PlanTanks

hey guys,

i have a question, i had some plants that used to pearl, but i took them all down and redid my whole tank, i have a significant amount of light in a 60 gal tank (260 watts), with co2 injection and all the ferts, iron, and potassium whenever needed, am i doing something wrong? how come it doesnt pearl

thanks

 

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Tex Gal

I only get pearling when I have enough CO2 and light. If either of those is low - NO pearling.

PlanTanks

umm... i think i have a lot of light, and i think it seems like i have a lot of CO2... a steady stream of co2 bubbles

Tex Gal

When I say "low" I mean too low for the pearling. It doesn't mean too low for your general plant health.

Bert H

Don't 'assume' your CO2 is good because - , you need to have a way to measure this. Either by the pH/kh relationship, which will not necessarily give you accurate readings, or via a drop checker.

One other thing is how are you diffusing the CO2 into your water?

PlanTanks

i just added my drop checker that i didnt put in when i redid my tank, im using a regular diffuser

houseofcards

I'm pretty sure the only time you will see your plants pearl is when the water becomes supersaturated with oxygen. Just because light and co2 is good doesn't necessarily mean you will see your plants pearl. The oxygen levels have to be very high so the water can't retain any more oxygen. So you would usually need alot of plants and alot of photosynthesis going on.

Squawkbert

^ agreed - best time to look for pearling is near the end of the photoperiod

Get a drop checker to be certain that your CO2 level is what it should be. You could be adding lots of CO2, but if you have lots of surface agitation, you could be losing it as fast as you're adding it.

hoppycalif

You didn't mention what fertilizing method you use, or what fertilizers you use. With that much light you really need a lot of nitrates, phosphates, potassium, and trace elements to support the fast growth the plants should be experiencing.

Pearling doesn't require that the tank water be saturated with oxygen. Pearling occurs because at the surface of the plant leaf the water is saturated, and that happens if the plant is producing a lot of O2, faster than it can dissolve into the water. Since oxygen doesn't easily dissolve in water, compared to CO2, pearling usually occurs regularly as the plants grow fast. But, they only grow fast if they get plenty of nutrients.

PlanTanks

a lot of seachem ferts, like the seachem fert, trace, iron, potassium, dont really use nitrogen even tho i have it cause i think the fish can provide some (not sure if its enough im only guessing), all those in the recommended dosage, and phosphate sometimes, once a week, and some kent pro growth

am i missing anyhting else? seems like my red plants, rotala magenta, seems like its a little weak (but it was when i first bought it, the new leaves that comes out seems healthy, hopes it stay that way)

is this enough? should I add anyhting else?

 

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