Ode to Odor. (Or, CHANGE THAT TANK WATER!!)
- Thread starter FINWIN
- Start date
You guys are too much lolI am a Canuckistani
My hobbies and interests are many
But when dealing with Esox
And the funny way he talks
I'm forced to be his translation nanny.
Welp, I was wrong on the cause. After w/c and clean on the tanks, I was STILL chasing the stink. It was a sneaky filter issue. On the 225 there are jumbo sponge prefilters. They looked pretty clean after one week so I didn't wash 'em right away. The top pads were dirty so they got cleaned. The real culprit was the prefilters. On the INSIDE they were full of slimy, rotted hornwort mush...FOUND THE FUNK!!
I will be posting soon on why I'm fed up with live plants but that's a story for another day.
I will be posting soon on why I'm fed up with live plants but that's a story for another day.
That’s why I stopped buying hornwort or any stem plants, they always end up in the overflow or sump. I just get anubius, buce, ferns and glue them to wood. Rosette plants lie crypts, Val, and swords are also less messy.
I love hornwort...and it's not merely because it is one of the few aquatic plants that grows exceptionally well for me, although that certainly helps. I expect...and am rarely disappointed...that it will essentially die off when placed into a new tank or pond, with shedding needles and disintegrating stems to deal with for a short time. But then it always rallies and grows back strong and beautiful. I just had this occur in the spring when I placed it into every one of my outdoor stock tanks and my inground pond; the stuff pretty much fell apart, but new growth occurred immediately and it's done amazingly well all summer. In a few weeks when I bring a bunch of it back indoors, it will do the same thing: die off, make a mess, and then come back with a vengeance.
I've pruned it back several times already this summer, which entails forking out huge handfuls from each pond and composting it. I no longer use it in my DIY gel food, mainly because I have even more duckweed for that purpose and it blends much more nicely in the food processor.
But it feels great to carry a bushelful out to the compost heap a few times each summer. In contrast to my indoor tanks, the ponds get very little in the way of water changes. A bushel of Hornwort on the compost heap translates to a big helping of nitrates removed from the system.
I've pruned it back several times already this summer, which entails forking out huge handfuls from each pond and composting it. I no longer use it in my DIY gel food, mainly because I have even more duckweed for that purpose and it blends much more nicely in the food processor.
But it feels great to carry a bushelful out to the compost heap a few times each summer. In contrast to my indoor tanks, the ponds get very little in the way of water changes. A bushel of Hornwort on the compost heap translates to a big helping of nitrates removed from the system.
I love hornwort...and it's not merely because it is one of the few aquatic plants that grows exceptionally well for me, although that certainly helps. I expect...and am rarely disappointed...that it will essentially die off when placed into a new tank or pond, with shedding needles and disintegrating stems to deal with for a short time. But then it always rallies and grows back strong and beautiful. I just had this occur in the spring when I placed it into every one of my outdoor stock tanks and my inground pond; the stuff pretty much fell apart, but new growth occurred immediately and it's done amazingly well all summer. In a few weeks when I bring a bunch of it back indoors, it will do the same thing: die off, make a mess, and then come back with a vengeance.
I've pruned it back several times already this summer, which entails forking out huge handfuls from each pond and composting it. I no longer use it in my DIY gel food, mainly because I have even more duckweed for that purpose and it blends much more nicely in the food processor.
But it feels great to carry a bushelful out to the compost heap a few times each summer. In contrast to my indoor tanks, the ponds get very little in the way of water changes. A bushel of Hornwort on the compost heap translates to a big helping of nitrates removed from the system.
I'm curious what's your water chemistry? Because it sure doesn't like mine. Initially I had the same results: Looked good, shed, had moderate growth then shed and rotted to nothing but scraps covered in mulm. Even the huge growing green clusters in the 225 and breeder are now completely gone. If I didn't constantly give them double dose of ferts they would stall, shed and rot. Like 90% decay and 10% growth.
Tank water is straight out of the tap, un-treated un-monkeyed-with well water, resting pH 7.5, 350ppm TDS. The stuff flourishes in this, at temps from low-60F to mid-70F.
But...outdoors stock tanks are usually 150ppm TDS and pH 7.2, the actual numbers dependant upon how great an admixture of snowmelt water I add to the well water at fill up. Some can be much softer and neutral still, with more snowmelt.
The numbers don't matter; Hornwort always dies off for me when moved (even into water with identical parameters), and always comes back like gangbusters shortly thereafter.
Seriously, I think you are giving up on plants a bit too early. Yes, you can get some really nice plastic plants nowadays...and they look like...really nice plastic plants. Just not the same.
But...outdoors stock tanks are usually 150ppm TDS and pH 7.2, the actual numbers dependant upon how great an admixture of snowmelt water I add to the well water at fill up. Some can be much softer and neutral still, with more snowmelt.
The numbers don't matter; Hornwort always dies off for me when moved (even into water with identical parameters), and always comes back like gangbusters shortly thereafter.
Seriously, I think you are giving up on plants a bit too early. Yes, you can get some really nice plastic plants nowadays...and they look like...really nice plastic plants. Just not the same.
2024 report on DC Water
total hardness gal 6-12 average 8 (grains gal)
total hardness ppm 98 to 198 average 135
ph 7.5 (7.4 - 8.0 at aqueduct)
Finnex 24/7 plant lights
As soon as I stopped using ferts the hornwort quit growing enough to overcome the shed/rotting. So more and more went bad compared to new growth and eventually I ended up with tiny single stem scraps, a waste of time and money.
Only plants I'd bother with at this point would be octopus grass, elodea and duckweed.
total hardness gal 6-12 average 8 (grains gal)
total hardness ppm 98 to 198 average 135
ph 7.5 (7.4 - 8.0 at aqueduct)
Finnex 24/7 plant lights
As soon as I stopped using ferts the hornwort quit growing enough to overcome the shed/rotting. So more and more went bad compared to new growth and eventually I ended up with tiny single stem scraps, a waste of time and money.
Only plants I'd bother with at this point would be octopus grass, elodea and duckweed.
I have never used any kind of fertilizer , and lighting consists solely of fluorescent and LED shoplights.
I was going to recommend Najas (Guppy Grass), which is only slightly slower-growing and every bit as versatile as Hornwort with the added bonus of being easily moved from tank to tank without dying back...but I see you have no luck with that either.
I honestly think you just need to try some more species until you find those magic ones that grow well for you. I literally cannot keep some plants alive, even though they are usually considered as bulletproof. Java Fern...Cryptocorynes...Water Sprite...Hygrophila...lots of others...either fade gradually away or, in more extreme cases, die so fast you'd swear I used RoundUp on them. I'm currently in the midst of learning that Frogbit will likely go on that list.
No problem; lesson learned. On to the next experiment. Hornwort, Guppy Grass, Java Moss, Water Lettuce, Amazon Swords...they all do great and I haven't had to buy any since my initial purchases.
It's like trying new recipes. You'll never know which ones are destined to become favourites and which ones are dogs...until you try 'em. But you will like some of them!
I was going to recommend Najas (Guppy Grass), which is only slightly slower-growing and every bit as versatile as Hornwort with the added bonus of being easily moved from tank to tank without dying back...but I see you have no luck with that either.
I honestly think you just need to try some more species until you find those magic ones that grow well for you. I literally cannot keep some plants alive, even though they are usually considered as bulletproof. Java Fern...Cryptocorynes...Water Sprite...Hygrophila...lots of others...either fade gradually away or, in more extreme cases, die so fast you'd swear I used RoundUp on them. I'm currently in the midst of learning that Frogbit will likely go on that list.
No problem; lesson learned. On to the next experiment. Hornwort, Guppy Grass, Java Moss, Water Lettuce, Amazon Swords...they all do great and I haven't had to buy any since my initial purchases.
It's like trying new recipes. You'll never know which ones are destined to become favourites and which ones are dogs...until you try 'em. But you will like some of them!
