# ever seen this with downoi?????



## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Ok i have has downoi turn white before so i have seen that. but i have not seen the long strings grow out of it. almost 6 inches long now with a.......bladder? every 1/2 inch or so. sorry cant get a good close up i will keep trying.


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## helgymatt (Sep 12, 2007)

Very Strange!


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I just posted to your other thread. I thought that white was just your exposure! I think you need to start dosing ferts. with iron, & traces. (Why aren't you dosing?..)

Pull the bladderwort out. It will take over. It's not good.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> I just posted to your other thread. I thought that white was just your exposure! I think you need to start dosing ferts. with iron, & traces. (Why aren't you dosing?..)
> 
> Pull the bladderwort out. It will take over. It's not good.


I will yank the bladderwort out asap.

as for dosing i have soil under the sand.

i am confused i thought i read somewhere that downoi will turn white with excess nitrates at their roots. maybe im wrong.....

with the soil in thier i wouldnt even know where to start dosing at.


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## jazzlvr123 (Apr 29, 2007)

Ive never seen my downoi turn white like that before thats crazy looking


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

I think its actually kinda pretty. pretty sure its going to melt but its been white like that for almost 8-9days


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

You must have high light or your UG wouldn't be growing. With high light you need ferts. I don't know what to say about the soil. I know people use it in El Natural tanks. I have read that people do a mix with soil, capped and high tech. Is that what you're doing? If so, you still need to dose. And you need to do w/c. Do you think your plants have used up the nutrients in your tank? Did you enrich your soil with something, like Aarons mineralized soil? I know he doesn't dose with that except for K, I think. I guess it depends on what you put in your soil. Even so with high light the plants grow fast and use up the nutrients. That may be what's happening.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> You must have high light or your UG wouldn't be growing. With high light you need ferts. I don't know what to say about the soil. I know people use it in El Natural tanks. I have read that people do a mix with soil, capped and high tech. Is that what you're doing? If so, you still need to dose. And you need to do w/c. Do you think your plants have used up the nutrients in your tank? Did you enrich your soil with something, like Aarons mineralized soil? I know he doesn't dose with that except for K, I think. I guess it depends on what you put in your soil. Even so with high light the plants grow fast and use up the nutrients. That may be what's happening.


my lighting is a 27watt home depot desk lamp special 

the soil is actually composted potting soil. was experimenting with it before i read aaront's article on ASW.

Really this whole tank was a bunch of experiments.

I want to start doing Co2 on the tank but im really bad at making new mixes.

maybe i will start doing a low dose pps and see how it goes.


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

I've had small groups of Downoi turn white like that before, but I don't know why. I'm interested to see if someone knows the answer. I'm assuming it's a nutrient deficiency.


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## bgzbgz (Jul 6, 2007)

I think its a calcium deficiency. It happens to me too because my water is extermely soft. The nice healthy erio next to it is another clue.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Well i started dosing 0.5ml PPS-pro to tank i will keep picture records to see how it goes with downoi and other plants. I will test KH and GH tonight.


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

That happens to mine when Im not dosing enough micros. Its looks like someone painted the plants white. Takes a little while to get their green back as well.


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## jazzlvr123 (Apr 29, 2007)

i almost like the look of them white its unique. 
i know there are white variants of anubias plants that require low nitrates and low light to keep the white pronounced in the plant or else the anubias turns green. this could be the case with downoi too? I don't know for sure


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## Nelumbo74 (May 2, 2008)

Looks like an extreme case of chlorosis, which would require iron supplementation.


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## Nelumbo74 (May 2, 2008)

Chlorosis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorosis


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## jazzlvr123 (Apr 29, 2007)

Nelumbo74 said:


> Looks like an extreme case of chlorosis, which would require iron supplementation.


not just iron, nitrate and Mg too

"which may be corrected by supplemental feedings of iron, magnesium or nitrogen compounds in various combinations"


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## Nelumbo74 (May 2, 2008)

Iron is the biggest concern with chlorosis, but it wouldn't hurt to add the nitrate and magnesium.


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## ingg (Apr 8, 2007)

Yikes... let us know how dosing a soil tank goes. I was taught flat out not to do it unless absolutely needed in one specific nutrient, and then to do that nutrient very very sparingly.

I don't dose mine with the exception of .2ppm potassium once in a while - so next to nothing. 

Downoi is taking quite a while to establish, but I can't tell if it isn't coming back, or if the cherry shrimp are just eating the new growth....I suspect the shrimp though, as others have grown it fine in soil tanks.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

ingg said:


> Yikes... let us know how dosing a soil tank goes. I was taught flat out not to do it unless absolutely needed in one specific nutrient, and then to do that nutrient very very sparingly.
> 
> I don't dose mine with the exception of .2ppm potassium once in a while - so next to nothing.
> 
> Downoi is taking quite a while to establish, but I can't tell if it isn't coming back, or if the cherry shrimp are just eating the new growth....I suspect the shrimp though, as others have grown it fine in soil tanks.


ingg,

thanks for scaring meout:.

lol bi will let you know how it goes i could have a nice tank of green soup for sale soon.

so far its going ok havnt noticed any changes really except the HC is thicker.

Jeremy


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## frozenbarb (Feb 8, 2007)

I rather have the white Downoi because it looks so wicked


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

If left that way it will eventually die, Ive tried it!


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## bgzbgz (Jul 6, 2007)

Ive been dosing extra flourish for a week now. I think mine is turning even whiter what about you guys.


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

No Im not turning any whiter! Im getting darker from the sun!


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

I have some beautiful brown slime algae, and the UG started to melt. i cut the dosing to once every 4 days of micro ferts only and started doing 10% water change every day. 

im going to keep trying to get this tank inline but i do believe its a war i will not win, the plants are too different and i didnt know what i was doing when i set it up. I think the potting soil is to much and wreaking havoc with the plants. to much fertilizer in the ground for them to handle. And i also believe the downoi is having trouble because it was starting to switch to emersed growth when i flooded the tank and now is switching back, stunting its growth, and possible the cause of the pretty white leaves? 

as this is my experimental tank, My next tank will be mineralized soil, I have had a batch "brewing" in the sun for awhile now just for this tank. Cant wait to try it! But want to keep trying to save my downoi!


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## Nelumbo74 (May 2, 2008)

I think the mineralized soil would be a better bet. If you are just using standard "potting soil", you have practically no nutrition present from the beginning, which is why you probably have a severe iron deficiency. The only thing the potting soil would be providing is Cation Exchange. Standard potting soil is basically nothing more than peat moss.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Nelumbo74 said:


> I think the mineralized soil would be a better bet. If you are just using standard "potting soil", you have practically no nutrition present from the beginning, which is why you probably have a severe iron deficiency. The only thing the potting soil would be providing is Cation Exchange. Standard potting soil is basically nothing more than peat moss.


I would have loved to use mineralized soil for this tank but it was before i read Aaront article so i had not herd of it.

This is used composted potting soil, I think it should have more then peat in it ( I Hope)

UPDATE: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ded-plains-56k-bad-lot-pics-2.html#post407598


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## rich815 (Jun 27, 2007)

My Pennywort and Aponogeton did exactly this after a major rescape and when I changed my lighting from CF to T5 HO (and almost doubling the lumens). I think it was a combo of the higher light and having to get the ferts up and going. I went EI right after this and within a couple weeks the new growth went back to normal. Any chance your lighting is a bit higher than where these came from? Are they newly planted up?


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## Nelumbo74 (May 2, 2008)

oregon aqua said:


> I would have loved to use mineralized soil for this tank but it was before i read Aaront article so i had not herd of it.
> 
> This is used composted potting soil, I think it should have more then peat in it ( I Hope)
> 
> UPDATE: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ded-plains-56k-bad-lot-pics-2.html#post407598


Composted potting soil is just typical peat medium, with other organing plant matter incorporated into the mix. Compost will probably give you a boost of nitrogen, but not much iron, if any at all.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

rich815 said:


> My Pennywort and Aponogeton did exactly this after a major rescape and when I changed my lighting from CF to T5 HO (and almost doubling the lumens). I think it was a combo of the higher light and having to get the ferts up and going. I went EI right after this and within a couple weeks the new growth went back to normal. Any chance your lighting is a bit higher than where these came from? Are they newly planted up?


this plant went from an emersed setup with around 30 watts to a emersed start with 27 watts then was flooded so i would say it has lost light intensity.

as for the potting soil i should have researched more on what i was doing for sure! but like normal i jumped the gun and went for it, i enjoy learning from my mistakes over and over and over again 

Besides the downoi and UG melt i have to say the HC, dwarf grass, and erio. are doing amazing! i am constantly pulling out the grass runners and HC. i still have no CO2 and i do get pearling once in a while. In fact this has made me want to experiment with some more potting soil. whats in their is right off a compost heap mixed with sand and put in the tank with a moon sand cap. I think what has helped me not have a lot of problems was the dry start up method.

And their is some downoi and UG coming back now. I have to keep the spot cleared for it or the hair grass and HC will invade.


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## Brilliant (Jun 25, 2006)

Thats what I called White Ghost Downoi.

Ive had just a single downoi go all white like that. Meanwhile the rest of them were all green. I tried to keep them white, they look really cool, the same just white.

Calcium shmalcium...dosing more Tropica micros will make mine go away.


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