wagonman Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 since starting my tank i have always had a problem of the outside edges of the leaves on all my plants turning black, can anyone explain how i can maintain my plants so they look healthy and actually grow. im going to rip them all out and start again so any ideas on easy plants that grow easily would be helpfull. i have an aqua one ar-850 with three lights in the hood and they are on a timer for 12hrs a day and the tank has no direct sunlight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 What are the plants that you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonman Posted January 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 What are the plants that you have? i dunno the name but here is a pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishkeepa Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 black beaqrd algae on the edges? that happens to me a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 AR850 is 82x44x58cm, 155 Litres right? the lighting looks a bit dim try to aim for at the very least 1watt per 2 litres which would properly be all the tubes. if all the tubes are standard then one of the tubes would be around 14000K, a blue/purple color which is useless for growing plants. whats the other two tubes? and how old are they?. good lighting is a must for growing plants with out it everything else u do is just a waste of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 BBA is an ass. Its caused basically by imbalance. In an estbalished aquarium the plants will suck up the excess nutrient before the algae has a chance. As soon as the algae has a chance, it'll pop its head up. Thread algae likes to grow where there is water flow and its close to the lights, so plant leaves and filter pipes etc are common homes. First think about that wood you have in your tank. Is it actual driftwood or is it rotting? I put in a cool stump in my tank, and within weeks I had thread algae taking over the tank, it was rotting and providing a lot of excess nutrient. Also do a large water change to reduce the available nutrient, and clean out the gravel etc. Second, instead of fighting the excess nutrient you can have your plants use it instead. To do this you'll need CO2 and possibly stronger lighting. Thirdly, get a siamese algae eater, they love it and will eat it like a cheesecake at The View. I've also heard the more commonly available Flying Fox works too but it seems 50/50 with regards to those who say they do and those who say they dont. Do not confuse the SAE with the chinese algae eater which doesn't eat thread algae and will suck on to your fish like lollipops. If you wish to do the latter, I've made a system for under $30 that gets my plants pearling I am using 5 T8 fluoros though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 I have some BBA on the driftwood in my tank. It is no where else in the tank, because the rest is plants :lol: I had some hair algae growing on some marbled sword leaves not long ago aswell so i made sure i remembered to dose the ferts each day, and i also dosed a little bit of flourish excel each day aswell, and it has seemed to have cleared up well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Oh yeah I forgot, thanks evil, Flourish Excel works in the same way the CO2 does, both are methods of getting carbon to your plants, so Flourish Excel is a good way to help reduce hair algae by increasing plant growth without providing extra food/light for the algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonman Posted January 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 AR850 is 82x44x58cm, 155 Litres right? the lighting looks a bit dim try to aim for at the very least 1watt per 2 litres which would properly be all the tubes. if all the tubes are standard then one of the tubes would be around 14000K, a blue/purple color which is useless for growing plants. whats the other two tubes? and how old are they?. good lighting is a must for growing plants with out it everything else u do is just a waste of time. yes you are right one of the bulbs is a bluey one and the other is 10000k, cant see the k rating on the 3rd, i am waiting for mastertrade to open back up so i can go get 3 6500k/8000k daylight bulbs. bulbs have only been going bout 2 months. Is it actual driftwood or is it rotting? it is a bit from the fish shop, this is the second tank i have done and the first tank i had the same problem without the driftwood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Both the Ludwigia repens and Hygrophila look like they are suffering fome being grown emersed and having to convert to submersed growth and also from lack of light. the ludwigia is small and not red and the huygrophila leaves are small and yellow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonman Posted January 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Both the Ludwigia repens and Hygrophila look like they are suffering fome being grown emersed and having to convert to submersed growth and also from lack of light. the ludwigia is small and not red and the huygrophila leaves are small and yellow. both plants when brought were green leaved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 yes you are right one of the bulbs is a bluey one and the other is 10000k, cant see the k rating on the 3rd, i am waiting for mastertrade to open back up so i can go get 3 6500k/8000k daylight bulbs. bulbs have only been going bout 2 months. IMO that should do the trick, it looks to me u its just lack of lighting as i dont see any sign of BBA. if u have BBA u will know it as its not a subtle algae and for some reason always around the heaters if u get them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonman Posted January 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 so the plants are stuffed arent they? im not going to fix them with new bulbs aye? will buy sum new plants when i get bulbs next week. thanks for the help every1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 so the plants are stuffed arent they? im not going to fix them with new bulbs aye? will buy sum new plants when i get bulbs next week. thanks for the help every1 nope not at all. in fact i will leave them in and if they dont come right with the new lighting then its something else. i've bought plants on line that showed up in alot worse condition then that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonman Posted January 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 well i went to 5 different shops today and they had the bulbs i wanted for $8 but only 2ft (my bulbs are about 2 1/2ft ) went to the petshop and they had them but only 18000k and $30 so after a debate with the shop assistant about the k rating (trying to tell me 18000k was better than 6500k) i left tubeless dang it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 What are you phostphate levels ? as this can be the course the algae. Looks like you dont have enough light so the plants will not have enough energy to grow and use the po4. As mentioned it is the imbalance of nutrients in your tank. I would change 50% of the water weekly and only use ro or di water as tap water contains too many nutrients. best to use 80% ro/di and the rest can be topped up with tap water as ro/di take too much out and is sterile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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