# E. Stellata?



## HUNTER (Dec 22, 2005)

Is this plant slow grower and how difficult to grow this plant?, same question with L. Aromatica, thanks.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Pogostemon stellatus (formerly E. stellata) is a fairly fast grower when given good conditions. It sems to stunt very easily with low NO3 or a decrease in CO2 levels. 

L. aromatica grows at a similar rate but doesn't have the stunting issues of P. stellatus.

Moe info about both of these plants can be found in the Plant Finder


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## HUNTER (Dec 22, 2005)

This is my tank condtion..

20g high
1x65 pc 6,700k, sometimes i turn on the other 65 watt for a total of 130 watts.
pressurized co2 at 35 ppm sometimes more
eco-complete
Temp 77 degrees F
EI fertilization
10-20 ppm NO3
1-2 ppm PO4

Btw, after i redid my the whole tank scape, the plants barely pearl but when i turn on the additional bulb they start to pearl, also, i've been battling green dust algae for a while now and wiping it off everyday, could this be the reason?


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Your tank conditions are fine for both plants. Follow Plantbrain's instructions in your Green Dust thread to remove it from your tank. 

Try raising your CO2 a bit more and see if that helps. CO2 measurements via test kits usually result in levels that are lower than we think they are. If you try raising the CO2 level, make sure you are around to watch your fish for signs of stress lke gasping at the surface. Don't raise it and then head to work or something like that. When or if the fish show signs of stress, lower the CO2 a little bit and things should be good. 

The Green Dust may have been induced when you rescaped your tank, especially if you did not do a water after removing the plants. Rescapes tend to pull a lot of stuff out of the substrate.


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## Simpte 27 (Jul 16, 2004)

I have found P. stellata grows much faster than the L. aromatica.


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## HUNTER (Dec 22, 2005)

The tank right now is turning for the worst, besides the green dust getting thicker each day even after daily cleaning, the plants are also getting some algae and of course the gravel, i'm even pouring extra flourish excel, i will up the co2 as advised, also, if i just turn on the lights maybe for 4 hours a day for a few days, you think it will help?, the tank is only two months old and was very healthy, also, if i can't control the algae, you think restarting the tank from scratch is a good idea?, i really hate to do that though.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

With both Green Dust and algae forming on the plants, I'd say it is either low CO2 or low nutrients. I believe Excel is only effective on BBA and Staghorn though I may be incorrect. I have only used it successfully on BBA but I think Simpte 27 has had luck with Staghorn. 

Your tank is relatively new for a planted tank and you can expect some algae, mainly diatoms, green dust, and some hair algea while the tank matures. Keeping the CO2 levels high will greatly reduce or even eliminate the formation of green dust or hair algae though I have always gotten diatoms on startup of CO2 tanks. Once the algae is there (with the exception diatoms and green dust), increasing the C)2 will not make it go away. The algae will use the CO2 also so your best approach is to manually remove it. 

In my first planted tank I had hair algae and used a toothbrush to remove the hair algae daily, sometimes twice a day  Once the plants start growing you can trim off the algae free parts and remove the rest. By cutting back the light to 4 hours you will harm the plants more than the algae. I would cut back to maybe 8 hours total on the lighting. You have a lot of light over the tank when you run both lamps (6.5wpg)!


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## HUNTER (Dec 22, 2005)

The numbers above are correct, i have been testing and cross testing the water and the co2 everyday for the last two weeks so i know how much nutrients is being utilized, and i believe those parameters are the one's recommended. I also tested many times the amount of co2 by counting the bubbles and testing the co2, then adjust and retest again. For example, at 45bpm, i get 21ppm, at 70bpm, i get 38ppm and the highest i tried at 90bpm and it tested 55ppm. I'm sure that level is way too high but i will shoot for 80ppm tomorrow and see what happens. And as far as the lights, i only use 1x65 watts, and sometimes i turn on the other one for only an hour or two but never since the algae starts to show up. This is my first challenge with planted tank, i know it comes with the territory.


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