[ortkenj]

I have just experienced sudden, rapid plant growth these last few days. These plants are growing like weeds and managed to grow almost a quarter to a half of my 75 gallon tank in just four days. However, I also noticed that green dust algae and thread/string algae started popping up. Could this be due to the fact that my plant mass increased, lessening the co2 available in the tank paired with EI dosing? I have experienced problems with trace ferts in the past, and just got it dialed down (apparently, based on the plant growth this week)

 

[MoreliaViridis]

More plants, more organics, more nutrient and CO2 demand, less flow.
Time to trim and do some maintenance.

Reduce stem counts and replant tops. Remove unhealthy parts and all visible algae.
Give some space between bushes. It will look ugly at first but plants will fill out quickly. It will give better flow at lower levels and produce more contrast between plant groups.
As you pull out stems vacuum the substrate. Suck up all the gunk out.
Clean filter and pipework. Clean glass (Or you can leave GDA for a month and scrape it off. For some people this works wonders, for me never worked).
Do large % water change. I typically do 80+%.
See how that goes.

If issue persists after all this then we can look into ferts and stuff.
Ferts are less important then most of people think.

 

[somewhatshocked]

Ferts are less important then most of people think.

Fertilizers (nutrients) are the most important part of the planted tank hobby. Regardless of where they originate - broken down fish food, fish waste, your city's water supply, substrate or dosing the water column - they're required for plants to live and grow.

Don't make claims like this without providing some explanation, as they only serve to confuse newcomers. It's important to be specific in instances like this.

 

[Phil Edwards]

I have just experienced sudden, rapid plant growth these last few days. These plants are growing like weeds and managed to grow almost a quarter to a half of my 75 gallon tank in just four days. However, I also noticed that green dust algae and thread/string algae started popping up. Could this be due to the fact that my plant mass increased, lessening the co2 available in the tank paired with EI dosing? I have experienced problems with trace ferts in the past, and just got it dialed down (apparently, based on the plant growth this week)

Did you recently plant or do a major trim and replant? Your statement that the plants have really taken off over the past "few days" makes me think that perhaps this is the case and they've finally established well enough to start growing well. Am I in the ballpark?


Something else you could be seeing, especially in regards to the GDA, is the explosion in growth causing heavy uptake of one nutrient over another, causing an imbalance.

Do you test for N and P?

What's your normal dosing regimen; concentration (mg/L or ppm) per frequency? For example, 10 mg/L NO3 3x/week

 

[MoreliaViridis]

Fertilizers (nutrients) are the most important part of the planted tank hobby. Regardless of where they originate (broken down fish food, fish waste, your city's water supply, substrate or dosing the water column, they're required for plants to live and grow.

Don't make claims like this without providing some explanation, as they only serve to confuse newcomers. It's important to be specific in instances like this.

I'm not saying fertilization is not important. It is.
However some people go down the rabbit hole chasing dosages and ratios thinking it is everything that they need to run a good tank.


Biological maturity of filter, good turnover rate, regular water change, no hideous stuffs in tap, good light intensity and spectrum, good CO2 concentration and distribution(some might say this falls into ferts), good gaseous exchange, good maintenance practice, proper plant handling techniques, ability to observe plant health changes....
All these things contribute to general tank health and fertilization is only one of them. It is a rather big chunk, but it is not everything.


Many experienced people does not mention these because...they are basic stuffs.
And these are basic for a reason: any high-tech/high-energy planted tank will not be as "balanced" as it can be without these. Wet elbows make tanks better.
Only after other factors are proven to be without issue, fertilization can be brought into consideration as other factors can skew or mask whatever impact ferts are having.

 

[ortkenj]

Did you recently plant or do a major trim and replant? Your statement that the plants have really taken off over the past "few days" makes me think that perhaps this is the case and they've finally established well enough to start growing well. Am I in the ballpark?


Something else you could be seeing, especially in regards to the GDA, is the explosion in growth causing heavy uptake of one nutrient over another, causing an imbalance.

Do you test for N and P?

What's your normal dosing regimen; concentration (mg/L or ppm) per frequency? For example, 10 mg/L NO3 3x/week

Hey sorry for the late response. I dose EI for a simpler routine and so I do have ferts in excess. Everything's all nominal now, but my biggest guess would be with excess traces. Prior to the massive growth spurt, my AR was crumpling up which (per 2hraquarist's post) meant trace toxicity. All my plants were struggling. They began to really take off after a water change and no trace dosing (aside from DTPA 10% Fe) and I was running lights so high they were growing faster than I could maintain. I assume the massive plant growth created for a low CO2 environment provided I didn't adjust it, which (paired with high lights) created a suitable environment for all types of algae. I've since lowered the lights and everything is growing great at a more manageable pace, no massive algae growth as well.