[Nix]

Hello,

my nano (6 gall.) is now running for two months. Lights are 29 Watt, ferts as per E.I., C provided by Excel.

Due to Excel (I assume) I managed to avoid any algae outbreak. By now there is a bit of algae on deco materials and the glass, but none on plants and it looks all in all ok and from a step back even lush.

Plants like Hygrophila polysperma, Rotala wallichi, Limnophila sessiliflora (very healthy) and Rotala rotundifolia are doing rather well under these conditions.

Not happy are Ludwigia arcuata, Downoi, Micranthemum umbrosum and Cabomba caroliniana. None of them died, they are just not growing much, and if then very stunted, especially the cabomba. It is still there, still deep green and bushy in leaf, but its diameter shortened to maybe half an inch and it is a strange looking plant now (bonsai like), which I will have to evacuate to my big tank soon.

For the real scape I had planned for a carpet of Hemianthus callitrichoides and a bit Glosso. So far it's not going anywhere. Both are not dead, but they do not really grow much. The new leaves of the glosso are 20% the size of the parent plants in my big tank.

My question would be: is the light still not good enough for the struggling plants? Or is it the lack of "real" CO2? Or something else?

Help would be appreciated!

 

[Agrippa]

Hmm... I've never had this issue personally, but it might be an issue of your light. I have 25w over just my 2g, so maybe if you upped you LSI you would get better growth on those light-loving plants?

 

[Javaquatic]

I don't have a nano, I don't have most of the plants you're having problems with, so my opinion isn't worth much on this, but I seem to remember that the problem plants are the ones that are the pickiest about having high light needs met.

 

[Badcopnofishtank]

What are your water parameters? Lighting period? Dosing schedule?

 

[eklikewhoa]

Probably overdosing excel.

 

[Nix]

Thanks for all of your replies.

If it's still the light...I already almost doubled it since the beginning and now at least the R. wallichi turns red(-ish). It can be (and I feared you would say that). The L. arcuata was dark red in my big tank, the cuttlings I settled into the nano are now green and the leaves only half as long.

Dosing is in the way that there is circa 15mg/l NO3 and 1-2 mg/l PO4. There is no real uptake by the plants therefore I only dose after waterchange. Traces daily. My water is GH 6 and KH 3, pH 7,2.

It could be Excel *over*dosing? And I thought it might be too little. I have absolutely no experience with Excel before starting this nano.

I also dose a (very) low light tank with that stuff, there everything is going very well - but in there of course are no high light plants so it doesn't count for much.

Are the plants I have problems with, especially the lower carpet ones, extremely sensitive to Excel? I heard about Anacharis and Vallisnerias being that way. If so, I may have to look into CO2 after all -- it was called - here in this forum - "overkill" to do pressurized CO2 in such a small tank and I'm not happy with the prospect.

For my eyes the tank looks like starving for CO2. For my eyes it looks like if it is starving for everything, actually -- compared to my big CO2 saturated tank.

Thanks!

 

[eklikewhoa]

I think that vals are sensitive to excel and it died in my tank when I dosed it I don't know about Anacharis.

I don't think it's overkill to go pressurized and after going to press. I have a hard time going with anything else, I am setting up a "nano" tank and will be using pressurized for it.

 

[hooha]

how much excel are you dosing and how often?

How much and how often are you dosing iron?

 

[Nix]

Excel as recommended: O,5 ml daily (no larger dose after waterchance though).
Fe daily, as directed by the manufacturer: should be around 0,1 mg/l (or a bit more). I don't meassure Fe.
Anything wrong with this?

 

[hooha]

I don't see anything wrong with the dosing - just wanted to make sure you're dosing Excel every day or every other day if you're using it.

Another factor that may come into play is temperature.....what tempurature readings do you have in the tank with and without the lights on?

 

[Nix]

The temperature is not the culprit either: I just looked (the light went out a few minutes ago) and the temperature is what it should be (24,5°C).
I hate this.

 

[hooha]

well, my guess is it's either a lighting issue (which I doubt unless you're using normal flourescent instead of power compact flourescent) or CO2.....I would try doubling the dose of excel for a week or two and see if there is any improvement.....but that's just me

 

[Nix]

The lightsources are two cf's, 18 and 11 Watt (6700K).

I made a few pics last night to illustrate my problems:

These are the 4 Glosso 'parents' from my other tank and the new growth of the last 2 months (the Glosso in my other tank grows that amount in one night, when having a fit). Mark the size difference! But if it's the light, won't they grow upward instead of hugging the ground but just getting smaller? Same the HC seen on the right.

This is the cabomba. All new growth but they are barely half an inch wide.
Again, if this would be a light problem, won't they just hurry to the surface with much stem between the leaves? But they are very compact, green as they should be, but barely growing -- just bonsai (same as the Glosso).
The Limnophila sessiliflora in the background grows in a day what the Cabomba does in a week.

The downoi on both pics haven't gotten one new leaf in all that time.
They don't die either -- just hibernating!?

Does this rule out the light?

Well eklikiwhoa says: too much Excel.
hooha says: too little Excel.

 

[hooha]

actually looking at your plants, I would say it's actually growing well. There is no algae, the plants dont actually look "stunted", just smaller than you're used to seeing in your high-tech tank. You can have variable size and shape of plants and leaves depending on the conditions. If it's absolutely necessary to have the same growth and conditions as your high-tech tank, you will need to go "high tech" and try to create the same conditions as your larger tank.

I personally wouldn't change anything your doing right now. I've been doing more nanos because they grow well yet more slowly - I don't have to trim every week or 2 in my nanos.

 

[Mangala]

not sure if this will help you, but in my 10 gallon tank, water wisteria takes on a somewhat stunted appearance. I think it's possible that the plant knows it's in a much smaller environment and knows it needs to not grow as big as it would in say... a 45 gallon, where it grows so much it overlaps onto the top of the tank. Call me crazy, but I haven't had to trim my 10 gallon wisteria sprig at all - it just grows from the side and gets more bushy, yet, somewhat slowly.

 

[Nix]

Well.:icon_surp