The great Planted Tank Myths thread!

[Jellopuddinpop]

Here's mine...

Surface agitation is a waste of CO2

 

[GreggZ]

I'm re-scaping in the spring (and don't want this plant anymore), and will probably be doing an RAOK for like 30 Crypt Flamingos.

Put me on the list. Have never grown it and probably don't have the space for it...................but that's never stopped me before!!

 

[Jellopuddinpop]

Put me on the list. Have never grown it and probably don't have the space for it...................but that's never stopped me before!!

Will do. I've been struggling with keeping them looking pretty, but the babies always come up looking fire so I'll have some nice specimens to send.

 

[anewbie]

I can confirm Flamingo being a hog. I planted 3 plants about a year ago. They were growing well, and started crowding the space, so I pulled them out to trim them up. Surprise, surprise, there were actually like 15 plants jammed into space for 5. No sooner did I pull them all and replant, it started shooting up all over the place, seemingly bypassing hardscape that should have made it impossible. I'm re-scaping in the spring (and don't want this plant anymore), and will probably be doing an RAOK for like 30 Crypt Flamingos.

Have you tried to grow this plant emersed? I had one that seem to do well for about 2 months then suddenly it completely melted and 3 months later it still hasn't respawned. I'm presuming it died but not sure. Kind of hate to drop $30 on another one to test but i'll probably do it in a few months if it doesnt' respawn.

Btw i disagree with some comments about co2 levels and fishes. I've noticed in my aquairum if ph drop more than about .8 my fishes are gasping (base water is kh 3 ph 7.0-7.1) so in theory i could go down to around 6ish but if i get even close to 6.2-6.3 fishes begin to have issues and so i tend to just go .5 as a safety factor; plants seem to grow well enough for my needs so i figure that is good enough.

 

[Jellopuddinpop]

Have you tried to grow this plant emersed? I had one that seem to do well for about 2 months then suddenly it completely melted and 3 months later it still hasn't respawned. I'm presuming it died but not sure. Kind of hate to drop $30 on another one to test but i'll probably do it in a few months if it doesnt' respawn.

Btw i disagree with some comments about co2 levels and fishes. I've noticed in my aquairum if ph drop more than about .8 my fishes are gasping (base water is kh 3 ph 7.0-7.1) so in theory i could go down to around 6ish but if i get even close to 6.2-6.3 fishes begin to have issues and so i tend to just go .5 as a safety factor; plants seem to grow well enough for my needs so i figure that is good enough.

I've never tried to grow them emersed, but I'll let you know when I tear this tank down =)

As far as the CO2 thing, CO2 and O2 aren't mutually exclusive. As CO2 rises, you need more oxygen in the water for the livestock. I recommend reading the article linked below for more info. If it's still bothering you, this would a great topic to post on it's own. I have a lot to share on this, but don't really want to derail the intent of the thread.

Surface agitation & gaseous exchange in CO2 injected tanks

Surface agitation in a planted aquarium - yes or not ? This page explores why having some surface agitation and turnover is actually useful in planted tanks and actually makes tuning CO2 to optimal levels more easy.

www.2hraquarist.com

 

[GreggZ]

(base water is kh 3 ph 7.0-7.1)

If your dKH is 3 it is likely your fully degassed is more likely 7.4 to 7.5.

My guess is that you not getting a good degassed reading and your pH drop is more than you think.

And like Jello said the more O2 in the water column the more CO2 you can inject without harming fish.

Of course that is just my guess, but my experience tells me that many folks drop further than a 1.0 drop every day without affecting livestock.

We'll have to start a new thread about this topic sometime.

 

[Jellopuddinpop]

OP, do you have any tannins in your water, or anything else that would affecting your water chemistry?

 

[anewbie]

If your dKH is 3 it is likely your fully degassed is more likely 7.4 to 7.5.

My guess is that you not getting a good degassed reading and your pH drop is more than you think.

And like Jello said the more O2 in the water column the more CO2 you can inject without harming fish.

Of course that is just my guess, but my experience tells me that many folks drop further than a 1.0 drop every day without affecting livestock.

We'll have to start a new thread about this topic sometime.

I measure the ph in the aquarium prior to adding co2; the tank has been setup for years; so i would naively think it is fully degassed. I really seems to not matter if i measure it from tap, in the aquarium or a pail setup over night it always comes up somewhere between 7.0 and 7.1...

 

[anewbie]

OP, do you have any tannins in your water, or anything else that would affecting your water chemistry?

No - not in the aquarium that is having co2 injected. I do in other aquariums. You know the measurement for kh is not absolute. I'm using api test and i put in 3 drops for it to change colours but exactly where the kh is on that line is anyone guess.

 

[GreggZ]

I measure the ph in the aquarium prior to adding co2; the tank has been setup for years; so i would naively think it is fully degassed. I really seems to not matter if i measure it from tap, in the aquarium or a pail setup over night it always comes up somewhere between 7.0 and 7.1...

Tanks do not fully degas overnight.

In my tank my fully degassed is 6.25. I drop to 4.85 during the CO2 period. In the morning right before CO2 comes back on tank is at about 5.75. And that's with good surface agitation and a period where a vigorous bubbler is running.

It takes a least a couple of days before a sample is fully degassed. Leave it out for two days, then start testing. Test every four hours of so until it stabilizes.

If your fully degassed pH was 7.0 then I would expect your dKH to be about 1. And true dKH is not an exact measurement, but I am still guessing your degassed reading is not accurate. But whether you want to figure it out or not is up to you. Some of us are deeper down into the rabbit hole than others!

 

[anewbie]

Tanks do not fully degas overnight.

In my tank my fully degassed is 6.25. I drop to 4.85 during the CO2 period. In the morning right before CO2 comes back on tank is at about 5.75. And that's with good surface agitation and a period where a vigorous bubbler is running.

It takes a least a couple of days before a sample is fully degassed. Leave it out for two days, then start testing. Test every four hours of so until it stabilizes.

If your fully degassed pH was 7.0 then I would expect your dKH to be about 1. And true dKH is not an exact measurement, but I am still guessing your degassed reading is not accurate. But whether you want to figure it out or not is up to you. Some of us are deeper down into the rabbit hole than others!

I don't mean co2 running during the day and then taking ph in the morning before the co2 comes on - i mean no co2 at all in the tank for years.

 

[*Ci*]

They are very delicate when it comes to kH and will melt on ya, so be careful.

Please elaborate? Do they prefer lower or higher kH?

 

[BigWave]

Please elaborate? Do they prefer lower or higher kH?

Crypts do good in both low or high. This is where you acclimate them to your tank comes into play eg floating or however works best for you. It is the parameter changes they hate. Start loosing leaves, sometimes melting etc. Only a very few come back from this that Ive seen.

 

[anewbie]

Crypts do good in both low or high. This is where you acclimate them to your tank comes into play eg floating or however works best for you. It is the parameter changes they hate. Start loosing leaves, sometimes melting etc. Only a very few come back from this that Ive seen.

I believe it depends on the specific species. Some are more sensitive to water condition than other and the sensitivity direction again depends on the specific species.

 

[Unexpected]

Low pH kills nitrifying bacteria and will stop the cycle in the tank.

 

[anewbie]

Low pH kills nitrifying bacteria and will stop the cycle in the tank.

This is partially true in the sense that at very low ph/kh (think blackwater) a different type of bacteria forms for nitrfying. ...

 

[Unexpected]

This is partially true in the sense that at very low ph/kh (think blackwater) a different type of bacteria forms for nitrfying. ...

This still keeps the cycle yes?