Hello friends,
I've really tried to search through the already written posts on this site to find the answers to most of my questions without being that annoying person who asks what everyone else asks due to a lack of patience to google, but I have a few questions specific to my tank that I wanted to ask, particularly concerning my plants.
I am a (terrestrial) horticulturalist at a botanical garden, so while I am paying close attention to all the wonderfully helpful articles on this site, I am still going with my gut in regards to the plants. For example, I am accepting of some of the leaf loss as transplanting is very traumatic on plants. However, concerns arise with colors (generally on land, lighter colors means lack of nutrients or light) and also knowing how/when to start pruning.
I just wanted to check in to see if my plants looked okay and if they were growing. I planted the tank about a week ago, and due to concern about burning the plants, I've been adding ammonia to keep the levels at 2ppm, and am also doing lots of water changes due to high nitrites.
My questions are:
1) The alternanthera is turning a coppery-orange color, which to me looks like a result of my installation of better lighting.... however I wanted to check if this was actually them "dying" by turning a yellower color?
2) I planted 2 bulbs of red tiger lotuses; so far, only 1 has emerged. However, the one that has emerged looks as if it almost has a film around it... I'm thinking this means it died and the bacteria are eating it? Regardless, are there any good tips for bulb planting? I'm thinking in the future maybe I should wait for the more difficult plants until the tank is done cycling...
3) When do you start pruning them plants? Also, how? On land, I prune my plants above leaf nodes in order to get them to branch out. I wait until I see signs of growth until I do this; is this method appropriate?
4) Lastly, fertilizers: I never fertilize my newly planted plants in my garden until I know they have taken root. Furthermore, I read on many articles that fertilizing during fishless tank cycle can cause algae blooms and water chemistry madness. However, I have been dosing Excel everyday (I have yet to get my CO2 tank; hopefully it will come in next week), but not using Flourish or any other ferts. When should I start this?
My tank specs and readings (after today's PWC) are:
-32 gallon planted with Eco Complete and Moon Sand (for carpeting plants)
-Cascade 500 canister filter
-2 lights: 1 Satellite Pro Plus (front half of tank) and 1 Satellite Plus (back half of the tank)
-Dosing Excel daily; extra after PWC over 40%
-Light addition of aquarium salt after PWCs
-pH: Varies between 7.6 and 8.0
-Ammonia: 2ppm (drops to about 1ppm each day)
-Nitrite: around 3.0ppm
Thank you for your help; I really want these to grow!
-Tanya
I've really tried to search through the already written posts on this site to find the answers to most of my questions without being that annoying person who asks what everyone else asks due to a lack of patience to google, but I have a few questions specific to my tank that I wanted to ask, particularly concerning my plants.
I am a (terrestrial) horticulturalist at a botanical garden, so while I am paying close attention to all the wonderfully helpful articles on this site, I am still going with my gut in regards to the plants. For example, I am accepting of some of the leaf loss as transplanting is very traumatic on plants. However, concerns arise with colors (generally on land, lighter colors means lack of nutrients or light) and also knowing how/when to start pruning.
I just wanted to check in to see if my plants looked okay and if they were growing. I planted the tank about a week ago, and due to concern about burning the plants, I've been adding ammonia to keep the levels at 2ppm, and am also doing lots of water changes due to high nitrites.
My questions are:
1) The alternanthera is turning a coppery-orange color, which to me looks like a result of my installation of better lighting.... however I wanted to check if this was actually them "dying" by turning a yellower color?
2) I planted 2 bulbs of red tiger lotuses; so far, only 1 has emerged. However, the one that has emerged looks as if it almost has a film around it... I'm thinking this means it died and the bacteria are eating it? Regardless, are there any good tips for bulb planting? I'm thinking in the future maybe I should wait for the more difficult plants until the tank is done cycling...
3) When do you start pruning them plants? Also, how? On land, I prune my plants above leaf nodes in order to get them to branch out. I wait until I see signs of growth until I do this; is this method appropriate?
4) Lastly, fertilizers: I never fertilize my newly planted plants in my garden until I know they have taken root. Furthermore, I read on many articles that fertilizing during fishless tank cycle can cause algae blooms and water chemistry madness. However, I have been dosing Excel everyday (I have yet to get my CO2 tank; hopefully it will come in next week), but not using Flourish or any other ferts. When should I start this?
My tank specs and readings (after today's PWC) are:
-32 gallon planted with Eco Complete and Moon Sand (for carpeting plants)
-Cascade 500 canister filter
-2 lights: 1 Satellite Pro Plus (front half of tank) and 1 Satellite Plus (back half of the tank)
-Dosing Excel daily; extra after PWC over 40%
-Light addition of aquarium salt after PWCs
-pH: Varies between 7.6 and 8.0
-Ammonia: 2ppm (drops to about 1ppm each day)
-Nitrite: around 3.0ppm
Thank you for your help; I really want these to grow!
-Tanya