# Plants not pearling



## Northman (Apr 19, 2009)

Hi guys, Don't know why but I'm not getting any pearling. Can someone tell me why?

Here is the set up. 20G High, Coralife T5HO 48W (1 Floragrow 1 UltaSun), pressurized CO2 30ppm, EI dosing (10N, 2P and 20K) Fluorite substrate, 25% water change every week, clean filter pads every week, clean filter and hoses every month. I'm a Leo, I love long walks on the beach ... sorry, wrong forum.
Plant list: Blyxa japonica, Bolbitis Heudelotii, Cardamine lyrata, a few Cryptocoryne, Cyperus helferi (I think, that is what it was sold as), Echinodorus tenellus, Hygrophila corymbosa, Java Fern, Jave moss, Marsilea and Rotala green.
When I turn down the filter flow I can see just a few little bubbles floating from the plants, not much at all.
Is it the plants species I have? Everything is growing well and algae free.

Thanks for your help,
Northman


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

some of it is the species, some of your plants will pearl for sure though. do you hve a drop checker? 

dont be concerned with not a lot of pearling. as long as your plants are healthy and no algae then you are in very good shape. do you see millions of little bubbles coming up when you look at a pond?


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## Northman (Apr 19, 2009)

That is a great point tim, I never thought of that. I have a drop checker. At lights out the air pump starts and stops 2 hrs before the lights go back on, right when my CO2 kicks in. After a few hrs of co2 the drop checker is a light green. I believe that's 30ppm, am I wrong? I don't know why I'm stuck on the pearling? I guess to me it is a sign of a healthy ecosystem but you are so right about the pond 
Be well ...


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Northman said:


> I don't know why I'm stuck on the pearling?


Because it's purty? :biggrin:


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## Disco Dan (Mar 17, 2011)

Northman said:


> That is a great point tim, I never thought of that. I have a drop checker. At lights out the air pump starts and stops 2 hrs before the lights go back on, right when my CO2 kicks in. After a few hrs of co2 the drop checker is a light green. I believe that's 30ppm, am I wrong? I don't know why I'm stuck on the pearling? I guess to me it is a sign of a healthy ecosystem but you are so right about the pond
> Be well ...


I increased my co2 until the drop checker just started to turn yellow - (the fish still fine though) then dial back the co2 a notch so it shows green but has a slight yellow tinge on the top.

My drop checker was giving my false readings at one point as bubbles from the powerhead were rising up underneath and popping into it. Make sure your drop checker is accurate - I do a quick ph test and compare the colour with the drop checker, which seems to work.

Move the drop checker close to your fastest growing plants - they will use the most so up your levels until it gives a green reading. 

I use the same idea with an airpump on a timer - what I found though was it took 4-5 hours for my drop checker to go green and plants to pearl. In other words it took 4-5 hours to raise the co2 high enough for optimum growing. Try setting your airpump to turn off earlier - 3 hours before lights on was enough for my co2 levels to build up enough for when the lights come on. You can turn the airpump on about 20 minutes before the lights turn off - which can slow the ph swing if you have one.


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## Northman (Apr 19, 2009)

Thanks DD. I'm going to give everything you say a go. Appreciate the advise.


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

If it takes 3 hours for you co2 to get to optimum levels then i think you need to up your co2 a bit. Ususally it should only take about 30 mins to an hour to get to optimum levels. A drop checker does have a 2 hour delay so keep that in mind. You can always check your pH when the lights first come on and compare that to when they turn off. In my experience what works for me is to have a good deal of surface agitation (not enough that you have waves breaking) this will help increase the oxygen in your water and allow you to run your co2 ppm higher and make it less stressful on your fish. For example i have pretty much the same light as you in my 29 gallon. My lights are about 6 inches above my rim and my drop checkers run yellow. I have between 40 ppm and 60 ppm ( drop checkers are really that accurate but provide you with a ball park) of co2 in my tank and my shrimp are fine and my plants pearl pretty well. I have a koralife pointing at my surface to create a good surface current.


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## PelicanFarts (Mar 1, 2011)

Here's my story, since you asked (I kid). Had three 24w T5HOs over a 29 gallon tall. After reading Hoppy's light suggestion chart I switched to 2 24w T5HOs and since my plants haven't pearled...not one bit. Main point though, the plants are growing (although slightly slower) and appear to be healthy....but, for me less light equals little/no pearling.

Edit: 24" from light to substrate


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## Steve001 (Feb 26, 2011)

Northman said:


> Hi guys, Don't know why but I'm not getting any pearling. Can someone tell me why?
> 
> Here is the set up. 20G High, Coralife T5HO 48W (1 Floragrow 1 UltaSun), pressurized CO2 30ppm, EI dosing (10N, 2P and 20K) Fluorite substrate, 25% water change every week, clean filter pads every week, clean filter and hoses every month. I'm a Leo, I love long walks on the beach ... sorry, wrong forum.
> Plant list: Blyxa japonica, Bolbitis Heudelotii, Cardamine lyrata, a few Cryptocoryne, Cyperus helferi (I think, that is what it was sold as), Echinodorus tenellus, Hygrophila corymbosa, Java Fern, Jave moss, Marsilea and Rotala green.
> ...


Pearling happens when you've saturated the water with oxygen from the plants. It sounds like your right on the verge of saturation with just a little pearling.
Even though you mentioned your lighting that doesn't tell me if that's low light, medium light, or bright light. How would you characterize the tank brightness ? 
*Two or one of two things is happening. Your co2 levels are taking a long time to reach an optimum level or you've not enough light to drive photosynthesis at a high level.



You might consider nixing the filter as long as you don't have a high fish load. Filters are a not a necessity with plants tanks along as the plant density is high because plants actually help keep the water clean along with the bacterial biofilm covering all your plants, wood, substrate and anything else in the tank. A filter can also out gas wasting co2 to the atmosphere. 

*In my tank I use only natural light a long with pressurized co2 which runs day and night The only time I see pearling is when the light is bright to direct sunlight on the plants. On cloudy days no pearling even though the co2 concentration remains the same.


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

PelicanFarts said:


> Here's my story, since you asked (I kid). Had three 24w T5HOs over a 29 gallon long. After reading Hoppy's light suggestion chart I switched to 2 24w T5HOs and since my plants haven't pearled...not one bit. Main point though, the plants are growing (although slightly slower) and appear to be healthy....but, for me less light equals little/no pearling.


I get good pearling with dual 24 w T5HO 6 inches above my tank in my 29 gallon tank.

I think having a lot of plant mass also makes pearling easier. If you have a ton of plants it's easier to saturate the water with oxygen so you see more pearling.


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## youjettisonme (Dec 24, 2010)

6 inches above your substrate?

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk


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## farmhand (Jun 25, 2009)

Northman said:


> I don't know why I'm stuck on the pearling?


It's like a drug.


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## mylittlefish (Oct 5, 2010)

youjettisonme said:


> 6 inches above your substrate?
> 
> Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk


He is using the new Submersible light fixtures from ( You Asked For It . com )


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## Disco Dan (Mar 17, 2011)

Rockhoe14er said:


> If it takes 3 hours for you co2 to get to optimum levels then i think you need to up your co2 a bit. Ususally it should only take about 30 mins to an hour to get to optimum levels. A drop checker does have a 2 hour delay so keep that in mind. You can always check your pH when the lights first come on and compare that to when they turn off. In my experience what works for me is to have a good deal of surface agitation (not enough that you have waves breaking) this will help increase the oxygen in your water and allow you to run your co2 ppm higher and make it less stressful on your fish. For example i have pretty much the same light as you in my 29 gallon. My lights are about 6 inches above my rim and my drop checkers run yellow. I have between 40 ppm and 60 ppm ( drop checkers are really that accurate but provide you with a ball park) of co2 in my tank and my shrimp are fine and my plants pearl pretty well. I have a koralife pointing at my surface to create a good surface current.


Depends on the temperature of the room, today for example it is cold - my new yeast culture is struggling and has yet to put in a single bubble since yesterday. 

When using yeast, consistency is the main concern for me (second being quantity!) - When running several reactors one or more may tail off over a few days, then refilled and take a few days to get running 100%. This gives quite a variation in the pressure and quantity of the co2 produced. Turning the airpump off early allows more of a 'buffer' - it is far easier to go full blast early and dispel some co2 later if needed than to not have enough for when the plants need it the most - lights on.


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## Northman (Apr 19, 2009)

PelicanFarts said:


> Here's my story, since you asked (I kid). Had three 24w T5HOs over a 29 gallon tall. After reading Hoppy's light suggestion chart I switched to 2 24w T5HOs and since my plants haven't pearled...not one bit. Main point though, the plants are growing (although slightly slower) and appear to be healthy....but, for me less light equals little/no pearling.
> 
> Edit: 24" from light to substrate


I'm going by Hoppy's chart also, and according to it I should have bright light, more than enough. Visually, it doesn't look incredibly bright but I would think (2) 24w T5HO is enough over a 20. No pearling but plants growing great otherwise.


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## Northman (Apr 19, 2009)

Steve001 said:


> Pearling happens when you've saturated the water with oxygen from the plants. It sounds like your right on the verge of saturation with just a little pearling.
> Even though you mentioned your lighting that doesn't tell me if that's low light, medium light, or bright light. How would you characterize the tank brightness ?
> *Two or one of two things is happening. Your co2 levels are taking a long time to reach an optimum level or you've not enough light to drive photosynthesis at a high level.
> 
> ...


Hey Steve, I used to have my CO2 high enough to make my drop checker yellow, confirmed with a separate Ph test. Fish appeared to be fine but the shrimp were MIA, never to be seen. I want to see my shrimp so I backed off the co2 and out they came. Thing is, even when the dc was yellow there was no pearling. I don't consider the light to be very bright visually but I think its more than enough for a 20G. The co2 kicks in 3 hrs before light on, I upped it an hr, used to be 2. Things stayed the same ... no pearling. The tank is packed with plants. I love it, the best its ever been (thanks to this forum ), everything is healthy, growing, no algae. Really, I couldn't be happier with it but ... I WANT PEARLING!!!


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## Steve001 (Feb 26, 2011)

Northman said:


> Thing is, even when the dc was yellow there was no pearling. I don't consider the light to be very bright visually but I think its more than enough for a 20G. The co2 kicks in 3 hrs before light on, I upped it an hr, used to be 2. Things stayed the same ... no pearling. The tank is packed with plants. I love it, the best its ever been (thanks to this forum ), everything is healthy, growing, no algae. Really, I couldn't be happier with it but ... I WANT PEARLING!!!


Up the light then and see if that does the trick.


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

mylittlefish said:


> He is using the new Submersible light fixtures from ( You Asked For It . com )


haha. It's the new big thing these days. 

I fixed my post to say 6 inches above my tank and 24 inches above my substrate.


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

Also what i found really helps pearling if you have high co2 levels. Since i have a lot of surface agitation this allows me to run my co2 levels higher. As soon as i started doing this i got much better plant growth and pearling about 4 hours after lights on.


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