NormanE Posted May 4, 2021 Report Share Posted May 4, 2021 I'm looking for ideas about a problem that has emerged recently. I have a 5000 liter water system flowing through my tanks. Stocking levels are low, and water changes are done with rain water; so the tanks are soft and slightly acid, but only mildly so. My plants and fish grew like mad for about a year, and I also had a lot of very small snails. Then, suddenly, about three months ago the fish and plants stopped growing and the snails died. Needless to say that the fish which had been reproducing in the system, Swordtails, Platies, Kribs, and Angels all stopped breeding. Any ideas about what I should look for... or how to look for it? I'm guessing it's either some toxin, or a mineral deficiency (Calcium?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted May 4, 2021 Report Share Posted May 4, 2021 If the snails died the water is probably too acid and it is dissolving their shells. The plants will not grow in rain water as there will not be any nutrients. It may be that the nutrients in the base have been used up and need to be replenished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanE Posted May 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2021 Yes, Alan, that was my thought as well. When I saw the problem emerging I added plant tabs (quite a lot) around my most valuable plants... but they had no effect. That's why I'm wondering if there's one critical mineral missing. Unfortunately, the plant tabs I bought don't have their ingredients listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted May 5, 2021 Report Share Posted May 5, 2021 What lights are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanE Posted May 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2021 T5s. Six 1.2m tubes above each 2000l tank... It was plenty for the first year. But I do have low fish stocking levels, so not much biological replenishment for a large system. So I think I'll try a heavy dose of Flourish Advance in case it is a micro-nutrient deficiency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted May 6, 2021 Report Share Posted May 6, 2021 How long are the lights on, what type of lights and what is the depth of water.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanE Posted May 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2021 The lights are T5 fluorescents (ie high penetration bulbs to get the depth), water 1m deep, lights on14 hours per day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted May 7, 2021 Report Share Posted May 7, 2021 Sounds like the lights should be OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.