So, the question is why is my Bacopa colorata struggling? New growth is miniscule compared to the leaf pattern of regular Bacopa. I planted this several months ago and initial growth was regular. Not too colorful, but leaf size was big. I assume once the nutrients available to the plant were depleted, new growth was severely compromised.
I suspect a micro or macro deficiency, but I'm willing to entertain other ideas. Ca/Mg ratio and GH have also been on my mind.....
Here's the particulars:
180g aquarium
DIY reconstituted RO water. 50% changed weekly.
Chihiros WRGB II 60 Pro LED lights x 3, 10 hrs/day, 100% some days, 70% other days. Spectrum set to 93 R, 59 G, 88 B, 40 White
CO2 controller with reactor, pH currently set to 5.95 which is a 1.1-1.2 pH drop. Comes on an hour before lights and off an hour before lights out.
To each 80 gallons of RO I add:
CaCO3, 3 tbsp
MgSO4, 1.5 tbsp
NaHCO3, 1.5 tbsp
KNO3, 1 tsp
K2SO4, 1 tsp
KH2PO4, 1/4 tsp
Then I alternate 1/2 tsp KNO3, 1/2 tsp K2SO4, 1/8 tsp KH2PO4 on even days and 30 mL of CSM+B solution on odd days.
The tank was VERY old and badly neglected (no CO2, virtually total neglect for the last 5-6 years). The substrate has been in for maybe a decade. It was Amazonia, IIRC. I have tried root tabs around the B. colorata without much benefit.
When I started up again I pulled out the old T5s and 150W Metal Halides and installed the Chihiros. I got a new CO2 regulator and off we went.
We had some algae issues as expected. Diatoms, BBA, GSA, and now green dust that you can clearly see. On the older parts of the B. colorata, you can see what's left of the BBA issues.
Some species are doing great. The anubias are showing lots of algae, but that seems to be improving (slowly). Crypts are growing MASSIVELY. Regular Rotala macrandra is doing great and growing 1/2 inch per day or so, but old growth doesn't look very nice. A while back that plant exhibited some leaf drop and some leaves were white, making me think GH deficiency. Adding more CaCO3 seems to have fixed that.
All in all, something just seems "off" about the whole tank. LEDs are new to me and I'm suspicious my light is a bit on the intense side. But, node length of the R. mac is pretty big..... so, I dunno. A PAR meter would help.
Here's some photos. As you can see the crypts are going crazy. The C. wendti is probably 14-16" up from the substrate. Lots of algae still on the anubias, which I'll cut away gradually.
I suspect a micro or macro deficiency, but I'm willing to entertain other ideas. Ca/Mg ratio and GH have also been on my mind.....
Here's the particulars:
180g aquarium
DIY reconstituted RO water. 50% changed weekly.
Chihiros WRGB II 60 Pro LED lights x 3, 10 hrs/day, 100% some days, 70% other days. Spectrum set to 93 R, 59 G, 88 B, 40 White
CO2 controller with reactor, pH currently set to 5.95 which is a 1.1-1.2 pH drop. Comes on an hour before lights and off an hour before lights out.
To each 80 gallons of RO I add:
CaCO3, 3 tbsp
MgSO4, 1.5 tbsp
NaHCO3, 1.5 tbsp
KNO3, 1 tsp
K2SO4, 1 tsp
KH2PO4, 1/4 tsp
Then I alternate 1/2 tsp KNO3, 1/2 tsp K2SO4, 1/8 tsp KH2PO4 on even days and 30 mL of CSM+B solution on odd days.
The tank was VERY old and badly neglected (no CO2, virtually total neglect for the last 5-6 years). The substrate has been in for maybe a decade. It was Amazonia, IIRC. I have tried root tabs around the B. colorata without much benefit.
When I started up again I pulled out the old T5s and 150W Metal Halides and installed the Chihiros. I got a new CO2 regulator and off we went.
We had some algae issues as expected. Diatoms, BBA, GSA, and now green dust that you can clearly see. On the older parts of the B. colorata, you can see what's left of the BBA issues.
Some species are doing great. The anubias are showing lots of algae, but that seems to be improving (slowly). Crypts are growing MASSIVELY. Regular Rotala macrandra is doing great and growing 1/2 inch per day or so, but old growth doesn't look very nice. A while back that plant exhibited some leaf drop and some leaves were white, making me think GH deficiency. Adding more CaCO3 seems to have fixed that.
All in all, something just seems "off" about the whole tank. LEDs are new to me and I'm suspicious my light is a bit on the intense side. But, node length of the R. mac is pretty big..... so, I dunno. A PAR meter would help.
Here's some photos. As you can see the crypts are going crazy. The C. wendti is probably 14-16" up from the substrate. Lots of algae still on the anubias, which I'll cut away gradually.
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