long update. gonna try to catch all the way up to today.
I believe this was day 4/5. the regulator came so I took out the fluval co2 system (may use it on a nano later). I also picked up Thrive+ for ferts.
unfortunately, I had a huge die off of rotala stems. the rotundifolia melted pretty badly, and the OJ and H’ra didn’t transition to submerged growth very well. if you look closely at the pics above, you’ll see huge clumps of dead rotala. the moss was pretty brown too.
I decided to kinda “start over” with the stems. I got some H’ra from a TPT member, as well as rotala green. I pulled a mix of 60+ stems of rotundifolia, OJ, and H’ra. I’m not too sure how much OJ is left, maybe none. like I said, the emmersed to submerged growth went pretty badly. I threw out everything that looked unhealthy and replanted any stems that had decent tops. here’s the tank after pulling most of the stems, replanting what I could, planting the new stems, replanting crypts that had unlodged from the substrate, and adding a powerhead for good measure:
I think the stems dying came from a number of reasons.
•I may have planted too densely (ironic) for light to reach the roots. I think there were around 15 bunches planted, down to maybe 60-70 stems total.
•most of the rotundifolia came from a LFS and wasn’t the healthiest in the first place.
•co2 wasn’t being dispersed very well when I was using the fluval system w/ diffuser.
•no ferts for the first few days.
•flow in the tank wasn’t very strong. the 2213 doesn’t seem strong enough to create a current the full length of the tank.
•some microsorum leaves were blocking out light. I trimmed some of the leaves, but will ultimately replace narrow leaf with trident for scale/size. trident should be here tomorrow, along with the hygro I added to the order to qualify for free shipping.
a few days later, none of the stems I planted showed any signs of melting or rotten roots, plus the moss started to green.
today (5/5), is the 2 week mark. the stems have bounced back completely, and the moss is coming back. the tank is officially growing. oan: I HAVE ALGAE. there’s some on some of the rocks and the lower leaves of hygro. I removed some of it, but I’ll be stocking the tank with white clouds and ottos first, so I’m leaving the algae for the ottos. I should begin the initial stocking in about a week. I will add the peacock gudgeons and CPD’s in my 2nd round of stocking, and the shrimp will be added last.
this week, I’m gonna replace the narrow leaf with trident, plant more hygro, and add moss rocks to solidify the barrier between aquasoil and sand.
here’s a FTS plus a few close ups:
now, we’re all caught up. as always, feedback is appreciated. cheers.