Annoying plant death

[Tachometer]

I've been running my 30 gallon planted tank for about 3.5 weeks now, and things are doing pretty well...but not as good as I want.

I'm using a medium fine gravel substrate with flourite mixed in the bottom layer. I need to do a water test again (and will tonight) but so far, so good...no ammonina, PH is roughly 7.6-7.8, with extremely soft water (naturally that way from the tap). For lighting I am using two "generic" home depot 24 inch "aquarium plant lights" rated at 18w a piece (I wish I knew more about them...but they were so cheap and easy to install...). Filtration is a Penguin 170 and a Fluval 104 (with peat moss in one media tray...I got that one running yesterday).

I ordered the "easy life" 20/30 gallon setup from www.azgardens.com and so far most plants have been extremely happy. However...I am running into some annoying problems that I can't quite put my finger on.

The cryptocoryne walkeri don't seem to be very happy. Some of them are showing relatively good growth but some have a high level of leaf death. The leaf will begin to discolor and within a day or so the leaf and stalk will have turned to mush on the bottom of the tank.

I've fertilized weekly with the Kent stuff (Freshwater Plant Supplement, Pro Plant, Black Water Expert...all in the "starter" kit) and used them according to their directions.

The corscrew vals aren't doing terribly hot either...but everything else seems to be doing just fine. Doh!

Any thoughts? I'll do the full gambit of water testing tonight and post my results.

Tachometer

[gidget21]

for my plants i use hagen plant grow my plants grow like weeds with the stuff but you do have to test your iron after awhile to make sure the levels stay acceptable.:D

[Starry]

Originally posted by Tachometer

The cryptocoryne walkeri don't seem to be very happy. Some of them are showing relatively good growth but some have a high level of leaf death. The leaf will begin to discolor and within a day or so the leaf and stalk will have turned to mush on the bottom of the tank.


Ahhhh, good old Crypts. They do that. In fact, it seems to me that that's mostly what they're good for. It's ok though, they will grow back, leave them alone. They don't like to be fussed over and it takes them a while to adjust. Mine has been in there for almost a year and it still melts every once in a while, though not as bad as when I first planted it. Don't worry bout it.

[Tachometer]

Well, after looking at the tank pretty deeply last night and this morning (**** but those plants grow FAST!) I can see the Crypts starting new leaves. It's a bit annoying...but I hear what you are saying.

Thanks for the advice and experience! I appreciate it.

Tachometer

[carpguy]

With your current lighting you have just over 1 wpg (watt per gallon). Try doing a search for "low light" crossed with "Plantbrain" (or just clickhere (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=21223&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending) ;) ). Lots of good info. I'd start there and move on to here (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2529). You'll have to tackle ferts, some basic chemistry, and a few other odds and ends if you want to do plants well -- ain't no way around it. The advanced stuff is for the hopelessly curious, but the essentials are essential.

Somewhere in my wandering I came across a tidbit on why crypts seem so temperamental -- its a survival strategy. If the water conditions are not to their liking they just shrivel up and die… or rather, they stop doing things like growing and photosynthesizing and conserve all their energy in that thick tuberish root of theirs. (You may notice trees doing something similar). The feeling I get is that they can be a little tricky to grow, but that they're hard to kill. I've read posts where folks have reported them dying back to nothing and then reappearing months later. They do like stability, so they can have bad reactions to things like being replanted or being mailed. Wouldn't worry too much.

HTH

[punch]

same with the corkscrew val, just give it some time, before you know it they'll take over the tank. They as well need an adjustment time.

[Tachometer]

The Crypts are now seriously bouncing back. All of them have new leaf growth. The ones that are getting the most direct light have much darker leaves growing in too...which gives a nice visual effect.

These are the current water conditions:
PH: 7.0-7.2
Amm.: 0
Nitrate: 0
KH: ~36 ppm
GH: ~45 ppm

The tank water is slightly more acidic than tap. Tap is slightly softer and has trace nitrate amounts. So far, so good!

I may not be getting enough light in there but since everyone else seems happy, and since the Crypts are bouncing back I'm not going to mess with the lighting. I know running a planted fishtank requires never ending fiddling...but I'm going to let it run for another week before doing anything serious.

Well...maybe get some more fish!

Thanks for the advice everyone...all is good!

Tachometer