Time for School
It was aquarium-day today. The first order of business was to swing by Alamo Aquatics and get answers for the questions I had accumulated over the past week. Some I had answered myself (those black dots on the leaves? Not algae... dirt!), but others that I needed clarification on.
Q: What's the deal with the white mucus at the outlet of my CO2 tube?
A: Nothing to worry about. Probably something related to the sugar medium the yeast is living in.
Q: What do I do about the hair algae?
A: Try AlgaeFix. It doesn't hurt plants.
Q: Should I be worried the tops of the hornworts are turning red/brown?
A: No. They are just getting color (red) from exposure to light. It's how it should be.
Q: Should I be worried about the leaves dying at the bottom of the hornwort?
A: No. It's nothing to worry about, especially since the growth near the top is fine.
Q: Is there a trick to cutting and replanting tall plants?
A: No. Just pinch off the top section and spear it into a new piece of ground (he demonstrated this brashly with one of the plants in his tank).
Q: Do I need to help the shoots of the grass anchor in the substrate?
A: No. They send runners that spring up from the surrounding substrate.
Q: Should I replant the above substrate roots?
A: No, this is normal. It's just another way for the plants to gather nutrients.
Q: What's wrong with my water sprite?
A: Some plants just don't adjust well. It's not necessarily anything you're doing wrong.
Q: Do I need to worry about the dirt on top of the broad leaves blocking photosynthesis?
A: Probably not.
So that was nice to get all those questions addressed. Almost as nice, I saw a lot of the same problems I was having with my horwort and water sprite in Alamo Aquatics' plants, too. I'd love for all my plants to do well, but if something suffers, I want it to be "just because," and not something I'm doing wrong.
After clearing up most of that and getting my AlgaeFix, I headed over to Petsmart again and got seven more black neon tetras to bring the "school" to a full dozen. So already, I have more fish than in my 5-gallon tank. I'd like to slowly introduce the fish to this one, not only because it's safer, but I would like to spread out the fun a little bit.
Q: What's the deal with the white mucus at the outlet of my CO2 tube?
A: Nothing to worry about. Probably something related to the sugar medium the yeast is living in.
Q: What do I do about the hair algae?A: Try AlgaeFix. It doesn't hurt plants.
Q: Should I be worried the tops of the hornworts are turning red/brown?
A: No. They are just getting color (red) from exposure to light. It's how it should be.
Q: Should I be worried about the leaves dying at the bottom of the hornwort?
A: No. It's nothing to worry about, especially since the growth near the top is fine.
Q: Is there a trick to cutting and replanting tall plants?
A: No. Just pinch off the top section and spear it into a new piece of ground (he demonstrated this brashly with one of the plants in his tank).
Q: Do I need to help the shoots of the grass anchor in the substrate?
A: No. They send runners that spring up from the surrounding substrate.
Q: Should I replant the above substrate roots?
A: No, this is normal. It's just another way for the plants to gather nutrients.
Q: What's wrong with my water sprite?
A: Some plants just don't adjust well. It's not necessarily anything you're doing wrong.
Q: Do I need to worry about the dirt on top of the broad leaves blocking photosynthesis?
A: Probably not.
So that was nice to get all those questions addressed. Almost as nice, I saw a lot of the same problems I was having with my horwort and water sprite in Alamo Aquatics' plants, too. I'd love for all my plants to do well, but if something suffers, I want it to be "just because," and not something I'm doing wrong.
After clearing up most of that and getting my AlgaeFix, I headed over to Petsmart again and got seven more black neon tetras to bring the "school" to a full dozen. So already, I have more fish than in my 5-gallon tank. I'd like to slowly introduce the fish to this one, not only because it's safer, but I would like to spread out the fun a little bit.
posted by k-maub @ 5:30 PM
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