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Post by Syntax on Nov 11, 2015 17:36:05 GMT -5
My daughter has a 20 gallon tall tank that is now planted... We have two tetras and five neon's... the Tetras will soon outgrow the tank and will be removed. I have a finnex planted + led light on for about 6 hours a day. I believe I have some substrate that is specifically for planted tanks as well. Questions: Can I sustain plants using Seachem Flourish Excel as a carbon source? Or would I be better served to try a diy co2 setup. I'm not spending the money for a full c02 injection system. Here's the tank now... Any suggestions? The three plants in the back are just a few days old.. the other plants are the remnants of my first attempt... no flourish excel then.  |
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Post by spotfin on Nov 12, 2015 21:43:40 GMT -5
Depending on the plants, you probably won't need a CO2 system.
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Post by georgemygoldfish on Dec 18, 2015 11:04:07 GMT -5
If you use the Excell, start out with a smaller doseage and work your way up to the full doseage over a week or two. Some plants, like vals don't like it and will melt. But if you start out low and then raise the level slowly they'll 'toughen up' to it. With that much light you'd better do something or you'll start farming algae!!!  |
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Post by Syntax on Dec 19, 2015 7:43:04 GMT -5
The second plant in the tank from the right melted over the course of a week. I had no idea what was going on because everything else is fine.... I know now!
I am battling this wonderful green hair algae even though my nutrients are low, I guess I need to get more plants.
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Post by fermentedhiker on Dec 19, 2015 8:35:51 GMT -5
You're probably still getting too much light(especially for the number of plants you have at this point). I'd probably temporarily reduce you photoperiod from 6 down to 4hours until you have more plants. Dosing excel should help but it's not a magic bullet in my experience. Wrapping some window screening around the light to reduce the intensity can also help.
If you can get your hands on something like hornwort or wisteria they'll soak up the nutrients as they grow and you can discard them when you are ready to replace them with other plants.
Also look into some sort of root tab for heavy root feeders like swords and crypts.
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Post by Syntax on Dec 19, 2015 11:36:18 GMT -5
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Post by georgemygoldfish on Jan 5, 2016 10:14:06 GMT -5
If you're going to go with high light, you've got to go with some type of carbon source. Other wise the nutrients won't be consumed as fast and you'll wind up farming algae. Like I said, some plants just don't like it so start low and work your way up over 2 weeks. Check out www.co2art.co.uk/. They're prices are great, even for dual stage regulators. And even though they're in the UK, they'll put a US plug on it for you. I just don't have the patience for DIY CO2. Either that or try shade cloth, screening or raising the light higher. |
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