe it's so only one or two variables get changed every two weeks to recognize what makes the change.

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On 4/30/2022 at 3:00 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

I run Fluval Planted 3.0 lights on my tanks and have access to a PAR meter and I would recommend the following settings for your fixture to start (Use Pro-Mode).
Red@100%
Blue@100%
Cold White@100%
Pure White @50%
Warm White@50%

I would start with a photoperiod of about 6 hours maximum.  Increase 1/2 hour per week until algae becomes an issue.

I'll try this out and keep everyone posted! Thank you 🙂 

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I use the plant default setting on the fluval 3.0 and i end up with this mess:

 

(the plant profile has 89% red 26 %blue %72 grey %85 white %79 yellow. The lights run from 8am till 5pm (with 1hr ramp up/down; so 7 hours full). I dose approx once a week 1/2 recommended dosage for a 29 (both tanks are 29). Also this is relevant to the plants you grow - my tap is kh 3 gh 7 so fair amount of minerals but not too hard - some plants require soft water other hard water and some are temp or ph sensitive.

Both tanks are 33 months old so well establish - there is some algae but not too much - i clean algae about once every 8 or so months off the black 29; the white 29 i haven't clean algae for at least 14 months.

-

Also in case it matters i do 50% water change twice a week (but only put in fertilizer at most once a week).

 

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Edited by anewbie
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On 4/30/2022 at 4:27 PM, Torrey said:

PS- Wait until you test out Roy's recommendations for 2 weeks before adding a new variable with a siesta (split photo-period).

It makes it easier to understand how each change impacts growth.

@JoeQ &  @Streetwise

I believe it's so only one or two variables get changed every two weeks to recognize what makes the change.

I think it's also to not force the plant to undergo too many changes at once. It is my understanding that A plant has to, in essence 'reprogram itself' to grow after a change. A lot of changes equal a harder job of 'reprogramming' itself to grow. 

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On 4/30/2022 at 1:18 PM, Streetwise said:

Why blue 100%? I never run more than 1%.

Hi @Streetwise

I know there is an 'urban myth' that blue light causes increased algae growth but that is absolutely inaccurate.  I can find no scientific study that where limiting light in the blue spectrum reduces algae growth.  Algae growth is a directly correlated to light intensity / duration, and to some degree nutrient imbalance and water flow, but not spectrum of color (wavelength).   That said, because blue light does have a shorter wavelength than green or red light it can penetrate water to a deeper depth.  In other words 10 watts of blue light would produce a higher PAR (PPFD) reading at a given depth than 10 watts of green light or red light.

I just went back and reviewed a couple of GSAS sponsored talks in October, 2015 by Cara Wade, the Photobiologist for well known LED lighting manufacturer Build My LED.  Her talk "Fact and Fiction in Aquarium Lighting" is the most relevant to the discussion of light spectrum and algae.  Both her talks were very informative and somewhat technical and 'geeky' but debunked many myths including color spectrum causing algae growth.  If you are a GSAS.org member you can find the talks in the video library.

As for why I run my blue at 100%, I like the 'cooler' look of using blue light as opposed to 'warmer' look of yellow.  I just watch my PAR so my light intensity maintained at a level to minimize algae in my tanks.  -Roy

On 4/30/2022 at 1:31 PM, Lucid_Reese said:

I enjoy the hue given off when the entire spectrum is set to equal percentages

@Lucid_Reese, if you prefer 'equal percentages' you can certainly do that - drop the red, blue, and pure white down to 50% as well.  -Roy

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Edited by Seattle_Aquarist
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