[mpagri]

This tank started off as emmersed, has had water for about 3 weeks, started off growing better with water, a lot of pearling and growth, i was battling that brown algae you see from the start but the plants seemed to be winning.

now i cant get the plants to grow or pearl and the algae is taking over.

i have 65w compact fluorescent above 10g of water. eco complete substrate. doing sea chem ferts: NPK and trace, but not on a strict schedule yet.

diy co2 that goes into the powerhead and get chopped up. i dont know if this actually works, it seems like a lot of the tiny bubbles eventually just make it to the surface. are they actually dissolving into the water? i dont know. i used to use the hagen co2 ladder but switched to this method thinking it would work better. the co2 seems to be going a little slower too, just got cold around here, that might be the difference.

the tanks is like 80% grown in but that last 20% is giving me some trouble. can you guys suggest something to get these plants going again. the algae is taking over quickly.

 

[jmontee]

Temperature may have a lot to do with your CO2 problems. You should try to get a drop checker just to see how much CO2 you are actually getting into the water. Maybe a small DIY reactor would also help with getting CO2 dissolved.

My only other comment is that that is a lot of light to be growing mainly mosses and anubias. I know the HC is trying to fill in but there are not many other fast growers to take up your ferts. Have you done any testing for NO3 and PO4? Also if you are not adhering to any specific fert schedule, any should work, it could bring algae problems.

 

[chagovatoloco]

You can accomplish what you want with half that amount of light.

 

[mpagri]

I didn't have a lot of choice with lighting, it was either 18w or 65w, so i went with 65w.

but too much lighting does not explain why my plants dont grow..

How can I test to see if the CO2 is actually dissolving, a drop checker goes before the reactor, right?

 

[Complexity]

How can I test to see if the CO2 is actually dissolving, a drop checker goes before the reactor, right?

No, you're thinking of a bubble counter. A drop checker is different. It's something you put in the tank, attached to the glass with a suction cup. It has a solution that you put into the bulb part which changes colors to give an idea of how much CO2 is in the water.

Blue is basically no CO2. It becomes greener as more CO2 is dosed. And then it will turn an almost yellow color when you are dosing 30ppm of CO2 which is a good target to aim for.

Here are some pictures that might help you recognize what it is:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q="drop+checker"&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

 

[Complexity]

This is the drop checker I have. It's probably one of the most expensive on the market, if not THE most expensive.

On the page, it shows you the colors changing and what it means. This should give you some idea of how to use one even if you don't get the double one.

http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/co2-drop-checkers/cal-double-check.html

 

[mpagri]

youre right! i was confused! i always thought those were diffusers when i saw them in tank. just picked one up online. thanks.

 

[Complexity]

It's very easy to confuse. I have never figured out why they are called "drop checkers". Why not CO2 indicators or CO2 checkers? I suppose there's a perfectly logical reason for their name, but it makes things confusing.