# 29 Gallon Can't Get Anything To Grow Help!!!!



## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

I have a 29 Gallon tank and i can't get anything to grow really. Here is what i have:

29 Gallon
130 Watt Current USA Light
2 Bio Generators For CO2
Dosing the amount that shows dosing 29 gallon dry ferts
Cryps they grow fine then stop growing after about a month and start looking bad
Bacopa monnieri grew like 1/2 in 3 months and is looking worse. 
Egeria najas grows ok i guess but thats like the only plants that grows fine in my tank. 
Hairgrass has not grown any and i have had it for 2 months. 
I had some pearlgrass and in one day it fell all apart. 
Java Moss can't really tell if it has grown any. 
Water Wisteria have had it for about a month now and had not grown any. 
Giant Hairgrass had had like on runner. 
Val Spirl Has not grown any either. 

I keep the lights on for about 10 hours. Someone please help me figure out what is going on with all this.


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## cassiusclay (Feb 19, 2007)

whats your water like out of the tap and what exactly are you dosing?i had some issues growing a few plants and that was just because my water was super hard around 300 ppm disolved solids (mostly sulfur as well  ) do some tap water test and see what ya get


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## rs79 (Dec 7, 2004)

Hard water is fine - the plants will actually pull carbon out of it in a process known as "biogenic decalcification" documented in the Dupla book. My tapwater is about 900-1200ppm and I can grow pretty much anything.

Sounds like your plants are starving. What exactly are you dosing and in what amount?


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## Nilla_Wafers (Jul 21, 2007)

Could it be that your useing to much light? I leave mine on for about 9 hours.


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

20-40 Gallon Aquariums 
+/- ¼ tsp KN03 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp (5ml) Trace Elements 3x a week
50% weekly water change

This is my dosing


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

You have a lot of light for a 29 gallon tank. When I had 110 watts on my 29 gallon tank I had rapid growth of everything, and that included just about every species of algae known to inhabit an aquarium. I used pressurized CO2 and fudged the EI fertilizer amounts to the high side. Eventually I switched to my current 45 gallon tank, and reduced those lights to 72 watts, for a much more satisfactory result. So, I suspect you are not supplying enough CO2 with your DIY CO2 system, leaving the plants unable to use the fertilizers. You could get a drop checker, a Red Sea CO2 indicator, for example, use it with 4 dKH water in it, and verify that you have enough CO2 in the water. That would be the first thing I would do.


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## teacherthomas (Jul 14, 2006)

For a 29 gallon, between 60 watts and 90watts are ideal and I have been running a new tank with only 48 watts of T5s for 3 weeks now with no algea, no issues and everything growing. 

I think you light is the issue. Reduce it in half for the same 8 or 9 hours day, and follow the EI method. But for the EI method you really need pressurized CO2 to maintain the level otherwise reduce the ferts. It works best with HIgh lights 3 wpg and high CO2, below that everything changes.

In most cases though in a less established tank, less lights and less ferts are better until the tank settles in and you will have less algea and plant issues.


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

Sounds good do i need to cut the light wattage to 65 watts or just cut the light time down?


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Do something like this:

65watts 1st 3 hrs
130 watts nexst 3 hrs (midday burst)
65 watts last 3hrs.

I wouldn't run your lights more than 9 hours. I agree it sounds like your co2 is low for your setup. 
Have you posted a pic, sometimes they really are worth a 1,000 words.


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

Pic from a month ago


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

Silver dollers were relocated to another home about 3 weeks ago.


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

tsp does mean teaspoon right?


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## Scottio (Apr 29, 2006)

Try adding 15-20 ppm K+


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

15-20 ppm K+ whats this and how much is 15-20 ppm?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

K+ is potassium, from KNO3 or KH2PO4, for example. You probably have enough potassium if you are dosing KNO3 and KH2PO4 per EI, but you could add K2SO4 (potassium sulfate), at about 1/16 tsp along with the other ferts. Some people do that to be sure they have enough potassium. Use the fertilator to see what dose equals 15-20 ppm. I don't use the fertilator myself, having found that I don't trust it yet.


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

I am dosing that also all three.


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## DanikaLea (Jun 15, 2007)

Not sure how many other people have heard or believe in this but I have read in a couple of books/sites that certain plants release chemicals (called allelochemicals) that retard the growth of other plants or algae (process is called allelopathy). Maybe you have something weird like that going on in your tank. (For example, I have read that Vals and Sags don't get along in most tanks because of this.) If none of the other recomendations help, doing some research on this might lead to a solution or explanation for your problem. Then again it might be a very long shot too. I guess it depends on how much time and energy you are willing to invest to solve this problem. Good luck!


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Allelopathy has not been shown to exist in planted aquariums. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but if it does, the effect is difficult to see when you look for it in a well thought out test. And, no one has claimed to have isolated the allelochemicals that would be present, so they can be tested to be sure they really are that.


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

Im getting some alage now in my tank when i clean my tanks water the water looks ok for about a day and then it gets so cloudie. Some alage on the walls and plants are showing up.


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

any comments?


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

Interesting. I have a 40 gallon that I was in the process of converting to a fully planted tank. At one point, I had dubbed this tank "Pet Cemetery" as I had difficulty getting anything to grow in the tank, including the most acclaimed, hardy, easy to grow plants like anubias, java moss, and java fern. Things seemed to take a twist for the better when I started PPS-Pro fertilization and began selecting plants that through experimentation discovered grew well. Within 2 weeks, the PPS-Pro caused the Hygrophila corymbosa compact to grow huge leaves, it caused the Cryptocorne to develop a runner, it cause the java ferns to grow plantlets, and it caused my Asian Ambulia to grow 3 new stems. Now this is where it gets interesting, I decided to upgrade lighting to two 55 Watt AH supply bright kits. I had cr*py 90 watt lighting previously. I put together a 3 2 litre DIY yeast bottles hooked to a diffuser(while waiting for my pressurized c02 equipment) and I started dosing Excel at the recommended levels. Now, I am noticing the formation of green dot algae on the glass. This is the first time I have noticed anything like this. Regardless, the plants seem to be doing well.

If I were you, I would experiment with plants to see which ones grow in your tank and look at using PPS-Pro fertilization. Plants that seemed to do really well in my tank are: Aponogetons(if these don't grow for you, you may as well throw in the towel cause then you have real problems), Tiger Lotus(Nymphaea lotus 'Zenkeri'), and Hygrophilia Corymbosa compact. 

Good luck


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

dubbed this tank "Pet Cemetery" ??? Whats this mean? You recommend pps-pro fert instead of dry ferts?


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

patrick76 said:


> dubbed this tank "Pet Cemetery" ??? Whats this mean? You recommend pps-pro fert instead of dry ferts?


Sorry, dry humour on my part. There was a horror movie called pet cemetery. When ones dead cat or dog was buried on the sacred Indian burial ground, the dog or cat was resurrected it was an evil vicious creature. In the movie, a couple whose infant died after being hit by a truck were so distraught at losing their child, the father yearned to have his child back and buried him in the pet cemetery. I will leave the rest to your imagination as to the horror this resulted in. Anyway, while the pet cemetery gave life to dead people or animals buried in the ground, no plants whasoever grew on that ground. My fish have always done well in my tank for 7+ years, so I don't mean that my tank is a collection of dead fish decaying in the substrate when I said it was like the pet cemetery. I just meant like the pet cemetery, no plants appeared to take root in the tank and the floating plants I tried fared no better.

The PPS pro system does make use of dry ferts mixed to specific portions.
It may be worth trying. It worked for me. I am not saying a 100% that it will work for you, but you have nothing to lose trying it.

Here are some useful links about PPS-Pro fertilization.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/.../4241-pps-perpetual-preservation-systems.html

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/pps-analysis-feedback/39491-newbie-guide-pps-pro.html

Regards


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

I had 2 Red Sea Bio Generators, well i changed them out to 2 2 Liter Coke Bottles. The first and second day they produced a lot of bubbles now they are not producing anything what is going on with these? I used 2 cups water 2 cups sugar and 1/4 Teas of yeast. Seems i can't get anything to go right in my tank. When the 2 Liters were working it cleared up the tank a lot.


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## malcalypse (May 4, 2006)

patrick76 said:


> I had 2 Red Sea Bio Generators, well i changed them out to 2 2 Liter Coke Bottles. The first and second day they produced a lot of bubbles now they are not producing anything what is going on with these? I used 2 cups water 2 cups sugar and 1/4 Teas of yeast. Seems i can't get anything to go right in my tank. When the 2 Liters were working it cleared up the tank a lot.


Well, the reaction that produces CO2 is anaerobic respiration, also known as fermentation.

The yeast eats sugar, makes energy for itself, and produces (among other things), CO2. Incidentally, this is why beer has bubbles.

If the yeast have no more sugar to eat, there will be no more CO2.

I brew beer, and my yeasties can eat up ~10 pounds of sugar in 2 weeks. 10 pounds is a lot more than 2 cups.


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

I know it eats sugar but is it normal for it to eat it all in 2 days? 2 Cups of sugar and 1/4 Tsp of yeast?


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

Anyone?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Usually when a DIY CO2 bottle slows down like that, it is because it has cooled down too much. That seems hard to believe, given where you live, but maybe the air conditioning is set too low??? My DIY bottle, using the same mix that you use, when I used DIY CO2, would produce for about 2 weeks, gradually slowing down after the first week.

One thing you could try is to wash out the bottle with very hot water - be careful, if it is too hot the plastic bottle will collapse. That might kill any organism that could be stopping the reaction. Then set it up again. Using two bottles, you need to stagger their start dates by about a week, then renew one every week.


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## JustOneMore21 (Mar 19, 2007)

I suggest upgrading to a pressurized CO2 system or cutting back on the light (only 65w). I had DIY CO2 with only 65w and it couldn't keep up. There is no way I'd use it with 130w of light. 

Another suggestion is upping the dose of potassium to 1/4tsp. I found that 1/16tsp wasn't enough K+ for my 29g tank.

With your dosing schedule and lighting, you should be able to grow just about anything. I'd definitely consider a pressurized system with that much light. It might just be your weak point.


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

Well i just realized that the DIY CO2 systems that i had had leaks in them so i don't know why that made them give out so quick or what but i got them fixed and filled them last night so i will let you know if anything seems to turn around. Also i washed them out really good befour making another solution.


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

Hairgrass is still not growing any.


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## JustOneMore21 (Mar 19, 2007)

Is the hairgrass shaded any?

What do your nitrate readings run?


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

Yes it is. And the other plants that i have in the tank they start growing good then stop then start all over.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

When you put 130 watts of light on a 29 gallon tank you are driving the plants to grow very rapidly. The ones that do so use up the nutrients, starving the others. Then, if you don't fertilize enough and a balance of nutrients and often enough, the plants that grew so fast then run short of nutrients and stop growing until they get enough of all of the nutrients again. The most needed nutrient is CO2, next is nitrates, but the nitrates can only be used if there is enough phosphates, then the trace elements are needed. So, if you want to use that much light you just have to do everything else virtually perfectly.


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