View Full Version : help my plants to be happier!
I have a 29g freshwater community tank that has been established for over a year. The substrate is small gravel. I have several live plants: jungle val., swords, water wisteria, red lud., java ferns, and some other misc. I add fert.(contains iron) to the water after each water change.
My jungle vals. and swords are slowly dying (turning brown at the root crown). Is there anything that I can add to the substrate that would help? I do not want to add CO2.
djlen
05-06-2003, 11:41 AM
What is your lighting situation? What is the fertilization you are using?
Vals like a little more light than some of the other plants you have posted. Swords are heavy root feeders, but I have some that are doing great without root tabs.
Len
okay, light is 20 watts, I know that's low but that's what came with the setup.
fert is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Leaf Zone
TwoTankAmin
05-06-2003, 1:14 PM
Start by trippling the light over the tank- shoot for about 60 watts total. Next, try adding some root ferts- I use Jobes Fern/Palm Spikes cutting them in 1/2. (Use house plants ones if f/p not avail.) I also use AP Plant Tabs w/ Iron.
Beth, you really do need to increase your lighting. At the very least to 40watts. Most people with live plants use the rule of thumb of 1watt/gal. 60 would be better, especially for the Vals.
You could use root tabs as mentioned above. I personally don't like them or use them. There are many ways you can go with fertilization depending on how "high tech" you want to get.
If this is just a casual hobby for you, you need to increase your lighting and get a good all purpose fertilizer or combination of fertilizers. SeaChem makes a good line of ferts. Your plants need good lighting and N, K, and P (Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphates) and a light dose of Trace minerals occasionally. It's not as complicated as it sounds and you'll see a big difference in your plants.
Len
Skittyfish
05-06-2003, 3:18 PM
DjLen is right. I have added another 40 to my 72 g tank..now have 150 watts total and my Val is just now looking like it is supposed to.
Okay, let's make sure I got this right. My light fixture is only rated for a puny 20 watts so I need to get a retrofit kit (I see ahsupply comes highly recommended on this board). So, I order to kit for the single 55 watt bulb (that's all that will fit in my enclosure). What bulb would you recommend? FWIW, I have Lowe's, Home Depot, and Petsmart nearby.
Thanks!
nvision
05-07-2003, 2:51 PM
beth, ahsupply sells compact flourescent kits, why not buy the bulbs from them also? i think they sell it rather cheap. i'm not sure home depot or lowes would carry the light you're looking for (cf bulbs for the ahsupply kits). the hds around my area don't carry anything other than wimpy 9w cf bulbs for desk lamps.
Yes, nvision is correct in his recommendation. When you order the retro fit, order the bulb with it. To my knowledge, this is the least expensive route for you.
This will give you just under 2watts/gal. and should make your plants very happy. Then all you need is a good all purpose fertilizer, maybe some Traces and this will balance you out nicely.
Len
Thanks, guys! Now, to get the proposal approved by the spousal unit! Maybe I can request it for Mother's Day!:D
Tell the spousal unit that djlen says, "get up off your wallet!!!"
Yeah, that'll work!!
:p
Len
Yea! Just got off the phone with hubby, he says order it!:D :D :D
He is too good to me! (I can say that since he's the only one actually bringing in a paycheck!)
Got to get my credit card out and get ordering!
Oh Beth....I just noticed you're from Kentucky....oh my dear lord, another one from Kentucky.
Keep us posted on how it's going.
Len
Skittyfish
05-07-2003, 7:22 PM
Len...I'm gonna get you!
yea, I know, we don't wear shoes or have indoor plumbing down here. But we got good fried chicken!:p
plantbrain
05-07-2003, 9:43 PM
Since you don't want any CO2, you want stay around 40-60watts. A 29 is fair long vs the single 55w PC bulb. 2 or 3 20w lights might be better if you stagger the design placement.
They sell those stick lights, 20 watts and simply making a thin wood box to house these in might work well.
I'd get a 5000K and 6500K 20 w light and maybe a Triton bulb.
That's be cheap, look nice.
One thing you might want to work on here is the substrate. Non CO2 tanks generally need more of it. Deep is good. I go with 4 inches generally.
I use flourite or onyx in all my tanks, CO2 or not. You can use soil, kitty litter or profile but each has it's drawbacks and pluses. I've used every one of them. Cost is the main issue with the flourite but the long term usage pays for itself IMO and many others.
I find this especially true with the non CO2 tanks I have.
New plant folks succeed well with the flourite and I find it to be the best thing out there and it's simply to use. 3 bags will run about 40-55$.
Replacing the substrate is a big job that folks generally don't like to do.
But the end result will be better for the long term if you do not want to use CO2 or Excel.
I'd remove all the dirt from your existing gravel bed, save this, decant off the clear water and add this mulm back into the new gravel later. Also, add about 1/2" layer of ground peat to the bottom substrate layer and mix. Then cap this with 3 inches or so of flourite etc. This will help your tank and plant roots get started well.
Once you do this, you'll _never_ need to anything else to the substrate though...............something to think about(or not think about:-).
I don't recommend water changes either, except on pruning days/big cleaning and then only right after the cleaning etc. Just top off the tank for evaporation.
A fair amount of fish is good, but plenty of algae eaters are needed to have a good looking non CO2 tank. Shrimp(Amano) and SAE's, etc are very good.
I don't add any traces etc to the water, just once a day fish feedings.
Also have some floating plants, around 10-25% of the surface. These don't have any CO2 or light issue and can stabilize a tank well even if the submersed plants are not doing well.
Now you can do just one or all of these but if you do all of these suggestions, the long term effect should please most all folks and will only get better with time.
This require little work and you get a nice looking tank to show for it.
Another thing, when ever you set up a planted tank, add as many plants as will fit.
I was born in Lexington, KY.
Regards,
Tom Barr
TigerCrane
05-08-2003, 1:49 AM
Great tips plantbrain, I'm gonna use that peat/flourite mixture for my 10 gallon.
OFFTOPIC (sorry), hey DJLEN, are you actually a DJ?
TC - Yes.
Oh no, another Kentucky person.....this is becoming and epidemic!!!
Len
TigerCrane
05-08-2003, 7:54 PM
Ah cool, I'm a DJ too. I have been learning how to skratch for the past 2 and a half years...I mostly mix funk/reggae/hip-hop.
Wow! Plantbrain, you really gave some nice suggestions! I think I'll wait on changing the substrate for now...I do have about 4 inches of gravel and don't want to tackle a major project like that at this point. Once I get the lighting fixed up, I'll add some new plants and see how things go.
BTW, I lived in Lexington (well, okay...Nicholasville) for 4 years before moving here 3 years ago. I sure miss it!:(
Skittyfish
05-09-2003, 8:17 AM
Beth--I live 75 miles from Lexington. There is not much choice here. If I want anything special I have to have it ordered, or order for myself. I could drive to Richmond or Berea, but that is still a pain!
And every time I hear someone wanting to keep a bass all I can think of is how good that would taste!:D
CrohnieBoy
05-19-2003, 11:00 AM
Just wanted to chime in and show my support for fellow Kentuckians. :)
Seems that Kentucky should be know for horses AND fish. ;)
Ordovician
05-19-2003, 12:17 PM
Originally posted by djlen
TC - Yes.
Oh no, another Kentucky person.....this is becoming and epidemic!!!
Len
LOL..........We are invading.
Just wanted to give everyone an update...for those who are interested.
I got my 55 watt retrofit light kit in last week (from ahsupply---I'm quite satisfied!) and hubby installed it (with installation help from another thread). Wow! What a difference! I also mixed in some laterite with my gravel and added a root tab fertilizer along with the liquid fertilizer that I had been using. I bought a bunch of new plants (anarchis (which is a tasty one for my fish:( ), cabomba, water wisteria (or maybe water sprite, I think it was mislabeled) dwarf hairgrass, and some more red ludwigia)--spellings are not guaranteed!
So far, everything has been in place for 6 days and things are looking pretty good. Gotta' get in there today and replant a few stems that didn't hold. My jungle vals are showing healthy new growth, as are my amazon swords.
Thanks for all the help, everyone!
KY rules!! :p
Ordovician
05-19-2003, 1:06 PM
Do you have to go to Evansville to find a good pet store or do you have one in Henderson?
Gotta' go across the river:rolleyes:
There's not much good in Henderson in the line of shopping for anything---we don't even have a Super Wal-mart yet! (Although we may be getting one by next year:D )
I usually get my fish and aquarium supplies at Petsmart in Evansille, although there is a halfway decent locally owned petstore in E'ville that I have purchased a few things at (their fish only have a 24 hr. guarantee:eek: ...Petsmart guarantees theirs for 14 days!)
Ordovician
05-19-2003, 1:25 PM
I was in Harps Pets last Saturday. It seemed OK, but its on the Northeast end.....might be kind of hard for you to get to.
Harp's was the place I was talking about. It is really easy to get to...just across from the mall...41 to Lloyd to Green River.
There's also an OK place in Owensboro...about 30 minutes away from me. I think it's called E &L Pets...not positive about the name.
What brought you to my neck of the woods?
Ordovician
05-19-2003, 2:56 PM
Wedding in Oakland City. i grew up in the southern IN area lived in Mt. Vernon, Jasper, Washington, and oakland City