Corkscrew Val. dieing....Please help

maverick2402

maverick2402

AC Members
Feb 19, 2005
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Deptford,NJ
:sad I put some corkscrew val in my tank on monday and they appear to be dieing off.All my other plants seem to be taking ,but not the vals.I started the tank up 2 weeks ago.I have Eco-Complete as the subrtrate,a 65w Satellite compact light with 10000k bulb that I run for 12 hrs and I have been adding Flourish Excel for 3 days now.I was wondering if anyone had any advise on what to do.I was wondering if maybe they need more time to establish in the tank than the other plants.
 
Hi,


Is your tap water hard or soft? Mine is EXTREMELY soft and noticed that vals were sort of melting---I had determined that it may be a calcium deficiency and added some crushed coral to the filter and all was well---

I hope this helps.
 
What size tank is it? You mention the wattage, but knowing the watts/gal. would help. Also knowing your water's kH.
If you have soft water, try adding some Mg(epsom salts, at your local pharmacy). They like and use a lot of this element.
I have trouble keeping them under control in one of my 55s, with only 2watts/gal.(CF).
Once established they can get really invasive.

Len
 
My corkscrew/spiral val is not doing well either.

When I first got it, it completely died/melted (brown goo) for about a week and a half. Then it did grew back and looked great for about 2 weeks. Now, all the leaves turned red and fallen off.

I am currently fishless cycling right now. I have DIY CO2.

No fish yet, just ammonia from the bottle.
Substrate: silica sand
Ammonia =1.0
Nitrites=4.0
Nitrates=vary between 7 and 15 daily.

None of the other plants in my tank seem to have been affected much and are doing OK. The val is going through these wild swings and doesn't look like it's going to grow back this time....help!
 
I would try adding 1tsp. of Mg now or at your next water change when you dose your tank.
Speaking of which; what are you doing about nutrients? Are you dosing anything besides the Excel?
Also, what type substrate are you using?

Len
 
Excel is the only additive that I am putting in the tank.Do you suggest I add any other nutrients.I am using Eco-Complete as a substrate that is about 3 inches thick.I have a container of aquarium salt,is that the same as epsom salt?
 
maverick2402 said:
Excel is the only additive that I am putting in the tank.Do you suggest I add any other nutrients.I am using Eco-Complete as a substrate that is about 3 inches thick.I have a container of aquarium salt,is that the same as epsom salt?
Click to expand...

No, aquarium salt is not the same as epsom salt. You can purchase epsom salts from your local pharmacy.

Epsom salts are actually MgSO4 . 7H2O (magnesium sulphate heptahydrate)
 
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