[Rush3737]

So here's the deal. I use EI dosing, have good CO2, good light, and all my plants (including my lotus) have been pearling daily. That said in the last week or two the coloring on my lotus has been fading, and now two leaves are showing some serious issues.

So what does this look like to you guys?

 

[Rush3737]

Prior to this happening there were no changes. I recently realized my NO3 and Phosphate levels were high and took a half a week break from dosing ferts to bring them back down to a proper level. Macros would normally resume on Wednesday.

The leaves are very oddly colored overall. At one point it was a pretty solid hue or a greenish red, and now it just looks faded and weak. There hasn't been much in the way of clearly yellow spots as I've seen in some pictures.

Think I just got my answer in another thread, potentially related to my Nerite snails.

 

[Rush3737]

Okay, I'm backing off blaming my nerite's for a bit, because now more plants seem affected, and I have some algae (some BBA, unsure of rest) and so I must have SOME sort of nutrient imbalance. Most of my plants pearl, and some pearl from top to bottom, it's almost ridiculous. CO2 drop checker reads well, and if I turn it up much more the fish start heading to the surface.

I have a pH around 8, and while I don't know my exact gH and kH, they are both HIGH/HARD. My phosphates are reading over 5.0ppm, and nitrates over 40ppm.

The lighting is 2 Diamond plate fixtures on 8 hours a day, a few inches above the tank. The plants all grow, some of them a ton.

I really can't figure it out, what's going wrong?

Along with the pictures below, I can say my Hydrocoytle has some leaves black around the outside, and my ludwigia red is basically one type of algae or general not looking good on old growth, while new growth looks great. And my other 3 Aromatica stems don't look nearly as bad as the one pictured.

 

[Rush3737]

Bump for the morning crowd.

Edit: I put on CO2 one hour before lights come on, and end one hour before lights go off, if that helps anyone.

 

[Rush3737]

Wow, that's one hell of a possibility.

I will say though, even though I don't have an iron test kit, if I might be low I add Seachem Iron.

I only ever dose the .25 tsp of CSM+B suggested for EI dosing. Could I overdose something with that amount?

Edit: In any case, does anyone think a say.. 80% water change would be wise in my situation?

 

[Rush3737]

I did my 80% water change Tuesday night, and Wednesday stayed away from dosing macros. Phosphates are getting under control but Nitrates are too high still. I also suspect my Nitrates test kit might give bad results. In any case, will Nitrates get high enough that they'll damage plants but still be at an okay level for fish?

 

[Rush3737]

Pressurized CO2, and two diamond plate T8 fixtures a few inches above tank. Soon it will by BML 6300k dutch normal output series. I will do another 80% water change tonight (to cut down on Nitrates more) and going forward try reducing my dosage even further. Another thread gave me the idea that I will likely cut out KNO3 completely and use only K2SO4 for awhile.

Also might cut my lights on time from 8 down to 6 or 7.

 

[Rush3737]

Thanks Tetra, I've used calculators, and find myself preferring Fertilator as it allows me to see combinations all at once. I don't have an Iron test kit, so that's one thing that's really hard for me to judge. I'd gladly get an Iron test kit if only there was a reasonably priced one that had anything close to universally accepted good results.

N is my biggest concern, and it's why I will be doing a water change tonight and at least temporarily keeping KNO3 from my dosing. I will continue to dose Phosphate (which I can gladly test for). Since I'm cutting back on other things I will also cut back on micros some as you suggested. Though again, I only do .25 tsp every other day, so I hope I can't possibly be overdosing that too much.

Thanks for your feedback everyone, hopefully things turn around going forward.

 

[Rush3737]

Just finished my water change, and along with before and after Nitrate tests, I did another test on a hunch that I probably should have thought to do awhile ago. I tested my tap water.

Apparently from tap my water comes with 10-20ppm Nitrate. Yikes. So yeah, between that and lots of fish, I think I can definitely set aside the KNO3.

Edit: http://www.allentownpa.gov/Portals/0/files/Water/53667_CofAtown-6-18-2013.pdf

Apparently in 2012 they said it's 4.6ppm Nitrate.

 

[Rush3737]

Today was my regular water change. So in the last 8 or so days I've done 80%, 80%, and 50% water changes, along with a thorough cleaning of both filters today. Phosphates currently read around 2.0ppm (finally) and Nitrates are around 20ppm (finally).

Still, things don't look great. I've cut lights back to 7 hours, but every day new leaves or new plants seem to show signs of algae. Tomorrow I'm going to do a light dosing of K2SO4 and KH2PO4, and half dose of micros going forward. If this doesn't turn around soon I'm just going to have no clue what to try going forward.

 

[Rush3737]

Thanks Zapins, I actually took some pictures to update before I read your post, but when I get back from Boston on Thursday I can look to take some specifically for your needs. For now, here is what I have (on Java Fern, the black tears/spots were already present when it arrived):

If it is indeed Potassium then my plants must LOVE Potassium. Either that or the O+ tabs I use are really heavy in Nitrate. The reason I say this is prior to all these problems my main fert (by normal EI) was KNO3. Calculators seems to show this, along with other ferts putting about the same amounts of K and NO3 into the water. Well my Nitrates have been sky high, while K was at a loss.

As for the Tiger Lotus, I believe the problems were in mainly old leaves, as it seemed the ones at the top were most affected.

 

[Rush3737]

I haven't had too much time at home since my trip, but sadly the tank doesn't seem to be turning around. Plants that I had removed the leaves from that algae was on have had algae come on new leaves. The Tiger Lotus doesn't seem to be doing much better, and frankly my head just wants to explode. I know these things don't fix in a few days, but it would be great to not just feel that everything is constantly getting worse.

 

[Rush3737]

Question: During the day I have sunlight bleeding into the room. I've worked to close up as much as I can, but would it be worth it to run CO2 during all hours that there is even a little light in the room? Or would that just make it worse as the minimal light might not be enough for plants to grow anyway?

Also, starting yesterday I think I will be dosing excel regularly along with my CO2 going forward. Just figure that can't hurt.

 

[Rush3737]

So, over a year I've grown floaters with amazing ease. Not that they are hard, but I they always looked great, and always multiplied like crazy. Now they have slowed to barely no new plants, and even after removing some of the worst looking ones others still look bad. Today though I didn't have time with lights on to remove some of the worse off ones, and just took a few quick pics. Also, the Java Fern seems to be doing worse.

Any thoughts?

 

[Rush3737]

Also, some more questions. Previously my drop checker would stay a consistent color quite well. But about 10 days ago it was acting wacky and I decided to get a new kit. I already had my 4dkh solution I bought from someone here and that always seemed good, but now in both units it slowly just gets yellower until it's solid yellow. The guide says this is over, and I'd expect fish to be gulping and heavy pearling, but lately I've seen practically no pearling and the fish seem fine. All this is just rather annoying to say the least.

 

[Rush3737]

In the last week I've been doing .75tsp of K2SO4, .25tsp KNO3, and .18tsp KH2PO4 for macros, and my usual .25tsp CSM+B and a tad of extra iron for micros. I haven't checked parameters in the last two days, but I will again tonight for you.

 

[Rush3737]

My PO4 has somehow skyrocketed again to between 5-10ppm, while my Nitrates seem to be around 20-40ppm.

Right now I'm actually out of the crappy little strips, which is what I used to use to measure GH and KH, so I think I'll order a good kit for them.

Edit: $6 later and the kit will be at my door Thursday. I love you Amazon Prime.

 

[Rush3737]

I would do micro and macro each 3x a week. And note that I've been playing with doses a lot lately to try and fix things.

Would this scale be fine? I assume so, and the reviews are great for it.

 

[Rush3737]

Well, wouldn't you know, yesterday I come home to solid green indicators... CO2 tank emptied while I was at work. It would happen right in the middle of all this. Luckily I was able to get it refilled right away.

Anyway, Zapins, my KH is 11 and GH is 16, and this is AFTER having a little Peat Moss in my filters for a week or two. Hopefully that helps you help me with some amazing ideas!

Edit: Oh, and I plan on picking up some H2O2 soon, so I can start taking out a few plants at a time and try out dipping them. This will be a perfect opportunity for me to take some pictures for you.