[rusty1760]

I was wondering if any of the plant gurus could shed any light on my rooting problems. I have a 46 gal lighting 1 x 96 watt 6700k and one 96 w combo 6700/10000k lamps 10 hours / day ,
flourite/pea gravel/first layer laterite substrate,
pressurized CO2 - 2 bubbles/sec
'EI' fertilization method,1/4 tsp Potassium Nitrate 1/16 tsp Mono Potassium Phosphate day 2,4,6
1/16 tsp CSM+B day 1,3,5
50 % water change / week adding 1/2 teaspoon Plaster of Paris (CaSo4) and 1 teaspoon Epson salt (MgSO4) to replacement water

KH4
GH6
PH6.5
Nitrates 10 to 20ppm

Inmates
4 corries
6 praecox rainbow
2 GBR
3 Ottos
Loads of Cherry shrimp and 4 amino shrimp

The problem I have is my Blyxia Japonica and HC will not root they seem to grow sort of OK but small twisted whitish leaves and no or very few roots as a result they are easity uprooted by my corries. My java fern hardly grows at all and leaves are small and blackened. The crypts grow well and then melt and grow well again

The plants should be growing like crazy but not, what am I doing wrong, any advice / insight would be appreciated

 

[HD Blazingwolf]

Not enough c02 is usually the cause for twisted new growth.. Without enough c02 ur plants can't uptake all the available nutrients


ALSO, SOUNDS TO ME LIKE U HAVE BETWEEN A 20-40 GALLON TANK AS THAT IS THE EI REGIMINE FOR THAT SIZE. IF THAT'S THE CASE U HAVE WAYYYYY TOOOOO MUUUCCHHH LIGHT.. I CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH.. USE 1 BULB AND SEE HOW THINGS CHANGE

edit: sorry for that caps..

 

[rusty1760]

My tank is a 46 gal
I have about 4watt/ gal is that really too much

 

[HD Blazingwolf]

watts / gallon is almost a useless rule at this point.. u can buy a 4 100 watt black lights and 4 4.6 w/g and have almost no growth.

t12 t8 and t5 have different light effeciencies

and to give u an idea i went from 72 watts of light to 48 watts of light and have better light intensity, and i raised the new light 6 inches higher than the last two which set on my tank. why? better reflectors and better bulbs

so before i had 2.4 wpg and now i have 1.65 but more light????

to answer ur question though.. YES you definitely have too much light.. turn it down a little. if u take a picture and it glares at u.. u probably have too much light

 

[rusty1760]

I have 2X 96 watt cfl (the twin tube type ) If I had too much light - I am not arguing - but wouldn't it present different problems ie. algae. The problem that I have is my plants are not rooting , the HC and blyxa japonica float on the surface and pearl away nicely - but wont root!! could there be something wrong with my substrate as I said before its a mixture of flourite/pea gravel and first layer laterite substrate,

 

[tetra73]

How long you have the tank setup? It looks like your tank is still pretty new. Your plants are probably going through the acclimation period. Generally, it takes about 2 weeks for the plants to adopt to your water condition. It can be longer if nutrients, lighting, and CO2 aren't adequate or balanced. Java Fern is a slow grower. Maybe months before you even see any sign of growth. HC and Blyxia are tricky to cultivate since they don't have strong root system. Finer substrate would help as well as a lot of CO2 flowing through the substrate level. It does not help when you have fish tend to uprooting them....

 

[HD Blazingwolf]

ahh spiral bulbs are a diff story.. that said

HC doesn't root to substrate i believe... it attaches to hard objects over time but doesn't grow underground so to speak

blyxa.. stumped on that one.. both of these plants are out of my understanding

 

[exv152]

1) 4 wpg is way too much light
2) corries and HC do not mix
3) unstable water parameters as is evident by the cryps melting, they`re a really good measure of water stability.

 

[rusty1760]

The CO2 through the substrate, now that might be something to consider, I changed my CO2 defuser so now the outlet is 1/2 inch off the substrate, I will try redirect it see if it makes any difference.