Feel like a failure

[ib4walrus]

Nothing I've seen to do allows me to grow plants. My anubias were doing well until recently where all the leaves start to become brownish and transparent from the edges working in. The stems of the plants when first got them were straight and hardy and after a week or two in my tank they all wilted and some have detached themselves from the plant itself. Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong?
10g regular substrate
15w 5500k Zoo Med Tropic Sun
Dosed API Leaf Zone when I got them and then weekly
Have been adding ammonia since I am doing my cycle (first time fish/plant owner)

I've posted here with similar problems before and it seemed like it was going well since then until I touched the rhizome and it basically "fell apart," it was mushy almost.

I've been reading about the OTS thread and would tht be a possible culprit? I have absolutely no idea was is wrong and bought anubias (not cheap for me =() since I believed they were extremely hardy. I have a driftwood in there which has been leaching some tannins. My nitrate and nitrite are very high and ammonia is always 0 after a day of dosing. pH about 6.8 (from ~8.0 from the first time I filled the tank up). Hardness is about 300ppm.

I really do not want to result in using plastic plants :help:.

[Mgamer20o0]

how long are yo keeping the lights on for? i would move them to the wood. the way it looks the top of the leafs are not getting light. maybe add more light too.

[ib4walrus]

I keep it on from when I go to school at 6 AM to 4 PM when I get home. There is also one that I have on the wood and its leaves are gone also. The 15 watts fluorescent isn't enough for anubias even? Any suggestions on cheap light additions? Currently I have an AGA Single tube light.

[Mgamer20o0]

how old is the bulb?

[ib4walrus]

About 3 weeks I think.

[AshK]

Where did you get the anubias?

[ib4walrus]

I bought them from http://www.marinewarehouse.biz/indexa.html my lfs.
The anubias seemed to be in good shape when I first bought them (from what I would think), the leaves were green and tough and the stems did not bend and were straight for the most part.

[bluekrissyspike]

how much ammonia are you adding to the tank?
it might be the lights. you could get a spotlight type lamp with a 15/25 watt bulb aimed right into the tank. i can only grow some low light plants in my ten g with 30 watts on it.

[srcfx]

Don't give up. I spent years and much $$ killing plants. Thats was before I found smarter and wiser people on the internet. How old is the tank? What else is in the tank? You don't use UV filter, do you?

I have heard that some plants lose leaves when placed in water with a different chemistry or when grown above water and then submerged. Give them time to grow back.

I'd definately try adding another light, as has been previously suggested. I use a 14w spiral on a 5g planted tank. It's got java fern, dwarf sag and duckweed (I think) doing very well. My 14g (esentially a 10g with and extra 4 on top) has 28w 65k light. It's plants are also doing well. I don't have any anubias these days tho. I seemed to only grow algae on them.

I found what worked for me was going "El Natural" (Not me, the tanks silly). I don't try to use the fancy stuff (substrates and ferts) anymore.

-steve

[mellowvision]

my guess is the amonia

[happybob59]

Man when I first started I was throwing away money like a crazy Ninja into plants that would die a week later...and if I'm not mistake, which I very well can be, if you add another light you are going to probably want to add CO2 as well

[Star_Rider]

your Anubias may have a couple things going on.. first.. it may have been grown as a emerged plant.

I have some in a 29 with a freakin 20 watt bulb(actually 18) sand it is growing like gangbusters(for a low light plant)

you plant may also have been grown submerged in a tank with high light.. and it is adapting.
it also looks like the plant may have suffered frost damage... were these shipped ? in an insulated container with heat packs?
are they grown locally? and stocked at a store?

[shawnhu]

:iagree: Frost damage.

[ib4walrus]

Thanks for the relies guys, I'm really trying here.

I'm not sure about the frost damage, the plants were in the planted tanks in my lfs. The lights they used looked like overhanging lamps so not sure about the lighting (if I recall correctly they also had vals and maybe cabombas in the same tank).
I was worried that there was no CO2 in the tank (I've been using the same water since I first started the tank at the end of Jan.). Only topping off when needed.

And for the ammonia, I thought that it wouldn't affect it since the plants use ammonia as a fertilizer?

Kid in high school so I can't keep making costly mistakes :(. I'm contemplating on whether it is necessary to buy a 36 watt ah supply if all I really want to grow are seeming "low" to maybe "medium" light plants (not a necessity).

[bluekrissyspike]

plants will use some amonia but it will still hurt them if the level is too high.

[bitbot]

I was worried that there was no CO2 in the tank

There will always be some dissolved CO2 in the water, which will be replenished by exchange with air at the surface. There would probably be enough CO2 in your tank, given that it doesn't look heavily planted.

[inkyjenn]

try upgrading your lights. get the compact fluorescent bulbs out of the walmart fish department. they screw right into the incandescent fixture of your 10 gallon stock hood. they are FANTASTIC and cheap.

[robott]

ok. this is just what i've picked up from reading other threads/forums. i hear that anubias often loses all it's leaves in a new tank, and then grows back. also the rhizome needs to be above the subtrate. it looks like you've done that though. and you said it felt mushy? i wish i had more to offer, just getting into plant myself.

[ib4walrus]

Well I have the AGA fluorescent strip light that I bought that didn't come with this tank I found in my house and I don't think I can just screw in bulbs though. What would be the best way to get extra lighting in and what is the amount of lighting I should be aiming for that (for the most part) would not necessitate the use of CO2? I have about $70 to spend on lighting and for future plants right now. Right now I have the 15w strip light and just placed my desk lamp aimed into the aquarium at the side for temporary measures.

Ammonia I usually only add in 1-2 mL which raises my levels to around ~3-4 ppm. Should I lower the dosages?

[Cory Keeper]

yes, much lower, 3-4 ppm is a little too much ammonia, just 1 ppm should be fine.

[avionics30]

Without your water parameters, everyone is just guessing. If you could, please post the following test results:

GH
KH
Nitrate
Ph
Phosphate

Your lighting should be fine with low light plants. By looking at your plants, it seems that there is an iron deficiency. Your tap water may not offer enough iron and the supplement that you are using doesn't either. Leaf Zone has more micro nutrients than macros and the micros are in low concentraions. Check out the iron content. It's likely .10% or less.

Get me those readings and I may be able to offer more suggestions.

Best wishes!

[avionics30]

yes, much lower, 3-4 ppm is a little too much ammonia, just 1 ppm should be fine.


These levels of ammonia are fine for cycling a tank with nothing in it, but not for a stocked cycle.

Best wishes!

[ib4walrus]

From the kits I have, I can only provide (just tested):
total hardness - 250 ppm
alkalinity - 80 ppm
pH - ~6.8
nitrate - ≥200ppm
nitrite - 0!!
ammonia - 0

[avionics30]

Your water seems fine. Something else that I have heard is that anubis will lose all it's leaves and then they will grow back.

[wesleydnunder]

Your water seems fine. Something else that I have heard is that anubis will lose all it's leaves and then they will grow back.

Since anubias can be grown emmersed, I've heard that many wholesale growers will produce it in this much cheaper way. I've had anubias which were grown in this manner shed their leaves and replace them with immersed leaves much like you described.

Mark

[ib4walrus]

I hope that's what my plants are doing, just losing leaves in order to adapt.

My nitrogen cycle will be nearly done in a day or two. Should I first find upgrades to my lighting? I've searched for upgrades and ones I have in mind is either the Coralife 20" 28 watts or the Current USA 20" 40 watt models. I know that my lfs has the Current USA for $69 and not sure if they have the Coralife which I think is around $44 (online). Should I just get the Current USA? Overkill?

I've been waiting since the end of January when I had first set the tank up and finally I might be able to stock my tank once I get past this plant obstacle.