What else can I do to make my plants look healthier?

[Brennos]

Hey all.

I am starting to try and get a little more serious with my plants.

So far I have Nutrafin co2 (diy style but easier) and dose 1ml of flourish Exel daily, and 2 ml of Flourish Comp twice weekly. I do a 30-40% water change weekly, turn on the air stones at night, and remove co2 at night. I am looking at co2 injection soon, and PMDD of trademe to replace the Flourish comp.

Just recently, 2 of my plants have appeared to start dying. How often, and how much should I be pruning from these plants? The E. Uraguayensis has recently (last 2 days) started getting brownish leaves. Not all of them, but some, are these old leaves that need pruning, or signs of something more sinister? and by sp. Microfolia has started dying, but only one plant, is this one a dud? or again, something more sinister? any help and guidance would be much appreciated.

PICS:

[phoenix44]

JBL balls should help.

Uruguaensis is not particularly easy to grow, so definitely help it out by giving it a JBL ball and a root tab if you have to.

[SamH]

Your plants look fine, aside from dead leaves in Sag. Just pull them off, it'll be all good

HTH

[phoenix44]

The Uruguaensis is anything but fine.

It could be converting from emersed to submersed, but usually at that size they are grown submersed.

[alanmin4304]

They are minute with a roundish leaf when emersed.Echinodrus sp. completely reroot when transplanted. That is---all the existing roots will die and it will grow new roots, so will therefore go through a dormant period until re established. The Sag could be converting or the setup may be short on potassium.

[Brennos]

I'm adding potassium nitrate, so I hope potassium isnt the issue?.

I'm off to HFF tomorrow to get some JBL balls. Do I need to trim off the dying leaves of the uruguayensis and sag?

Lighting is 2x 20w t8's and 2x18w pl tubes, which probably isn't ideal, but its the best I have to work with at the moment. I dose with Potassium Nitrate at the moment, my nitrates are up around 15ppm right now, due a water change tomorrow, hence the high reading. I am going to purchases some PMDD next week, to replace the flourish. What else?

[alanmin4304]

Emersed growth on Sag is spade shaped so they are not emersed. It would pay on the Sag but leave the sword for a while as it will still be supporting the plant for a while. Remove them when obviously dying and the plant is a bit better established. Once established uraguayensis will grow very rapidly in the right conditions even though they can take a while to get established.

[Morcs]

generally give plants a month to establish themselves. this can involve appearing to die like mentioned.

a lot of sources also suggest no ferts until they are established, but dont know the truth in this.

I like the airstone at night idea, but that means your wasting co2... and unfortunately theres not really a way to regulate it to shut off or lower the feed at night... I just tell myself that all that extra co2 going into the water and being left unused at night gets used up during the day :lol: could be true though?

[alanmin4304]

You can put a solenoid on a pressurised system to turn it off when the lights go off but on a DIY you would have to divert it I guess, or it would blow up your supply bottle.

[SamH]

Just add a two way gang valve. Have the line to the CO2 open during the day and close the other one. At night, close the one leading to your aquarium and open the other one. It will stop CO2 entering your tank and stop pressure build up, if this makes sense. Or else you could just have fighting fish in tanks with CO2, they can breathe atmospheric air :lol:

HTH

[Navarre]

Why bother will the CO2 from a DIY drop pH that much nocte?

Will mean that your H20 will be saturated (relatively) when the lights come on.

Nav

[Rob]

Why bother will the CO2 from a DIY drop pH that much nocte?

Will mean that your H20 will be saturated (relatively) when the lights come on.

Nav

I suspect the concern is the possiblity of decreased oxygen levels when the lights are off and waking up to fish gasping at the surface (since once lights are off, the plants start consuming oxygen and giving out CO2).

[malevolentsparkle]

(since once lights are off, the plants start consuming oxygen and giving out CO2).

not really true, plants comsume oxygen and give out CO2 ALL the time, not just at night. at night they just stop turning CO2 back into oxygen, but they never use much oxygen, even at night.

[Brennos]

I added 02 overnight for 2 reasons. One, to agitate the water, and to try and give the plants a chance to get some 02. its not to do with my fish, as the tank is rather understocked, and I don't think the o2 levels ever get that low. Secondly, I added the 02 to try and combat Cyano, as many sites suggest o2 rich water to get rid of it. The DIY co2 set-up is temporary at the moment, hence why I'm dosing with excel as well, I am saving for a decent co2 set-up as we speak.

If What I am doing is wrong, please by all means advise me of it, as I am still rather noobish when it comes to plants.

[Joshlikesfish]

O2 all day help? My cyano is a pain in the....... Just took out all my plants, going to remove all i can see, throw away bad plants and put goodens back in

[Brennos]

I usually clean the cyano off with my fingers, and vacume what I can see off. So far the potassium nitrate has worked for me (thanbks john , day 5 and still no cyano. If you want, I can drop you off some kno3, but you will need to score a nitrate test kit (and test properly, unlike me who had a 60ppm spike because I didn't use the test kit correctly)

[Joshlikesfish]

I'd really appreciate if you could give me some KNO3. I'll look for a test kit on TM now =]

[Brennos]

Let me know when you find one, and ill see when I'm heading past your place next time. If it's late, i might just pop it in the letter box, in a small box.

[Joshlikesfish]

Just use one of those little bags like you get when you buy dairy lollies haha.

I'm pretty low on funds atm. Have cash set aside for a filter but will look for the cheapest test kit i can get

[Brennos]

I wouldn't dose with out one TBH. I think they are under $20 for a new one from animates.

[John Rimbauer]

I usually clean the cyano off with my fingers, and vacume what I can see off. So far the potassium nitrate has worked for me (thanbks john , day 5 and still no cyano. If you want, I can drop you off some kno3, but you will need to score a nitrate test kit (and test properly, unlike me who had a 60ppm spike because I didn't use the test kit correctly)

Excellent to hear you've cracked the cyano issue.

[Brennos]

Excellent to hear you've cracked the cyano issue.

It's better, I did a inspection before, and there is still a little attaching its self to the tips of my sag, and a little around the base of the uraguayensis, but ill vacuum that off tomorrow and do a 40% water change and add kno3. cheers for all your help mate.

[Brennos]

I added API Root tabs today, and did a water change. Will wait a while, and test all parameters, and add KNO3, and flourish excel. Hopefully the plants respond to the root tabs. I also pulled out the dead sag, looks like the cyano was the culprit there, as there was a lot on there.

[phoenix44]

The API tabs are great. Just make sure they never come in contact with the water in your tank directly! (apart from when you plant them). Will cause MAJOR algae issues. Great for growing green water though.

Keep us updated though. To get nice looking plants, usually lighting is the first thing I recommend looking at, and then ferts.

[Brennos]

What sort of lighting would you recommend, wattage and tube style. Remembering my tank is 570mm deep.