Plants committing suicide

jennfier

jennfier

..o0o..o0o..
Aug 22, 2006
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SW Ohio
www.aquariacentral.com
ok, maybe I'm just starving them. My head spun from all the lights, micros, macros, CO2, substrate, filter, pH, test kit issues that I just stuck my plants in and decided to wing it since I've seen 10g doing well with what I have.

Plants were pearling well for about 1 week after planting then quit when hair algae came about. I scrubbed things out, rubbed the leaves, did an 80% WC and they started pearling again for 1 day then quit. When it was pearling, Nitrate was 0. Now, it's 10ppm. (all else consistent at pH 8.4. Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0). Things like stargrass, ammania & ludwigia are slowly rotting away. No holes, just going translucent -> sludge. Others are just hanging on. Nobody is breathing. Small amount of hair algae on a few stems.

10g Seachem Onyx. Penguin 100 HOB. 2x20W 6500k. 12 hr light.
Planted about 11 days.
Daily since planted: Fluorish 1-2ml
Daily since 4 days ago: Excel 2-3ml (was 1ml for first couple days)

Plants:
Amaranth redroot (Alternanthera Reineckii Rosaefolia)
Star Grass (Heteranthera zosterifolia)
Corkscrew Vals (Vallisneria americana v. 'Biwaensis')
Dwarf bonsai (Ammania sp. 'Bonsai')
Creeping Moss (Vesicularia)
Ludwigia Repens
Dwarf Sagittaria (Sagittaria subulata)
Mayaca fluviatilis (Bog Moss)
Brown Wendtii Crypt (Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Brown')
Downoi (Pogostemon helferi 'Downoi')​

I'm going to do DIY CO2 today. Flying somewhat blind, is it just the macros I'm lacking ? Iron too maybe ? I'm going to get kh gh test kits. i may pick up phosphate, iron test kits and others too. Do I need root tabs ? Roots are not rotting, just leaves and stems.

Is it too late to resuscitate ? :read: :thud:
 
Have you tried dosing phosphate or potassium yet, if you have a shortage of these, the CO2 won't help, and may amplify the shortage... The plants need these as well as nitrate to grow..
 
That's what I don't understand about macros. Why are there potassium, phosphate, iron, magnesium, nitrogen in Flourish, considered micros, if they still need to be dosed separately and called macros ? Am I being annoyingly dense ? Hehe. :duh:

No, I haven't tried dosing phosphate or potassium but I'm trying it today, and holding off on CO2 then. I was considering another large WC just to see if the same thing happens. Then it must be some nutrient found in my water supply that the plants are depleting and needs to be replenished.
 
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Jennifer - you have a really nice sense of humor. It is appreciated!!:)
Now, here is what I see. You have 4 wpg over the tank and are not feeding the plants anything but Flourish which is your trace (micro) nutrients.
They need a balanced diet. Yes, N, P, and K, in conjunction with the traces you are dosing. You are pushing the plants with the light you supply and they have done well while the food stores lasted but now are running empty.
You don't need test kits as much as you need macros (N,P,K). You can buy them in liquid form for your tank and that should serve the purpose. In addition to Flourish for the traces, buy Flourish N, Flourish P, and Flourish K and dose as directed.
If you want to save some money you can buy them in powder form from Greg Watson.
www.gregwatson.com/
IMO, you don't need root tabs or extra Fe. You are getting enough of that in the trace mix.

Len
 
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