Has anyone experienced intermittent growth spurts with their aquatic plants?

Since I have most recently replaced my old t-8 single bulb lamp fixture with a 48" beamswork DA 120 6500k I have noticed new growth in my Bacopa, I'm getting new growth popping up out of substrate beside Bacopa stems as if seeds were planted (GREAT). The leaves on my ludwigia have stopped falling off (GREAT). The other thing I've noticed is it seems as though my wisteria has slowed down. My maintenance has stayed the same and my dosing regime has stayed the same, my only change was lamp fixture? Maybe I'm just watching too much? New growth coming out of substrate and leaves no longer falling off are easy visual signs but on wisteria it seems to have slowed down. According to directions for dosing regime I should be giving more than enough liquid fert. Maybe some plants have some type of growing stage where they'll grow a lot in one month but then slow down the next? I'm not quite sure what to think. My algae growth has increased. Has anyone experienced intermittent growth spurts with their aquatic plants?????

 

Could you post pictures of your plants and tell us which fertilizers you use and how often? Normally you have to increase the amount of fertilizers as your plants grow. Also how long do you keep your new light on? Balancing plant growth versus algae growth is a balance between light, CO2, and fertilizer so we just have to get you to a good spot where plants grow consistently

 

Could you post pictures of your plants and tell us which fertilizers you use and how often? Normally you have to increase the amount of fertilizers as your plants grow. Also how long do you keep your new light on? Balancing plant growth versus algae growth is a balance between light, CO2, and fertilizer so we just have to get you to a good spot where plants grow consistently

I'm using Nilog C for low tech 55. My lights are on for 8 hours a day and I just remember I had lowered that time from 9 1/2 a day. I thought maybe the increased algae growth was do to the amount of time new fixture was on. My lights are on a timer. I dose 11 ml. once a week. I'm figuring there is actually only 53 gallons on water in aquarium but maybe there is slightly less than that. I haven't taken any photos of plants. I can work on that and also I'll need to find out how to attached photo to this site. I wouldn't say aquarium is heavily planted, I have maybe a dozen individual stems and the wisteria is (was) getting beefy. I also use root tabs placed strategically throughout aquarium.

 

HI acjag,

An aquarium is a 'closed system', if we change one thing (for example light intensity or photoperiod) it effects other aspects of the tank. It is likely that with low light there were sufficient nutrients in the water for the Wisteria (Hygrophila difformis) to grow. However, with the increased light the faster growing Ludwigia and Bacopa species are now using more of the available nutrients so the Wisteria has less nutrients for growth. More light requires more nutrients.

 

HI acjag,

An aquarium is a 'closed system', if we change one thing (for example light intensity or photoperiod) it effects other aspects of the tank. It is likely that with low light there were sufficient nutrients in the water for the Wisteria (Hygrophila difformis) to grow. However, with the increased light the faster growing Ludwigia and Bacopa species are now using more of the available nutrients so the Wisteria has less nutrients for growth. More light requires more nutrients.

thanks

 

Here are some pictures of my plants. When I spray algae with hydrogen peroxide it turns red.

 

HI acjag,

An aquarium is a 'closed system', if we change one thing (for example light intensity or photoperiod) it effects other aspects of the tank. It is likely that with low light there were sufficient nutrients in the water for the Wisteria (Hygrophila difformis) to grow. However, with the increased light the faster growing Ludwigia and Bacopa species are now using more of the available nutrients so the Wisteria has less nutrients for growth. More light requires more nutrients.

I had posted some picture of my plants on previous post for your view. I wouldn't consider myself heavily planted. I have this algae though that won't go away. When I spray with hydrogen peroxide it turn red and the elodea didn't like it. I have sprayed all the other plants with hydrogen and they do fine but elodea melted or died out on the end. In the one picture there is some amazon sword (i'm told) and in behind it there is another which has melted away. The one in the foreground is staying green but algae on edges is starting to consume it.

 

HI acjag,

Looks like you have some black brush algae (BBA) and some staghorn algae growing on your plants and I suspect that with the T8 lamp these issues were minimal if they existed at all. With the much brighter light along with more ferts a shorter photoperiod (period the light is on) is probably needed. If it were my tank I would increase the fertilizer dosing by 50% and reduce the photoperiod by 25%. BBA happens in my tank if I haven't cleaned my filter for a while or have gotten lazy on my weely 50% water changes (or both). If you haven't cleaned your filter lately or done water changes that may help.

Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) is a strong oxidizer and will kill plant tissue. If I have an issue with BBA I too use H2O2 however I dose the plants in the tank. I make sure the light has been on for at least 30 minutes to ensure the plants (and algae) are are full photosynthesis. Then I turn off the filter and airstones so the water becomes perfectly still. Then I use an Ezy Dose 10 ml oral dosing syringe filled with H2O2 to 'paint' the areas with the worst BBA. Do not exceed more than 1-1/2 ml per gallon during treatments and only treat once per day. After I 'paint' the BBA in a couple of minutes the BBA starts to foam with small bubbles....that is the oxidizer in the H2O2 killing the BBA tissue. After about 30 minutes the bubbles have stopped and I turn on my filter and airstone.

Ezy Dose 10 ml Oral Dosing Syringe with stopper for bottle...about $5

 

HI acjag,

Looks like you have some black brush algae (BBA) and some staghorn algae growing on your plants and I suspect that with the T8 lamp these issues were minimal if they existed at all. With the much brighter light along with more ferts a shorter photoperiod (period the light is on) is probably needed. If it were my tank I would increase the fertilizer dosing by 50% and reduce the photoperiod by 25%. BBA happens in my tank if I haven't cleaned my filter for a while or have gotten lazy on my weely 50% water changes (or both). If you haven't cleaned your filter lately or done water changes that may help.

Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) is a strong oxidizer and will kill plant tissue. If I have an issue with BBA I too use H2O2 however I dose the plants in the tank. I make sure the light has been on for at least 30 minutes to ensure the plants (and algae) are are full photosynthesis. Then I turn off the filter and airstones so the water becomes perfectly still. Then I use an Ezy Dose 10 ml oral dosing syringe filled with H2O2 to 'paint' the areas with the worst BBA. Do not exceed more than 1-1/2 ml per gallon during treatments and only treat once per day. After I 'paint' the BBA in a couple of minutes the BBA starts to foam with small bubbles....that is the oxidizer in the H2O2 killing the BBA tissue. After about 30 minutes the bubbles have stopped and I turn on my filter and airstone.

Ezy Dose 10 ml Oral Dosing Syringe with stopper for bottle...about $5

Thank you for your response Roy and I do currently have a syringe that I use for dosing liquid fert. I feel this makes me about spot on in terms of ml as opposed to capfuls etc. I use a spray bottle of Hydrogen peroxide as an algae killer. I do this during a weekly water change. I first remove 17.5 gallons of aquarium water then with one hand hold plants up as vertical as I can and liberally spray. The plants or algae still covered by water I just hold bottle down in aquarium and spray them while their submerged. This had been working so so but have notice elodea doesn't like Hydrogen peroxide. I will change the way I do this to your recommendation. I wasn't sure what type of algae I had but your are correct in the fact that when using T-8, the algae was present but minimal (manageable) but since I have new fixture with higher intensity I have cut back on photo period from 9 1/2 using the old T-8 to 8 with new fixture. I only clean filter monthly with old aquarium water and I only replace filter material as needed. I tend to beat them up during cleaning and they start to tear apart. If you feel there is enough plant growth to increase dosing then I'll do so and since I have increase dosing I'll increase the volume of water I'm removing. Also if you feel a photo period of less than 8 hours is needed then I'll reset timer and adjust this as well. I would like to venture into the world of CO2 injection because now with new fixture and I'm using a premium liquid fert that my only limiting factor is CO2. My borough tap water is hard so most of the plants I chose should do fine. I do although lower ph with sodium bisulfate and when doing so my plants will pearl. I know this lowering isn't required but seems to me if plants pearl because of this then they must enjoy it. Lastly, I thought Wisteria and Elodea were a fast growing plant and Ludwigia, Bacopa and Amazon Sword were slow growing. This is why I chose them two. My nitrate are always in the 20 to 40 ppm range (API kit it's hard to distinguish between to two) even after a WC and good gravel vac. I wanted column feeding plants to help lower nitrates and I also, as of this past Sunday started using Nitrate lowering filter pad in an attempt to better control nitrate level. I faithfully do a weekly WC but man it sure would be nice if it were a Monthly WC. Anyways it sure is cool to see Bacopa sprouting new growth out of substrate and watching plants pearl after adding a little sodium bi-sulfate. It made a nice science project to have my young daughter watch plants make oxygen. Outside she can't see it happening but I told it does. In water she can actually see oxygen bubbles coming off a cut stem or tip of leaves. COOL RIGHT!!!!!!

 

It looks like I was late to respond but Roy has beautiful planted tanks and I would readily take his advise. BBA is a long and difficult battle but you’re already using H2O2 and that was the best solution I found when I had it. As mentioned just don’t overdose and clean your filter pads a little more often since you don’t want them to be the source for the BBA to continue to stay in your tank

 

It looks like I was late to respond but Roy has beautiful planted tanks and I would readily take his advise. BBA is a long and difficult battle but you’re already using H2O2 and that was the best solution I found when I had it. As mentioned just don’t overdose and clean your filter pads a little more often since you don’t want them to be the source for the BBA to continue to stay in your tank

Thank you and I agree with you. I have read some of his post and seen his plants. He has much knowledge within this hobby. So maybe I will clean filter in old water ever WC. How will I know if I over dose though. Directions on bottle says 1 ml per 5 gallon weekly then do a WC to reset. I dose 11 ml once a week 12 hours after WC. I use dechlorinator with my borough water just to be safe but I have in the past used straight up borough water. I was out of dechlorinator and none of my fish were affected. Another question is, I was thinking of moving fish and plants to a temp tank and removing all my 20 plus year old gravel and replacing with ECO complete. During this time I was going to clean out this tank with Hydrogen peroxide and scrub it up real good before adding ECO. After adding ECO I wanted to add and inch of old gravel on top of ECO to help kick start the Nitrogen cycle but maybe with BBA it would be best to just get rid of old gravel. My Filter is going to temp tank to keep to cycled. I was going to wait out two weeks before introducing fish and plants back to this tank. It might be best to have plants in there from the start though. They would help with cycle, correct?????

 

I actually changed my substrate when fighting BBA and it did not hurt my cycle from what I could tell, but it did greatly reduce the BBA. I removed my plants, drained my tank to 25%, transferred my fish into a 5 gallon bucket, drained the rest, and then changed the substrate. I refilled my tank, let the filter work for about an hour, and introduced the fish back in. This was really successful for me and I advise putting your plants back in so that they can absorb any ammonia or nitrite. However the two tanks I did it on had hardy fish (tetras, cories, platties). If you have a more sensitive stock then the option you were thinking of might be better