[pewpewkittah]

Hey guys,
I recently upgraded to a pressurized co2 system, yay!
The first day, I had it set to 1-2 bps. No pearling. So I now have it at 2-3 bps and I am barely seeing any pearling in my plants... I have a wide variety.
I add flourish twice a week.
My equipment:
Tank: 20 gallon long
Lights: finnex ray2 planted+
Co2: aquatek regulator with 5lb cylinder
Substrate: ecocomplete
Also have plenty of flow... What am I missing?!
Thanks in advance!!



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[Zapins]

If the plants are growing normally and show no sign of deficiency then it is nothing to worry about. Pearling is simply due to the water being saturated with oxygen, so if the water is saturated and plants make any more oxygen it can't dissolve in the water and forms pearls. It has nothing to do with healthy plants and everything to do with other tank conditions, fish loads, temperature etc.

 

[Sean W.]

to get plants to pearl you need a surplus of just about everything, nutrients, light, co2, plants... the more plants you have the more plants there are creating oxygen and saturating the water with oxygen, so the more likely youll see pearling.
add more plants, more light and more co2 and they will pearl

 

[Raymond S.]

Before you do a big (or any) change though, I'd read this. There is something missing
in your list but please read this first.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=107303

 

[pewpewkittah]

Thanks for the quick replies!
Plants still are growing normally, I guess I assumed pearling = healthy tank/plants.. I think I'll stick with my existing setup since my plants seem to be doing great .
I think I have most of the requirements... Besides dosing of supplements.
Should I be dosing EI? Or is seachem flourish sufficient?


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[n5750547]

I am wondering the same thing. I just ordered a bunch of dry ferts for a 4x2x2 since the price for the Seachem line of NPK would be expensive in the long run. But yeah, still not too sure if its neccesary...
Where did you get your finnex planted+ if you don't mind me asking?

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[pewpewkittah]

I am wondering the same thing. I just ordered a bunch of dry ferts for a 4x2x2 since the price for the Seachem line of NPK would be expensive in the long run. But yeah, still not too sure if its neccesary...
Where did you get your finnex planted+ if you don't mind me asking?

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Amazon, 88$ I believe.. with free 2 day shipping from prime. If you order stuff online at least once per month, I'd definitely suggest getting it. So worth it!


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[bsantucci]

My plants only pearl in my tank when I have adequate surface agitation to oxygenate the water.

Since adding a second light too, my plants pearl beyond belief.

 

[pewpewkittah]

I have plenty of surface agitation from my power head and filter outtake.

Is my light not enough for my tank? I just purchased it recently..


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[bsantucci]

I have plenty of surface agitation from my power head and filter outtake.

Is my light not enough for my tank? I just purchased it recently..


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What kind of light and tank?

Sorry re-read the first post, should be enough. Might be your ferts not allowing the plants to grow as much as the light and co2 demand.

 

[pewpewkittah]

20 gallon long, with about 2 inches of substrate.
Finnex Ray2 Planted+ 30 inch.


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[pewpewkittah]

If I started dosing EI, would that make a difference? Just curious if this might be my problem or if it's worth dosing.


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[bsantucci]

It definitely would. Flourish is good, but doesn't have everything you need. I'm not a pro on this matter and I'm sure someone will chime in with more knowledge, but it would provide more available ferts in the column for the plants to use up. More growth = more oxygen created.

 

[Monster Fish]

Drop the Flourish and pick up some dry ferts. You're paying for mostly water with those bottles. Plus the dry ferts will last you a long time. If you go EI, you'll have an easier time figuring out what to dose. To figure out your dosage, http://calc.petalphile.com/ is a handy nutrient calculator.

 

[pewpewkittah]

Okay! I apologize for all the questions, but would you recommend a type of dry ferts?
Thanks again!!


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[Monster Fish]

You're gonna need macros: Nitrate, Phosphate, and Potassium and micros and a source of iron.

If you go EI, pickup some potassium nitrate, monopotassium phosphate, and potassium sulfate. For micros CSM+B will suffice and Iron should be supplied by chelated iron with either EDTA or DTPA chelation. DPTA is recommended for those with harder water.

 

[bsantucci]

Green leaf aquariums has an EI package for $15 with everything you'd need. Will last you over a year easy.

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[pewpewkittah]

You guys are awesome!!


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