My plants won't open up. Help!
- Thread starter markimark
- Start date
pezenfuego
Active Member
Try to remove as much of it as possible. If you remove the diatoms, you remove the nutrients from the tank. If you can't physically remove the diatoms, then kicking them up for your filter to take care of is a good thing. Try not to disturb the sandbed though. Remember, they aren't hurting anything and they will go away.
flower
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Markimark http:///t/392957/my-plants-wont-open-up-help/20#post_3494434
Can anyone help me? I just remeasured my water parameters!
I got:
Ph- 8.2
Carbonate Hardness(Kh)- 20 drops = 358 ppm
Phosphate- .5 ppm
Nitrate- 40
Calcium- 320
I believe the Calcium is a little low? And the Kh is high?
What can I do to fix this?
Hi,
First make sure you have up to date test kits, if they are expired they can't be trusted. Most kits are good for 1 year...but sometimes the stores don't remove old kits and just let them be purchased, that happened to me and when I went to return the kit for another...every kit but 1 was already expired that was on the shelf. (*****). LOL...then double check you did the test right. If you redo the test and get a different reading, something is not right. If I get a really bad reading, I always recheck myself.
Next, a 30% to 50% water change should reset the parameters. Small weekly water changes there after should keep everything up to snuff. Nothing beats a good water change, it's the easiest thing to do when the water isn't right. The kits come with a guide line to tell you what the right parameters should be.
Originally Posted by Markimark http:///t/392957/my-plants-wont-open-up-help/20#post_3494434
Can anyone help me? I just remeasured my water parameters!
I got:
Ph- 8.2
Carbonate Hardness(Kh)- 20 drops = 358 ppm
Phosphate- .5 ppm
Nitrate- 40
Calcium- 320
I believe the Calcium is a little low? And the Kh is high?
What can I do to fix this?
Hi,
First make sure you have up to date test kits, if they are expired they can't be trusted. Most kits are good for 1 year...but sometimes the stores don't remove old kits and just let them be purchased, that happened to me and when I went to return the kit for another...every kit but 1 was already expired that was on the shelf. (*****). LOL...then double check you did the test right. If you redo the test and get a different reading, something is not right. If I get a really bad reading, I always recheck myself.
Next, a 30% to 50% water change should reset the parameters. Small weekly water changes there after should keep everything up to snuff. Nothing beats a good water change, it's the easiest thing to do when the water isn't right. The kits come with a guide line to tell you what the right parameters should be.
pezenfuego
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Markimark http:///t/392957/my-plants-wont-open-up-help/20#post_3494460
Hello flower! Yes the test kits are up to date! They are until 2017 and some are 2015 lol
Well since my aquarium has been set up for only a month should I do that big of a water change ? It wouldn't mess anything up would it ?
I agree, dilution is the best solution to pollution. If you do it correctly, then it should not, but that potential is always there. The bacteria that resides in your tank is cultured on the surfaces. Therefore, removing water does not remove a significant amount of bacteria. Just make sure that the water you are adding is the same temperature and salinity (and is aerated). Test the values of your water before adding it. If your source water is off, then how can you expect your DT to have proper values? If I were to do a water change that large, I would remove the necessary water and add the new water in small quantities as to prevent shocking the inhabitants too much. Add a little wait a little, add a little wait a little.
Originally Posted by Markimark http:///t/392957/my-plants-wont-open-up-help/20#post_3494460
Hello flower! Yes the test kits are up to date! They are until 2017 and some are 2015 lol
Well since my aquarium has been set up for only a month should I do that big of a water change ? It wouldn't mess anything up would it ?
I agree, dilution is the best solution to pollution. If you do it correctly, then it should not, but that potential is always there. The bacteria that resides in your tank is cultured on the surfaces. Therefore, removing water does not remove a significant amount of bacteria. Just make sure that the water you are adding is the same temperature and salinity (and is aerated). Test the values of your water before adding it. If your source water is off, then how can you expect your DT to have proper values? If I were to do a water change that large, I would remove the necessary water and add the new water in small quantities as to prevent shocking the inhabitants too much. Add a little wait a little, add a little wait a little.
markimark
Member
I agree, dilution is the best solution to pollution. If you do it correctly, then it should not, but that potential is always there. The bacteria that resides in your tank is cultured on the surfaces. Therefore, removing water does not remove a significant amount of bacteria. Just make sure that the water you are adding is the same temperature and salinity (and is aerated). Test the values of your water before adding it. If your source water is off, then how can you expect your DT to have proper values? If I were to do a water change that large, I would remove the necessary water and add the new water in small quantities as to prevent shocking the inhabitants too much. Add a little wait a little, add a little wait a little.
Yeah that sounds good! I'll do that and also it's a 46 gallon and is taking out 10 gallon would be good enough ?