[enzo]

I ran a search but I didn't find an answer. On my rotala green and colorata, there is some moderate blackening of the foliage. It started about a week ago...

I'm still doing lean EI on this tank w/ 20% water change on Sunday and 20% on Wednesdays (maintenance days).

I don't use any chemicals besides the fertilizers.

how do I get rid of it? Also the plants aren't growing as fast... I was thinking of upping the ferts but I'm not sure if this would help or hurt..

 

[hoppycalif]

With more information it would be a lot easier to answer this. Do you use CO2? How much? What size tank, with how much light? What is your dosing schedule? Is the blackening a surface coating or is it dead leaves?

 

[enzo]

20 gallon tank. Pressurized Co2 on timer with lights. I'm using a 65w coralife and the photoperiod is about 9 hours. My current fertilizing routine is EI with water changes on my maintenance days. It is also on the surface of the foliage.

 

[LordSul]

How long have you had the Rotalas? Which part of the foliage is affected? What is the height of your tank?

With the Rotala green I had a similar problem, if I got it right. Unfortunately I couldnt save my Rotalas, but figured out it was because my lighting wasnt powerful enough. In your tank, it seems to me that the lighting isn't enough too. Also what K is the Corallife? Isnt that blue??

Good luck.

 

[hoppycalif]

If the blackening is the start of black brush algae, and it sounds like it might be, then my experience is that maintaining a higher concentration of CO2, and keeping it at that value every day, no fluctuating other than when shut off at night, and with good water circulation, you can keep BBA from returning once you kill or remove all of it. Excel does a very good job killing it at even 1.5X the recommended dosage. Within an hour or so it will turn red and a day or two later will be white. Fish seem to enjoy eating it once it is white.

If you use a drop checker per the thread in the DIY section you can be sure you have enough CO2.

 

[enzo]

I've had the rotalas for a couple months...I believe the tank is 16 inches tall. I think the light is adequate. i also have a 10000k/6700k coralife t-5 but i'm not using it as i'm having minor issues with bits of brown algae here and there.

How i have my co2 setup is the diffuser is underneath my heater. Some of the bubbles get trapped under there. Then the remaining bubbles rise and some get sucked into the hot magnum and finally the remainder is sent spiralling towards the filter output where its blasted into the tank.

I do does excel after water changes. I also have some green dust algae on the foliage (the stuff thats gets on the tank glass)?

here are the photos:

I do plan on switching to PPS-pro as i'm leaving for the Caribbean for several weeks.

 

[AaronT]

It looks as though your macro nutrients are running too lean. I would guess low phosphates is the problem.