dying plants

[Nicole29]

My plants are all dying, I've bought new substrate (Amazonia) and dry ferts but they haven't arrived yet. If these plants have holes in many of the leaves should I just toss them or is there any chance of saving them??

Also some of my Echinodorus leaves seem very transparent (no holes though), is there a chance at saving them too??

[Hound]

To be honest I think your going to have to give a bit more information first. That is what is your aquarium size and lighting? How long are the lights on per day? What are you using to fertilize? How long have you had plants in your aquarium? What kinds of plants do you have? If your tank hasn't been planted long you can generally expect some die off when you first plant your aquarium. Crypts are sometimes notorious for this.

[Mgamer20o0]

Hound is right we need more info. i have seen some plants that i was ready to toss come though in the end. so its possible they will make it. but i cant say anymore without more info.

[Nicole29]

well they are in a 33 gallon tank, with about 56W of light (12 hours a day). I bumped up the light to 71W when I set up my DIY CO2 to try and help growth, but have turned the CO2 off until I received my ferts. So I dosed with Excel Fluroish and an All plant supplement, oh I also put some root tabs in for a while but had a major algae outbreak so I took them out. I've had the plants for about a month now.

I just received my Aqua Soil and ferts today, so I'm gonna go set that tank up now (another 33g). I plan on having 71W of light over that tank, with CO2 and dry ferts now. Is it worth moving the plants over to this new tank or should I just get some new ones?

Is there anything else you guys want to know.

[Starry]

If these plants have holes in many of the leaves should I just toss them or is there any chance of saving them??

Also some of my Echinodorus leaves seem very transparent (no holes though), is there a chance at saving them too??

You should definitely keep all the plants for now. The holes that have appeared will definitely not close up and heal themselves, but any new growth will turn out healthy if there's enough light and nutrients. Once you have healthy growth, you can trim out any parts that don't look good. It's very rare for a plant to actually die, and any little bit can give rise to healthy new growth if the conditions are right. A bigger problem is algae - you should remove any leaves that are covered in algae.

[girthvader]

trim off all the leaves that have holes and are transparent. If you dont the plant will use all of its energy trying to repair them, and your new growth will suffer. Trim them back and the plant will start shooting up far more rapidly. It sucks I know, but it will grow back in nicely once you are dosing them. It will just be a little bare for awhile. but for the better in the long run.

zig.

[Nicole29]

ok thanks

i have a question about ferts though, I was going to use the following in these doses

1/4 tsp KNO3
1/8 tsp of K2SO4
1/6 tsp KH2PO4
3/4 tsp MGSO4
-1/8 tsp CSM+B

do those look ok? How do I actually dose them though, do I dissolve them in water first?? If so how much water would I use and would I use tank water or tap water that has been dechlorinated? Thanks

[phanmc]

1/4 tsp KNO3 2-3x a week, every other day
1/16 tsp KH2PO4 2-3x a week, every other day
1/8 tsp CSM+B 2-3x a week on alternating days of your macros
3/4-1 tsp MGSO4 after water change

K2SO4 may not be necessary, KNO3 and KH2PO4 may supply all the K you need. Though I don't see any problems including it.

You don't need to dilute it in water, just add them directly to the tank. Your fish trying to eat the dry ferts won't harm them either.

[Nicole29]

ok thanks

are there any extra test kits that I should get as well? right now I have the basic NH4, NO2, NO3, pH, KH and GH.

[djlen]

Nicole - don't forget to do a regular 50% water change weekly. If you do that there really is no reason to test your parameters in the tank. It would be good to know what your tap is giving you with regard to N and P, but that's up to you.
phanmc as given a nice light dosing regimen to you and by doing the water change every week you will be assuring that no harmful elements will build up in the water table.
I would just leave all the leaves where they are and when they are ready to be pruned off you should do it at that time. With proper dosing new leaves should come in nicely for you.

Len