QUOTE from a plant forum:
“Hi!
I've had planted tanks for
years now. My 75 gallon is fitted with Kissell lighting, pressurized CO2 and
dosing with dry fertilizers.
For years plants kept growing
like crazy and I was sick of trimming them. Then, suddenly they stopped growing
completely and started getting covered with diatom algae. Most fast-growing
plants died off and I was left with just the moderate/slow growing plants.
There was no change in terms of the tank's maintenance/conditions...
Now I've started again with
new plants, CO2 and dosing, but my plants are not pearling again!!! I used to
read forums where people complained about their plants not growing and used to
wonder how that was even possible - coz plants need light, CO2 and fertilization.
But strange that despite my providing all three, it's NOT working!!!
I've even tried switching
from dry ferts to Flourish line of products, but that didn't work. Could my
Kessil Tuna Sun lighting be an issue? (I used them when my plants were growing
like crazy and the lighting is still pretty new and bright).
ANY
suggestions/recommendations would be MUCH appreciated!!! I'd love for my plants
to start growing/pearling like they used to!!!
Thanks in advance!”
What is
being asked above is just one example of what happens when plants need a
resting period and/or your substrate is exhausted of all nutrients to
accommodate your plant’s needs. Nonetheless, if you read the top question
carefully you may find there is a lot of information missing like parameters of
CO2, pH, Nitrates, does substrate sit directly on bottom of tank,
substrate oxygen levels, Redox, TDS, etc.., etc... The questions to this
question could go on and on and most hobbyist will think it’s time to start anew
with newer and better substrate; some costing hundreds of dollars.
However,
don’t throw that old substrate away because it’s time to rejuvenate it with
iron once again. In most cases it’s not the substrate but it’s how the tank was
initially set up in the first place. Very fine substrates, example: sand and/or
dirt, will cause the most problems in the long run because they will compact even
more so than other mediums will or should I say they will show the first signs
of trouble in the least amount of time given. This has already been scientifically
proven, but some hobbyist refuses to heed to science disciplines an insist on
using these mediums as a cheap alterative substrate in closed systems. Water
movement through the substrate will change and so will its electrical
properties as far as mV readings go. Hobbyist do not own the right testing
equipment to test such changes in the substrate so these insults, chemical and biological
changes go unabated far months or even years. If back in the late seventies using
these substrates failed: Then why would they work any differently today using
the same methods?
The link
above will tell you of a very cheap product that will once again enhance your
substrate to its original state. The product/s are called Ironite (this is a
substitute for Laterite clay because it’s getting harder to find in the UK and
USA) and CaribSea's Eco
Complete substrate[1]. In
the USA Ironite is sold in most garden centers and hardware store across the
country. It does require some rethinking on the hobbyist part on how and why
your substrate became exhausted and did not replenish itself from the water
column with new nutrients and ions.
As we all
know farmers rotate their crops as not to exhaust the ground of all its nutrients
and sometimes even plant nutrient giving plants in their fields like Medicago
sativa (Alfalfa) so as not to exhaust any available nutrient supply that is
left in the soil.
Well the same thing happens in our aquatic
planted tanks but hobbyists think just because they add fertilizers to the
substrate that, that will do the trick. Moreover, because the substrate has not
been lifted off the bottom of the aquarium (like using a plenum) the chemical
and biological pathway that were once open to chemical and biological mediators
has now stopped or slowed down to the point that available ions are not moving
in and out of the substrate as freely as when first set up. Now the substrate
has become and algae friendly source of food and higher order plants hobbyist
use are exposed to these inhibitors from anaerobic zones from the substrate
that impede the plants ability to photosynthesize. Algae on the other hand is a
lover of Nitrates, ammonia ions and phosphates and the soil/substrate then
become too acidic, that they become the dominating factor in the ecosystem
along with the unwanted cyanobacteria that plagues ponds and aquarium alike.
Until the substrate becomes open to the chemical and biological mediators and once
again to oxygen it will stay as a death pool or a plant inhibitor.
As we all
know farmers an even golf courses as with their turf, will aerate the ground by
either turning it over or by aerating tools that will punch holes or core the
turf to keep it open to aid beneficial bacteria. Aerating or aeration is
nothing new to gardeners and formers but it seems to be something that hobbyist
have overlooked by placing a substrate directly on the bottom of their tanks
and not allowing oxygen to penetrate unabated into their substrates. Time then
become their enemy and it seems like time always wins the battel of oxygen
depredation in the substrate. Hobbyist depend on the diffusion of ions will
always be open to mediators but this has been proven it’s just not so.
When I
experimented with different substrates with the Anoxic Filtration System,
permeability and porewater capability with different substrates change with
time because of unforeseen insults that change the electrical properties of the
substrate. Over time the permeability and porewater management will change and
in most cases, will change for the worse than the better.
The biggest biological filter of a planted
tank is the substrate yet most hobbyist fail to realize their mistakes until
the precipice of algae and cyanobacteria take over and dominate the higher
order plants they are trying to grow. Affirmative action now must be taken and
soon. It will not matter how much light, fertilizers or CO2 is added
to the system because chemical and biological mediators are not working
properly any longer.
To rectify
this problem is easy and it does not require the hobbyist to buy new and/or
better substrate. It is now time to do it right and forget about what you
thought was the right way and this time do it right once and for all. The
substrate has to be one that is lifted off the bottom of the tank glass bottom using
a plenum and then add a ½” of substrate on top of the plenum. Then add Ironite,
about 1/8” or less on top of that, then add the rest of the substrate to build
the substrate up to 3-4” high for good root and root hair development. Make
sure when you plant your plants that you do not disturbed this Ironite layer
are it will turn your tank cloudy. It will look unsightly for a few days but it
will eventually subside.
You have now
have added iron back into the substrate to benefit not only the plants but also
the bacteria that in their initial inceptive cell development need the iron ion
to speed up growth. Now the diffusion of ions through the substrate will be
unimpeded and oxygen and ions through electrical charge will stay open to
biological and chemical mediators for years to come. I have had tanks set up
for over 10-years without ever having a complete teardown of the system and
Nitrates were at a low 5-ppm or less. Oxygen levels were at 1-ppm to .5-ppm in
the substrate, low, but still good enough to keep heterotrophic facultative
bacteria alive and working and leaving the ammonia ion for the plants to assimilate.
I have Biocenosis clarification baskets set up in a similar theoretical way in
an Anoxic filter stay open to chemical and biological mediators far over
28-years now without clogging and changing the porewater and permeability of
the baskets themselves.
Plants look for the ammonia ion first before
they will use the Nitrogen ion because it is a food source that requires less chemical
work and energy for their amino acids and proteins. Nevertheless, hydrogen
sulfide and methane are not part of the equation that plants as a foodsource
need, but this is exactly what hobbyist are producing when they add a substrate
directly to the bottom of an aquarium. If you could look underneath a fish tank
with the substrate directly on the bottom you would see in just a few months
the blackening of the substrate.
Here is a
true example of just how important oxygen is to plant roots. Martha Stewart
opens her house and gardens for people to visit from time to time. After
showing her garden off to onlookers a few days later her lawn began to die off.
Her gardener was perplexed over this very strange outcome and thought it was
some kind of lawn disease that was killing off the grass. However, what they
found out was prior to the showing of her garden it had rained and made the
ground soft. By people walking on the lawn they compacted the earth to the
point that oxygen depredation was taking place and the grass started dying off.
It was not because of a diseased as they had thought, but because the roots of
the grass no longer received oxygen and nutrients as they did preceding the
showing.
The same thing happens in our aquariums. The
substrate become more compact as time goes on just through gravity. If the
substrate was on the low side of oxygen requirement by placing the substrate
directly on the bottom of the aquarium in the first place then it will not take
much more to cut off the oxygen altogether and cause oxygen depredation in the
substrate. The exchange of ions will be hindering the chemolithotrophs/chemoautotrophic
to fix their carbon needs.
Here is another interesting read on my blog about
Nitrates in ponds but it also applies to aquariums, too. Think very hard about placing
fertilizer tabs that are nothing but nitrates into your substrate. In
fact, anything that can saturate the substrate full of Nitrates and phosphates
be apprehensive about using.
QUOTE from Takayuki Ezaki MD; Ph.D.
Prof. bacteriologist.
“Nitrate will affect your TDS
readings - the other damaging effect of nitrates were explained 14 years ago,
Takayuki Ezaki MD; Ph.D. Prof. bacteriologist, writing on behalf of the ZNA
Research Division, shared his observations of the effect of nitrates on the
white ground of Kohaku. He urged that the maximum concentration of nitrate be
15 ppm, stating: "Anything more than this and the skin gradually begins to
deteriorate, improving again as the concentration lessens." He recommended
that if nitrates can be kept at 5 ppm or less, "the skin becomes so white
it virtually shines". He ascribed the negative effect of nitrates on (1)
reduced the ability to discharge metabolic toxins from the body, resulting in
buildup of metabolic wastes in the skin, and (2) on the pond water becoming
less receptive to dissolution of atmospheric oxygen into the water. He
expressed the view that nitrate levels above 10 ppm adversely affect oxygen
dissolving into the water column such that saturation levels at given
temperatures cannot be readily maintained.” Several scientists have studied mineral levels
in different bodies of water, and have found that the levels of phosphates and
nitrates heavily impact the overall health of the water and its inhabitants.
(Yanamadala, 2005)
Remember that plants will only start pearling
during photosynthesis only when oxygen levels in the tank are at saturation
point for a given temperature. The colder the water is, the easier it is for
plants to start pearling at a given temperature and the easier it is for the
water to reach oxygen saturation point. The warmer the water, the harder it is
for oxygen to reach saturation point of that given temperature. As an aquarium
substrate begins to age and chemical and biological pathway becoming impeded
oxygen saturation levels cannot be reached as easily as when the aquarium was
newly setup as explained above.
I’m trying
not to get into a lot of science here like I do in my blog:
But sometimes
understanding what we scientist know will really help the hobbyist in understand
why some things go array and for what reasons they do.
Some more
interesting reading that hobbyist may like to read about fertilizer tabs that
so many use in ponds and fish tanks and the reduction of ions in the substrate.
[1] QUOTE:
“With CaribSea's Eco Complete substrate, you can add vibrancy to your
freshwater or saltwater aquarium as well as bring out the color of your plants,
fish and other aquatic life. Containing
essential nutrients, including iron, calcium, magnesium and sulfur in addition
to over 25 other mineral supplements, CaribSea Eco Complete Planted
Black Aquarium Substrate is the healthy choice for your aquarium plants and
other aquatic life. CaribSea's all-natural formula makes the perfect substrate
to not only enhance the look of your aquarium, but to also maintain the health
of your live plants and keep them well nourished. Unlike most synthetic aquarium
rocks, CaribSea Eco Complete contains a live Heterotrophic Bacteria, which is
beneficial for sustaining a healthy aquatic environment as it helps to convert
organic waste into a natural plant food. This Eco Complete fish tank rock
gravel comes in a range of large and small grain gravel sizes that makes for a
porous foundation for plants, which stimulates for healthy root growth and
optimal bacterial efficiency. This substrate helps to maintain a healthy
aquatic environment as it will not increase pH or water hardness as it is free
of any carbonates and nitrates. This beautiful dark substrate creates a
stunning contrast, which not only brings out the brilliant colors of your fish
and live plants, but also helps to reduce fish stress. Add CaribSea Eco Complete
substrate to your aquarium today and watch your plants flourish and your fish
thrive.”
NOTE: Cyanobacteria is about 4-5 billion years old and becomes the
dominating bacteria once other bacteria become depleted or reduce.
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