Superglued Plants on Log Issue

[Vonz1]

Do I do it correctly? See pic. The plants, Bucephalandra King Blue,  I just superglued on the center of the log 2 days ago are starting to melt and leaves have small holes. Running Twinstar Vr IV 600s at 75% for 6 hrs. 

ammonia 0

nitrite 0

nitrates .25 mg/L

po4 1mg/L

Fe .25 mg/L

Gh 7

PH 7.5 but 6.9 when co2 is running

KH 5

Co2 running for 6 hrs

[Mmiller2001]

They actually do better planted root wise. Personally, I don’t glue any rhizome plants any more, I tie with string loosely or wedge them in a space with lots of room for water flow.

 I would increase CO2 down to a minimum of 6.5 and increase your ferts a bit while extending the light period to 8 hours.

[Vonz1]

On 8/19/2024 at 11:22 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

They actually do better planted root wise. Personally, I don’t glue any rhizome plants any more, I tie with string loosely or wedge them in a space with lots of room for water flow.

 I would increase CO2 down to a minimum of 6.5 and increase your ferts a bit while extending the light period to 8 hours.

Thank you! This is the first time trying superglue. Some swore by it. I like your tying string around it. I am thinking about cutting the roots and planting it in the substrate at this point since it is melting so quickly. I did increase the lighting 1 hr, slowly to battle string algae, and lower the PH controller for CO2. 

 

Thanks again!

[Mmiller2001]

String algae is usually a sign of low CO2 when you are using CO2. It will come back quickly for a while, but improving CO2 should resolve the problem once the plants respond to the higher CO2 level.

[Vonz1]

On 8/20/2024 at 9:35 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

String algae is usually a sign of low CO2 when you are using CO2. It will come back quickly for a while, but improving CO2 should resolve the problem once the plants respond to the higher CO2 level.

Ok thanks. I initially dialed in the rate at 2bbl per sec of CO2 and 6.9 PH max with the controller because the drop checker would turn green and I thought it was a big drop quickly from 7.5 to 6.9 in PH. I thought the PH drop relatively quickly was too severe for my Betta fish. 

[Mmiller2001]

On 8/20/2024 at 7:41 AM, Vonz1 said:

Ok thanks. I initially dialed in the rate at 2bbl per sec of CO2 and 6.9 PH max with the controller because the drop checker would turn green and I thought it was a big drop quickly from 7.5 to 6.9 in PH. I thought the PH drop relatively quickly was too severe for my Betta fish. 

The drop rate isn’t an issue for the fish. I drop one of my tanks to about a 1.4 drop in 45 minutes. When I compared a drop checker along side measuring pH, the drop checker was a vely lime green versus green. 
 

Just be by the tank watching the fish as you increase CO2. If they start moving to the surface and sipping at the surface back it down just a little bit. That should then be the sweet spot.

[Vonz1]

On 8/20/2024 at 9:49 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

The drop rate isn’t an issue for the fish. I drop one of my tanks to about a 1.4 drop in 45 minutes. When I compared a drop checker along side measuring pH, the drop checker was a vely lime green versus green. 
 

Just be by the tank watching the fish as you increase CO2. If they start moving to the surface and sipping at the surface back it down just a little bit. That should then be the sweet spot.

Ok Thanks. 

[Vonz1]

On 8/20/2024 at 9:55 AM, Vonz1 said:

Ok Thanks. 

 

On 8/20/2024 at 9:49 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

The drop rate isn’t an issue for the fish. I drop one of my tanks to about a 1.4 drop in 45 minutes. When I compared a drop checker along side measuring pH, the drop checker was a vely lime green versus green. 
 

Just be by the tank watching the fish as you increase CO2. If they start moving to the surface and sipping at the surface back it down just a little bit. That should then be the sweet spot.

I just took a PAR reading at the plant level and its 83. The acceptable PAR reading for this particular Buce King blue is a PAR range of 30-50 µmol/m²/s. So, I either need to turn down the light intensity to get it in the proper range or relocate the plant into the substrate. 

[Mmiller2001]

I would try to hide under some growth. Your other stems love light.

[Vonz1]

Agreed. I cut them off the log a few hours ago and replanted them with weights in rich plant bio substrate, BUT there are no healthy leaves remaining, most are translucent so not looking good for a comeback, but I love a good challenge. I should have acted quicker. I planted them Sunday evening and they are already almost 100% dead. Perhaps the superglue did some damage, I also did a Potassium Permanganate dip for 10 min before planting to kill any hitch hikers or bacteria. The plant vendor who sold me the plant said the superglue may have harmed the plant. I think this particular buce plant is very fragile and sensitive. Test and measure, live and learn. Looks like I will have to order more, not cool. 

Here is a pic of them replanted. Disaster! 

Edited August 21 by Vonz1

[Vonz1]

This is hysterical 😂. Oscar is sitting on the log looking at the area I removed the plants from probably thinking what the heck did you do to my plants!! 

[reefhugger]

Gorgeous tank!

[Vonz1]

On 8/21/2024 at 6:08 AM, reefhugger said:

Gorgeous tank!

Thank you! I have made many mistakes with it but I really enjoy taking care of it.  And Oscar is an adorable little man!

Edited August 21 by Vonz1

[Vonz1]

On 8/20/2024 at 9:35 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

String algae is usually a sign of low CO2 when you are using CO2. It will come back quickly for a while, but improving CO2 should resolve the problem once the plants respond to the higher CO2 level.

Wow Mmiller2001,

 

You were 100% correct! I dialed up the CO2 and dropped the PH controller to 6.7 and the brown/black string algae is nearly all disappeared. I wonder why? The increase in carbonic acid from the increased CO2 volume? Lower Oxygen saturation during CO2 diffusion? Combo? Interesting!! Thanks again for the pointer!!!

[Mmiller2001]

Because low injection rates cause CO2 instability causing the plants to constantly re-adapt to the changing condition. You were doing this.

and you want to inject so this happens.

[Vonz1]

On 8/21/2024 at 5:58 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

Because low injection rates cause CO2 instability causing the plants to constantly re-adapt to the changing condition. You were doing this.

and you want to inject so this happens.

Wow, I love it when people like you know their stuff!! I can see it clearly now. It's a bit of an art to achieving optimized CO2 levels. I did find one scientific solution to dial in the optimal 30-35ppm CO2 levels.  A bit expensive though.😳  https://pentairaes.com/oxyguard-portable-co2-meter.html

[Mmiller2001]

No reason to spend more money. Just have really good surface agitation and measure the pH drop to a 1 to 1.5 and have the pH hit that mark right when the lights turn on. Keep it there the entire photo period. Always watch the fish when adjusting for safety.

[Vonz1]

On 8/21/2024 at 6:11 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

No reason to spend more money. Just have really good surface agitation and measure the pH drop to a 1 to 1.5 and have the pH hit that mark right when the lights turn on. Keep it there the entire photo period. Always watch the fish when adjusting for safety.

Agreed! Excellent advice, my tank is set up like you suggested. CO2 begins 2 hrs before the light brightens and is well circulated. I should probably revisit how long it takes to achieve 6.7 PH. CO2 may only need to be on an hr or so before the light hits it target intensity.

[Vonz1]

Wow, increasing the CO2 to ramp to its target range quicker has had amazing effects on plant growth and eliminating algae!!! Also, using Aquarium Co-Op root tabs, Easy Iron, Easy green along with DIY altering daily 1.3 ml of macros and micros has has made all the difference. I actually had to do a major trimming this past Saturday because the plants were completely taking over the 16Gal tank. Thanks for all your expert advice!!

 

Also, I will just add that upgrading to a Sera Aqua Test Box really really made a difference monitoring all the parameters accurately. I found some very troubling differences between Sera test results and API Master Kit test results. I never use test strips as I have found them to be way off and inaccurate. Spend the money on an excellent water test kit like Sera. 

Cheers!!

[Vonz1]

2 more quick pics. Side and back views.