# Substrate and plant bubbles question



## aqua59 (Nov 9, 2011)

I have noticed that healthy aquariums seem to have a steady rising of bubbles through out the aquarium from both plants and substrate. How does one achieve this? I believe I have a healthy set up but not the steady bubbles I've seen in other aquariums. Are these bubbles O2, CO2 or both? I have an air stone, heavy filtration, heavy lighting and a CO2 bubble ladder. 50 Gal tall aquarium. Thoughts and input welcomed.


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

The bubbles in the water column may be oxygen being released from plants (also known as "pearling"). Sometimes you will also see CO2 "mist" in the water column produced by the type of diffusion used (glass diffuser, atomizer, ladder, or reactor). 

I would suggest not using the airstone when using a CO2 ladder as it will de-gas the CO2. I hope that gives you some insight.

Best Regards,

Stuart


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

i don't use co2 but i have noticed after a wc that my plants have air bubbles coming off of them. not sure why though. maybe pearling like CRS said.


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## aqua59 (Nov 9, 2011)

Thanks very much. I presume that the water movement from the power head is enough to oxygenate the water.


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## TheBigCheese (Oct 1, 2012)

Yes Pearling is caused when oxygen is released from a plant. A major factor in pearling 
is the Oxygen content of the water in your tank. 100% oxygen saturation means that 
no more oxygen can be absorbed into the water column and thus we see it being released, 
floating up and off-gassing. If you have very little surface agitation, or dont use an air stone 
at night when your Co2 is off, your tank water will have a lower oxygen saturation %. It 
will take longer for your plants to pearl as the oxygen being released is just being absorbed 
into the water column. This is also why we see pearling after a water change, it's just the 
highly oxygenated water off-gassing. Cheers.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

TheBigCheese said:


> Yes Pearling is caused when oxygen is released from a plant. A major factor in pearling
> is the Oxygen content of the water in your tank. 100% oxygen saturation means that
> no more oxygen can be absorbed into the water column and thus we see it being released,
> floating up and off-gassing. If you have very little surface agitation, or dont use an air stone
> ...


Cool. Thanks for the info.


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## aqua59 (Nov 9, 2011)

Great info, that's exactly what I was looking for. I find that my smaller plant cutting aquariums pearl when I do 2/3 water changes for about a day after. What you say makes sense now. Thanks again. I still want to achieve this state. It just looks so cool with heavy bubble action.


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## aqua59 (Nov 9, 2011)

How can I achieve this so it is happening all the time? I want to saturate.How do I do this?


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## TheBigCheese (Oct 1, 2012)

Yes 100% O2 saturation is a major contributor in pearling but even more important is optimal plant health. 

First you need to obtaining optimal plant growth with a ballance of good light, Co2 injection to 30ppm and fertilizing.

Second you need the high O2 saturation while still maintaining 30ppm of Co2 during lights on. Airstone on at night and off 1
hour before lights on. C02 on 1 hour before lights on to reach the 30ppm before the lights on. Fertilizing in the morning, if 
possible EI Dosing or PPS-Pro work the best. 

These are just a general guideline, each person and their tank will react differently, and not every plant will pearl. Some produce
more "pearling" than others, for example HC 'Cuba' is a know big pearler along with Riccia, slow growers like Anubias probably
wont pearl as well although It's possible. 

There are many factors but main ones are healthy plants and O2 saturated water.


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## aqua59 (Nov 9, 2011)

Thanks so much for the in depth answer. That is what I needed to know. Obviously you've given me the optimum time frames for CO2 . O2 usage. What happens if the CO2 is left on 24/7. Mine is,as well as my air stone.I have a CO2 bubble ladder. It's located in the upper right hand part of the aquarium,near current and plants. My plants seem to be thriving. Thoughts?


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## TheBigCheese (Oct 1, 2012)

If your plants are thriving than you're doing something right. Having your Co2 on 24/7 seems like a waste to me. A lot of that
Co2 is just gassing off during the night and having the air stone running during the day is also off-gassing it and wasting your
Co2. Are you able to maintain a Green colour on your drop checker during the day with your air stone running?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

TheBigCheese said:


> This is also why we see pearling after a water change, it's just the
> highly oxygenated water off-gassing. Cheers.


There are a number of reasons for this, one of which you have listed. Another is the fact that because the our water systems are pressurized, there is a higher than normal partial pressure for all gases in solution in our tap water. This phenomenon can be observed with CO2 for instance, by filling a container with fresh tap water and reading the pH, and then reading the same container again 12 hours later. The pH will be higher at the second reading because the excess CO2 has been off-gased. There are other gases which are overpressured also. Hence the reason for the concern of gas bubble disease if large water changes are made without any splashing at all.

Another reason that Tom Barr surmised and then tested practically (I was able to duplicate this) is to show that atmospheric CO2 concentration in general is higher than in water. Hence the reason for lots of surface agitation rather than less agitation when no CO2 is injected. The way to test this is to "age" tap water by circulating it with a powerhead or airstone for 24 hours so that the gases are at equilibrium. Then remove a large portion (say 50%) of water from the tank and then refill without without any splashing to create bubbles or introduce other gases other than what the plants have touched in the atmosphere. If you fill slowly enough with the water not splashing, you'll see that the pearling occurs mostly above the waterline of the wc. Tom's assertion is that it's the atmospheric CO2 that the plants are getting access to. It's also this reason why the dry start method works so well.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

RE: Pearling and plant health.

To the OP, pearling does not always equate to a balanced tank, good growth or anything. It's just one indicator. Factors which can contribute to little or no visible pearling could be lower light intensity and slower CO2 injection rate, leading a very balanced tank; it could be a lot of flow in the tank, not allowing the bubbles to collect. It could be fish which are very active, once again not allowing the bubbles to accumulate. Plus a myriad of other things. I have a tank that's pearling like mad that has BBA (indicator of insufficient CO2 for the lighting). Another tank that is growing excellent with no pearling, no CO2 and very low light that produces tons of plants, and everything in between. Every setup is unique and using the outcomes achieved by others or their photos could end up leading you down a path to an algae nightmare or a tank full of dead fish when you come home from work.


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## aqua59 (Nov 9, 2011)

Thanks again for the great input. My conclusion is that my tanks are doing just fine. The colors of the plants are both vibrant greens and reds. Just no pearling.. Yet.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Post pictures


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

aqua59 said:


> Thanks so much for the in depth answer. That is what I needed to know. Obviously you've given me the optimum time frames for CO2 . O2 usage. What happens if the CO2 is left on 24/7. Mine is,as well as my air stone.I have a CO2 bubble ladder. It's located in the upper right hand part of the aquarium,near current and plants. My plants seem to be thriving. Thoughts?


The theory is...... Plants take in Co2 when the lights are ON. When the lights are OFF they dont so you are wasting Co2 if you dont turn it OFF at night. Plants take in oxygen at night/Dark so adding Co2 into the tank at night can starve the plants and fish for oxygen. Now I havnt read if you have pressurized Co2 or not but since you are using a bubble ladder im going to assume you have a sugar yeast setup so you CANT turn it off at night. Running a air pump at night like you are doing is a good idea especially if you cant turn off your Co2. Running an air pump at night will help keep a balance and it will also help with Ph Swings on injected or yeast Co2 setups.

As for running an air stone in the day. The bubbles that are hitting the surface are actually breaking down the Co2 you have in your water. So your air stone is working against your Co2.

If your tank is doing fine than IMO I wouldnt touch anything. These are just suggestions and things I have read or tried on injecting C02. I just figured I would answer a few questions that got missed. You have had a few good explanations on here from other members.

Good luck with the tank!


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## TheBigCheese (Oct 1, 2012)

2wheelsx2 said:


> RE: Pearling and plant health.
> 
> To the OP, pearling does not always equate to a balanced tank, good growth or anything. It's just one indicator. Factors which can contribute to little or no visible pearling could be lower light intensity and slower CO2 injection rate, leading a very balanced tank; it could be a lot of flow in the tank, not allowing the bubbles to collect. It could be fish which are very active, once again not allowing the bubbles to accumulate. Plus a myriad of other things. I have a tank that's pearling like mad that has BBA (indicator of insufficient CO2 for the lighting). Another tank that is growing excellent with no pearling, no CO2 and very low light that produces tons of plants, and everything in between. Every setup is unique and using the outcomes achieved by others or their photos could end up leading you down a path to an algae nightmare or a tank full of dead fish when you come home from work.


Yes you are correct, and Yes, they are a lot of variables involved and a lot of "What Ifs". 
Optimal... OPTIMAL.. pearling, we're not talking about off gassing from water changes, or any other what ifs, requires:

A) High oxygen saturation in the water surrounding that specific plant. 
B) Co2 to an optimal level in the water surrounding that specific plant (1 of 3 for Healthy plants) 
C) A consistent and balanced source of Fertilizers for plant nutrient uptake (2 of 3 for Healthy plants) 
D) Lighting at an optimal level to balance the CO2 and Fertilizer intake (3 of 3 for Healthy plants)


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## aqua59 (Nov 9, 2011)

Thank God it just boils down to simple science. Thanks again for the in put. I think the route of don't fix something that's not broken is the route I'm going. In each of my tanks I have vibrant plant growth and color. I have a lot of Java Fern and Anubis, they never seem to pearl.


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