# Bubbles on algae but not on plant leaves



## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

I have algae problem in my newly set NPT. Soil and gravel layers are in usual thickness. Algae covers both gravel and plant leaves. I brush them; change water etc. What intriguing for me is that there are bubbles, lots of bubbles produced by brown and blue-green algae on gravel, but no bubbles on plant leaves. Not a single bubble on leaves even if the surface of them is completely clear of algae. Bubbles on algae come after 1-2 hours of lighting. If water is saturated by oxygen, there must be bubbles on plants too. Any ideas?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Algae doesn't need much to thrive. 
Is this a new tank? How much plants do you have? How much light do you have?

A lot of light usually drive algae.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

This doesn't sound good. Algae are photosynthesizing and generating oxygen but plants aren't.

I suspect that you've got an over-rich substrate that is severely anaerobic. Plants can't keep their roots safely oxygenated so they are going downhill. Meanwhile, algae without such "root worries" is thriving, pulling all CO2 out of the water and further hastening the demise of your plants. 

My guess is that the soil and/or the gravel layer is too deep. This is common problem and can be fixed fairly easily, but I'd like to see a picture of this tank before going off on a tangent.


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## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

I was not expecting legendary Ms Walstad, herself to reply my post. I really feel honored. I have read your book (both editions) with great joy. Thank you. I also thank to other members who replied my post.
I am attaching pictures of my tank. Image0 file shows tiny whitish dots under fish, on the gravel. They are gas bubbles (sorry for poor quality of the photo) Image 1 and 2 shows algae on the gravel. They were much denser. These photos were taken the day after a serious cleaning and ~%80 water change. I know they will come back. Last image, Image3, shows the tank as a whole.
Thickness of soil is 3- 3,5cm. Gravel is 2,5cm, each gravel has a diameter of 3- 4mm. I was completely sure that soil thickness was 2,5 cm (1 inch) when i set the tank. But, after your warning, I measured again, and surprisingly, I have found out that it is thicker than 2,5 cm &#55357;&#56900;
Plants: I bought Lobelia Cardinalis, parvula, Ludwigia Repens Rubin, Cryptocoryne wendtii, echinodorus amazonicus, hygrophilia difformis, Jawa Fern. (Lobelia cardinalis was comeratively recently added. They are totally submersed and couldn't have build roots yet)
I tried a dry start because of my choice parvula as a carpet plant. Parvula leaves died - composted but in 2-3 weeks, but it it gave new and healthy leaves. Ludwigia and cryptocoryne was very happy in dry start and thriving very fast. Hygrophilia was also in a very good condition, it changed Leave shapes according to dry start / emersed form and kept on getting longer quite fast. Jawa Fern was alive but not so happy. I guess dry start is not a good choice for Jawa Fern. Amazonicus leaves dried fast but gave new leaves quickly, although they also dried very fast. 
There was a green-blue algae even during dry start period. They covered some parts of the gravel. Usually more humid parts. I didn't know water level should have been shallower than surface of gravel. Water was on the surface of gravel, so I guess blue green algae (bacteria) got iron from the soil by photoreduction and proliferate there. 
After six weeks , parvula was alive and healthy but far from covering the gravel inspite of pruning. I read somewhere that parvula would grow faster if I fill the tank. I thought roots were already esatblished so, i could give a try. I filled the tank because my daughter was also very impatient and urging me to fill it and bring fish. I Left upper parts of hygrophilia and Ludwigia in emersed position for aerial advantage against algae. First week was good. pH was 7,6 Ammonia, nitrit and nitrate was around zero. There were little algae on the gravel.
Then I put 3 cherry shrimps They were happy. Then probably I made a mistake and bought two Ram chiclids and put 4 white cloud mountain fish to aquarium from my water garden (I have a water pot in the balcony with white cloud mountain fish in it which is there for four years including freezing winter season). I call it "a mistake" because, there was already an algae problem. I shouldn’t have bought fish before I win the fight against algae. I had green mat algae and blue-green algae, probably some brown algae too. But I introduced fish to tank at this stage because I couldn't stand anymore to my daughter's insistence.
When I see lots of bubbles on algae, but not on plant leaves, I thought they are O2 and algae used HC03, but plants could not use it, so plants can not make sufficient photosynthesis. That's why I saw bubbles on the algae only. Also, photosyntesis of algae increased pH, which further reduced CO2 in the water and made thing worse for plants.
Then I have built a plan against algae:
1. I see algae only where the light, (especially sunlight for 1 hour) touches. So, I pasted black paper to the glass from bottom to end of gravel, so that soil and gravel would not be exposured to direct sonlight. Because most intensive blue-green algae grow was at the junction of gravel/ water and glass. I think they grow with the light because of too much iron in the soil and bia photoreduction, algae use that iron. 
2. I bought HCO3 using plants, egeria densa and aceratophylum demersum/hornwort to compete with algae. (aceratophylum demersum/Hornwort hasn’t arrived yet). 
3. I also bought pistia as floating plant. to use nutritients that are necessary for algae. I put some house plants to tank water, namely, Epipremnum pinnatum and put roots of usual bean into water for a similar effect, to consume nutrients.
4. I blacked out tank for 1 day, now I remove the cover, there will be indirect shade room light but I will stop direct sunlight by a curtain. I have to remove black out because I don't have a air stone. Too much respiration from animals and plants may be a problem for animals.
5. I am using an external filter with sponge and charcoal (charcoal is fairly old but hasn’t been used, it was waiting in a drower in a bag. I don’t know if it will be effective) to reduce DOC- Fe in the water.
This is my whole story. I would be very happy if you can help me.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Yup, sunlight will trigger algae.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

I think your tank looks better than I expected. Terrific emergent growth. The plants look healthy--clean and no decomposing plant leaves.

Your substrate looks fine.

The only thing I would suggest is that you remove some of the gravel around the rooted plants. It looks like you've buried the plant's crown in the gravel (Crypts in photo #2). Rooted plants do better if the crown is _above_ the gravel, not buried so deeply in it where it might rot.

Otherwise, I think your tank may just be going through a typical adjustment period (due to soil chaos) during the first 2-8 weeks after setup. The water changes you're doing are a good idea. Later, you should be able to level off.

My feeling is that you have a firm grip on a promising situation and have done a good job.


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## zahtar (Sep 29, 2019)

_EDIT: just saw two posts were made as I was writing, but I'll leave it as is _

Ok I faced BGA in my walstad bowl similar to yours. Started DSM, developed cyanobacteria before filling (I didn't know what the smell meant then), but plants were doing good. After filling up I put it close to a window to receive sunlight and I didn't do water changes, so in about 10 days all plants got totally covered with BGA. I tried daily big water changes, a blackout, fortunately without having any livestock introduced yet. I introduced ceratophyllum demersum and salvinia. So here comes the different part between our cases:

After a few days I introduced a nerite snail (actually clithon corona). It started cleaning the glass at the lower part, just where the gravel ended. I used a pinch of filter floss (held with tweezers) to gently rub leaves, stems and the glass. The problem has receded.

I believe you are in the right path, hornwort will help a lot with the water column, shrimps will keep scratching everything. If you want to free the plants of some BGA so they can photosynthesize, you can try the tweezer-floss trick, you just need extremely delicate moves and tons of patience. It could work out without doing this though...

Good luck!


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## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

dwalstad said:


> I think your tank looks better than I expected. Terrific emergent growth. The plants look healthy--clean and no decomposing plant leaves.
> 
> Your substrate looks fine.
> 
> ...


_- Thank you very much, I hope so..._


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## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

zahtar said:


> _EDIT: just saw two posts were made as I was writing, but I'll leave it as is _
> 
> Ok I faced BGA in my walstad bowl similar to yours. Started DSM, developed cyanobacteria before filling (I didn't know what the smell meant then), but plants were doing good. After filling up I put it close to a window to receive sunlight and I didn't do water changes, so in about 10 days all plants got totally covered with BGA. I tried daily big water changes, a blackout, fortunately without having any livestock introduced yet. I introduced ceratophyllum demersum and salvinia. So here comes the different part between our cases:
> 
> ...


_Thanks _


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## Sherryazure (Jun 20, 2003)

kemalturkoz said:


> I have algae problem in my newly set NPT. Soil and gravel layers are in usual thickness. Algae covers both gravel and plant leaves. I brush them; change water etc. What intriguing for me is that there are bubbles, lots of bubbles produced by brown and blue-green algae on gravel, but no bubbles on plant leaves. Not a single bubble on leaves even if the surface of them is completely clear of algae. Bubbles on algae come after 1-2 hours of lighting. If water is saturated by oxygen, there must be bubbles on plants too. Any ideas?


Algae being a much simpler form of plant life (in this case - sea kelp is a form of "algae") than a stem plant and readily gives on oxygen (and uptakes CO2 reverse at night as with all photosynthetic plants).

Pearling on stem or other plants occurs but NOT always. (I only noted some on my plants if there was a nick or cut in the plant)...or at the tips. My books are long sold but Dr. Innes predates the Walsted method by decades, lol. At the time there were no heaters, filters so on - it was "au natural"... and balanced and took months to set up to allow the "bugs" to grow as the plants were added and later fish - several at a time. (I was a kid in the 50's and found these and other books at the local library - great to have in one's collection)

https://aquariumgenius.com/why-do-aquarium-plants-pearl/

Re Oxygen Saturation (I noted this after a partial water change - I had larger aquariums and syphoned about 1/4 off each other week and slowly dribbled pre heated filtered water from the top - like a "rain" in nature). Sometimes the plants would have bubbles on them but not for long.

From the same link.

This is a common misunderstanding around pearling plants

While doing the research for this short article, I looked through lots of forums and Facebook groups to find out what other people thought about pearling. It came to my attention that a lot of people thing pearling has to do with the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water.

People think that plants pearl when the aquarium water is fully saturated with oxygen, and therefore the oxygen produced by the plant has nowhere to go but to form bubbles. This can not be the case, because then how would plants be able to pearl in a massive aquarium?

It's possible that one small plant pearls in a giant tank, and in that case there is no way that all the water is completely saturated with oxygen.

Instead, plants pearl when they are producing oxygen at a higher rate than the water can absorb. It's all about how quick oxygen can dissolve in water, and if a plant is producing more oxygen, it will start to form bubbles.

Are pearling plants healthy?

In general, plants that are pearling by themselves (without giving a CO2 boost) are very healthy and are growing rapidly. However, pearling is not a must for plants to do well. In you're looking for the pearling effect, chances are you are constantly raising the amount of light or CO2, which could cause algae to grow too.

Instead, you should be looking for healthy plant growth in your tank. All the plants that are growing are healthy. If they're not pearling it means there is a part of the plant triangle (below) that's lacking, but if there still is a balance I would prefer that scenario.


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## Sherryazure (Jun 20, 2003)

dwalstad said:


> This doesn't sound good. Algae are photosynthesizing and generating oxygen but plants aren't.
> 
> I suspect that you've got an over-rich substrate that is severely anaerobic. Plants can't keep their roots safely oxygenated so they are going downhill. Meanwhile, algae without such "root worries" is thriving, pulling all CO2 out of the water and further hastening the demise of your plants.
> 
> My guess is that the soil and/or the gravel layer is too deep. This is common problem and can be fixed fairly easily, but I'd like to see a picture of this tank before going off on a tangent.


.............................

Non pearling plants can still be photosynthesizing and generating oxygen (save for at night of course).

I think in time they will balance out (and yes perhaps the depth of the sand/gravel is too deep for the plants until a really strong root system is developed). My plants (most all low light as I did not use aquarium lights save for spots in the ceiling - never pearled - (some in the globes are Anubias, and thin leafed Java Ferns) and Moss grown on wood. (the one globe looks foggy but the water was super clear almost as if no water at all. I found a product for ponds that balances the water and controls the food for the algae through the biological organisms (bugs). The dealer sold me a small amount (miracle product!!!!). When I sold my "hand on back" rock formations I made (real rocks on black plastic) the guy who came to buy them thought there was NO water in the tank (silly questions of course but that is how clear they were). I just had a point and click so the pictures do not show this. The globe with the orange betta female was in the window with indirect sunlight (back of building in NYC) and the moss grew well with little to no algae.

Edited post as I found the link. Biodigesters. (Amazing product)

http://biodigesters.net/pond-products.htm

There is MUCH more information on the cycles and chemistry at the above link.

BD-C, Algae Control Treatment For Fish and Decorative Ponds

The Problem

There is a clear need for a safe, effective means to reduce or eliminate organic waste build-up, toxic ammonia concentrations, and algae blooms in both commercial aquaculture, aquariums, decorative fountains and pond situations.

In addition, although a variety of water filtration systems are currently available, all biological systems, regardless of the particular design, require frequent maintenance and upgrading in order for them to work efficiently. An inefficient filtration system is a serious problem for all aquaculture situations since the filtration system can actually increase the amount of available nutrient and organic matter in the system, thereby compounding an already serious problem.

The Solution

BD-C has been specially designed to inhibit algae growth by removing its food sources. Biodigesters (affectionately referred to as "bugs") are a combination of all natural bacteria, lab grade purified enzymes with micro and macronutrients. BD-C bacteria and enzymes are targeted to the food sources available in pond water. Biodigesters can successfully attack, degrade, and liquefy fecal mass, undigested food, and other organics that contribute to a build-up of ammonia and bottom solids. Biodigesters condition the marine environment ecology, close to natures own.

Biodigesters will colonize the tank/pond, multiply by a factor up to 1,000 times within a few hours, take away the nutrients that encourage algae (thus eliminating unsightly growth on walls and surfaces), and liberate carbon dioxide for oxygenating plants.

...............

Why Do Aquarium Plants Pearl - With 5 Great Examples ...
aquariumgenius.com/why-do-aquarium-plants-pearl

Aquarium plants pearl when they are producing oxygen at a higher rate the water can absorb through diffusion. It is an indicator that photosynthesis is working overtime and the plant is healthy, but a plant that does not pearl can also be healthy. Now that you know why plants pearl, it is important to learn what it means.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Sherryazure said:


> Aquarium plants pearl when they are producing oxygen at a higher rate the water can absorb through diffusion. It is an indicator that photosynthesis is working overtime and the plant is healthy, but a plant that does not pearl can also be healthy.


I agree. Pearling is often associated with excessive photosynthesis in CO2-injected tanks. I rarely see it in mine.


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## zahtar (Sep 29, 2019)

Sherryazure said:


> Pearling on stem or other plants occurs but NOT always. (I only noted some on my plants if there was a nick or cut in the plant)...or at the tips.


That's exactly what I have noticed in my tank too. I almost never see pearling, only when I cut some cryptocoryne leaves, sometimes on the marimo and recently on the Anubias rhizome which I accidentally stressed. Other than that, I hardly ever see pearling end everything seems to be fine.


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## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

dwalstad said:


> I agree. Pearling is often associated with excessive photosynthesis in CO2-injected tanks. I rarely see it in mine.


In My opinion, this doesn't prove that pearling is due to fast photosynthesis. Because carbon dioxide addition to the water will cause efficient photosynthesis and it will cause higher amounts of oxygen production. That will cause huge amounts of oxygen byproduct. If the excessively produce oxygen satures water with oxygen, we will see pearling in the plants. So I still think that probably may be due to a water which is fully saturated by oxygen. Of course, I am far from being an expert like you in this topic. I would be happy if you correct me if I am wrong.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

kemalturkoz said:


> In My opinion, this doesn't prove that pearling is due to fast photosynthesis. Because carbon dioxide addition to the water will cause efficient photosynthesis and it will cause higher amounts of oxygen production. That will cause huge amounts of oxygen byproduct. If the excessively produce oxygen satures water with oxygen, we will see pearling in the plants. So I still think that probably may be due to a water which is fully saturated by oxygen. Of course, I am far from being an expert like you in this topic. I would be happy if you correct me if I am wrong.


Oxygen doesn't dissolve in water very easily, especially compared to carbon dioxide. If plants expire oxygen at a slow rate the oxygen will very likely dissolve into the water. But, if they expire oxygen at a much higher rate it cannot dissolve fast enough, so it forms bubbles of oxygen - pearling. I'm not sure we ever experience water that is saturated with oxygen. If we did we would get pearling with water temperature changes, and I don't recall ever seeing that. At most, cold water can cause bubbles of gases to form on the glass or hardscape as it warms, but not a constant string of bubbles from plants. So, I think that means that it is fast growth of plants, meaning the plants are using lots of CO2 and other nutrients, as high intensity light drives them to rapid growth, that causes pearling.


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## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

hoppycalif said:


> Oxygen doesn't dissolve in water very easily, especially compared to carbon dioxide. If plants expire oxygen at a slow rate the oxygen will very likely dissolve into the water. But, if they expire oxygen at a much higher rate it cannot dissolve fast enough, so it forms bubbles of oxygen - pearling. I'm not sure we ever experience water that is saturated with oxygen. If we did we would get pearling with water temperature changes, and I don't recall ever seeing that. At most, cold water can cause bubbles of gases to form on the glass or hardscape as it warms, but not a constant string of bubbles from plants. So, I think that means that it is fast growth of plants, meaning the plants are using lots of CO2 and other nutrients, as high intensity light drives them to rapid growth, that causes pearling.


I got it. Thank you. So how shall we explain right after a water change? I thought it was due to high oxygen concentration in tap water. Your argument refutes my theory about tap water 
Is it due to high CO2 in tap water? Or increased photosynthesis due to newly added nutrients to tank water by tap water?


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Very interesting discussion! 

Within an hour of adding fresh tapwater to my tanks, bubbles form on plants and solid surfaces. It is CO2. Bubbles are especially noticeable in the winter, because CO2 is more soluble in cold water. In the winter I have to be careful not to do massive water changes or the excess CO2 will kill baby fish.

Explanation: I have a well. Rain water slowly percolates through the ground picking up CO2 from the decomposition of the soil's organic matter. Once in the well's storage tank, the CO2 gas is under pressure. When I run this water into aquaria, the CO2 is no longer under pressure plus the warming in the tank makes this gas less soluble. So the CO2 forms bubbles in the tanks. 

Also, because of the CO2, the pH of this fresh tapwater is often very acidic.

CO2 will bring pH down, but oxygen won't. As an experiment, I would simply measure the pH of water right after it comes out of the faucet. Let this fresh tapwater sit in a shallow bowl. If after about an hour the pH increases, you will know that the mystery bubbles are due to CO2 in the tapwater, not oxygen.

And it's not just well water that contain CO2. Even city water is under pressure in the piping system. I can think of many ways that city water might contain CO2--groundwater source, bacterial biofilms lining the pipes (busy generating CO2), chemical reactions from water treatment, etc.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

dwalstad said:


> Very interesting discussion!
> 
> Within an hour of adding fresh tapwater to my tanks, bubbles form on plants and solid surfaces. It is CO2. Bubbles are especially noticeable in the winter, because CO2 is more soluble in cold water. In the winter I have to be careful not to do massive water changes or the excess CO2 will kill baby fish.
> 
> ...


I'm trying to think how oxygen could show up in well water. Rainwater could have oxygen, but how could groundwater have more than trivial amounts of oxygen in it? I also think the fact that oxygen doesn't easily dissolve into water also means that oxygen dissolved in water doesn't escape from water very easily either. So, the atmospheric oxygen that dissolves into rain water should stay in the water as it percolates down into the soil and rocks unless it reacts with metals in the water, oxydizing them.

I know this is a bit off-subject, but I find it very interesting to try to figure out things like this


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

hoppycalif said:


> I'm trying to think how oxygen could show up in well water. Rainwater could have oxygen, but how could groundwater have more than trivial amounts of oxygen in it? I also think the fact that oxygen doesn't easily dissolve into water also means that oxygen dissolved in water doesn't escape from water very easily either. So, the atmospheric oxygen that dissolves into rain water should stay in the water as it percolates down into the soil and rocks unless it reacts with metals in the water, oxydizing them.
> 
> I know this is a bit off-subject, but I find it very interesting to try to figure out things like this


good article on O2 in water. There's only about 10ppm of O2 in water. It sounds like in a dirt tank, there is less than 10ppm.
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/...ce_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects


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## Karen in San Jose (Jun 1, 2020)

hoppycalif said:


> I'm trying to think how oxygen could show up in well water. Rainwater could have oxygen, but how could groundwater have more than trivial amounts of oxygen in it? I also think the fact that oxygen doesn't easily dissolve into water also means that oxygen dissolved in water doesn't escape from water very easily either. So, the atmospheric oxygen that dissolves into rain water should stay in the water as it percolates down into the soil and rocks unless it reacts with metals in the water, oxydizing them.
> 
> I know this is a bit off-subject, but I find it very interesting to try to figure out things like this


I believe she was saying it's carbon dioxide, and not oxygen. I found this really interesting, because my city tap water comes from both ground and well water sources. It never occurred to me that there would be Co2 in it, but it makes complete sense that it would. I learn so much here. Keeps my old brain exercising.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Yes, I was talking about CO2 (carbon dioxide), NOT oxygen (O2). Thanks, Karen for clarifying this.


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## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

It’s been a while since my last photo. I want to share a recent picture of my aquarium. The water is crystal clear not. There is almost no algae in the water or on the surface of the glasses eventhough light Washington accidentally left open for 24 hours for five days and fish food was used excessively. Everything is perfect. Thank you very much everyone. Particularly, Ms. Walstad.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Wow, beautiful tank! Nice to see. I'll bet the plants loved the extra fishfood!


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## Karen in San Jose (Jun 1, 2020)

kemalturkoz said:


> It's been a while since my last photo. I want to share a recent picture of my aquarium. The water is crystal clear not. There is almost no algae in the water or on the surface of the glasses eventhough light Washington accidentally left open for 24 hours for five days and fish food was used excessively. Everything is perfect. Thank you very much everyone. Particularly, Ms. Walstad.


Awesome tank! What is the plant that's growing emergent?


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## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

Karen in San Jose said:


> Awesome tank! What is the plant that's growing emergent?


They are Ludwigia Repens Rubin. I performed dry start method, so they were kind of emergent from the start. There is also 1 or two hygrophilia difformis going emergent. And you can also see a few wide leaves of Epipremnum pinnatum. Its roots are in the Water. 
But, most of the emergent plants are Ludwigia. They are very happy. They just need once or twice a day spraying for their leaves in the air.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

kemalturkoz said:


> They just need once or twice a day spraying for their leaves in the air.


You are truly a dedicated plant keeper!


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## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

dwalstad said:


> You are truly a dedicated plant keeper!


It wouldn't be a big exaggeration if I say say this is the greatest compliment I have ever had


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## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

dwalstad said:


> Very interesting discussion!
> 
> Within an hour of adding fresh tapwater to my tanks, bubbles form on plants and solid surfaces. It is CO2. Bubbles are especially noticeable in the winter, because CO2 is more soluble in cold water. In the winter I have to be careful not to do massive water changes or the excess CO2 will kill baby fish.
> 
> ...


I measured pH of our tap water at different times. It is 7.4-7.6. So, it is not acidic. Bubbling right after water change might not be due to high CO2 concentration in the water.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Yes, bubbles from a water change are air bubble, not necessarily CO2. Water under pressure hold more gasses. Once in your tank, the gasses come out of the solution. 
I know my tap water does not contain high CO2, not higher than the air.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

mistergreen said:


> Yes, bubbles from a water change are air bubble, not necessarily CO2. Water under pressure hold more gasses. Once in your tank, the gasses come out of the solution.
> I know my tap water does not contain high CO2, not higher than the air.


Mistergreen, learned something new today.  Air bubbles, of course! Makes perfect sense.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

dwalstad said:


> Mistergreen, learned something new today.  Air bubbles, of course! Makes perfect sense.


I've read that well water can contain high levels of CO2 as you mentioned. If you're on municipal water, it's likely just air bubbles, mostly nitrogen .


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## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

Still, there is a problem. 
If they were only air bubbles, I would see them on every surface in the tank. Glass, stones, gravel... But they are on the surface of plant leaves only. Plants release those bubbles as we observe in CO2 injected tanks. 
I still think they are related with photosynthesis.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

It might be O2. Fresh tap water is so saturated with gases that O2 on leaves would appear.


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## kemalturkoz (Oct 17, 2013)

mistergreen said:


> It might be O2. Fresh tap water is so saturated with gases that O2 on leaves would appear.


That's what I was advocating from the start 
Tap water is saturated with O2 and since the water is fully saturated, newly produced oxygen from the leaves make bubbles for a few hours when we change the water...


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

kemalturkoz said:


> That's what I was advocating from the start
> Tap water is saturated with O2 and since the water is fully saturated, newly produced oxygen from the leaves make bubbles for a few hours when we change the water...


Tap water is saturated with ALL gasses  aka air.
This is air break down.
Name	Formula	in ppmv(B)	in %
Nitrogen	N2	780,840	78.084
Oxygen	O2	209,460	20.946
Argon	Ar	9,340	0.9340
Carbon di CO2	413.61	0.041361
Neon	Ne	18.18	0.001818
Helium	He	5.24	0.000524
Methane	CH4	1.87	0.000187
Krypton	Kr	1.14	0.000114


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Since "saturated" means no more of that gas can dissolve in the water, I disagree that tap water is saturated with anything except nitrogen and oxygen. If my tap water was saturated with Krypton I would be too weak to walk, since I am superman.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

kemalturkoz said:


> Still, there is a problem.
> If they were only air bubbles, I would see them on every surface in the tank. Glass, stones, gravel... But they are on the surface of plant leaves only. Plants release those bubbles as we observe in CO2 injected tanks.
> I still think they are related with photosynthesis.


Proceeding with what you've written so far.... If the pH didn't increase after you exposed the tapwater to air, then the gas bubbles aren't CO2.

If the bubbles only formed on the leaves, then I agree that it probably is due to plant photosynthesis. (If it was O2 present in fresh tapwater, bubbles would have formed on the other surfaces in the tank.)

And as hoppycalif explained for us, it probably is not Krypton. 

In rethinking all this, I'll bet that the fresh tapwater did contain some extra CO2, as it often does. This stimulated the plants to photosynthesize and form oxygen bubbles right after a water change.


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