# plants dont pearl



## PlanTanks (Jan 15, 2008)

hey guys,

i have a question, i had some plants that used to pearl, but i took them all down and redid my whole tank, i have a significant amount of light in a 60 gal tank (260 watts), with co2 injection and all the ferts, iron, and potassium whenever needed, am i doing something wrong? how come it doesnt pearl

thanks


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I only get pearling when I have enough CO2 and light. If either of those is low - NO pearling.


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## PlanTanks (Jan 15, 2008)

umm... i think i have a lot of light, and i think it seems like i have a lot of CO2... a steady stream of co2 bubbles


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

When I say "low" I mean too low for the pearling. It doesn't mean too low for your general plant health.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Don't 'assume' your CO2 is good because -


> i think it seems like i have a lot of CO2... a steady stream of co2 bubbles


, you need to have a way to measure this. Either by the pH/kh relationship, which will not necessarily give you accurate readings, or via a drop checker.

One other thing is how are you diffusing the CO2 into your water?


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## PlanTanks (Jan 15, 2008)

i just added my drop checker that i didnt put in when i redid my tank, im using a regular diffuser


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

I'm pretty sure the only time you will see your plants pearl is when the water becomes supersaturated with oxygen. Just because light and co2 is good doesn't necessarily mean you will see your plants pearl. The oxygen levels have to be very high so the water can't retain any more oxygen. So you would usually need alot of plants and alot of photosynthesis going on.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

^ agreed - best time to look for pearling is near the end of the photoperiod

Get a drop checker to be certain that your CO2 level is what it should be. You could be adding lots of CO2, but if you have lots of surface agitation, you could be losing it as fast as you're adding it.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

You didn't mention what fertilizing method you use, or what fertilizers you use. With that much light you really need a lot of nitrates, phosphates, potassium, and trace elements to support the fast growth the plants should be experiencing.

Pearling doesn't require that the tank water be saturated with oxygen. Pearling occurs because at the surface of the plant leaf the water is saturated, and that happens if the plant is producing a lot of O2, faster than it can dissolve into the water. Since oxygen doesn't easily dissolve in water, compared to CO2, pearling usually occurs regularly as the plants grow fast. But, they only grow fast if they get plenty of nutrients.


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## PlanTanks (Jan 15, 2008)

a lot of seachem ferts, like the seachem fert, trace, iron, potassium, dont really use nitrogen even tho i have it cause i think the fish can provide some (not sure if its enough im only guessing), all those in the recommended dosage, and phosphate sometimes, once a week, and some kent pro growth

am i missing anyhting else? seems like my red plants, rotala magenta, seems like its a little weak (but it was when i first bought it, the new leaves that comes out seems healthy, hopes it stay that way)

is this enough? should I add anyhting else?


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## thefishmanlives (Feb 15, 2008)

wait your running 260 watts PC light, using pressurized co2 and not dosing N. I have a feeling that your not dosing enough of anything if you using the seachem line, as they are expensive to properly dose a large tank. You need to buy yourself some powder ferts from one of the suppliers you can find by doing a search on here. It is very very cheap and very very easy too do. Easier then dosing the seachem stuff which is exactly the same thing as the powder fert except in a fancy package. YOu need to Dose Nitrogen, Potassium and Phos. (NPK) and a trace mix (flourish) and Id use an iron additive as well (Seachem Iron). Follow the Sticky for EI dosing and youll be all set. Your plants will be pearling in no time! :hat:


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

No nitrogen in a tank with that much light and CO2? I'd never expect it to pearl.

"A lot" of fertilizer doesn't tell us much. It might take more than you think. I dump several teaspoons of dry ferts into my tank weekly. If you're using liquid ferts, you're probably underdosing at that light level.


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## PlanTanks (Jan 15, 2008)

actually i just found out, my plants do pearl... over the weekend i turned off my filter for a bit, and then all the plants started to pearl, i think it wasnt pearling because maybe the current in my tank was too strong 

by the way, what kind of dry ferts should i buy? i looked at some of the websites and they have like 5 types of potassium etc? how do i know which one to get? thanks


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

PlanTanks said:


> actually i just found out, my plants do pearl... over the weekend i turned off my filter for a bit, and then all the plants started to pearl, i think it wasnt pearling because maybe the current in my tank was too strong
> 
> by the way, what kind of dry ferts should i buy? i looked at some of the websites and they have like 5 types of potassium etc? how do i know which one to get? thanks


You can fertilize very well using just three things: potassium nitrate, KNO3 for potassium and nitrogen, mono potassium phosphate for phosphorous, and CSM+B for trace elements. You can buy them on line at:
http://www.aquariumfertilizer.com/
http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizer.html
http://www.bestaquariumregulator.com/ferts.html
and there are still other stores.


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