What else do my plants need?

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aparker2005

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Apr 15, 2007
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Hey everyone. Am update on my 55. My plants are growing wonderfully. Wisteria is bunching up, swords and Java Fern are sprouting new leaves, and my cabomba has reached the top of the tank.

However with this good news, I'm also having trouble. My wisteria leaves fold down after about a week or 2 on the ends. My cabomba is super green at the top bottom and new shoots, but all the middles are brown. I also have a few small holes in my sword.

What am I missing here? There seems to be plenty of light reaching the plants.

I'm wondering about dry ferts. Should I switch, do I have to mix these or can I just measure and throw in the tank from the bag?

My current setup for reference is :

Lights are CFL 55w 6500k x2 so 110 total watts over 55g. Lights are on 5 am to 9 am, 5 PM to 10 PM.

Ferts are Flourish excel daily. Comprehensive and tetra flora pride twice per week, and Root tabs from Peabody paradise. They are the ru tabs, and the boost versions. Thanks and here are pics for reference.

 

Byron Amazonas

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Jul 22, 2013
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Byron
What is the GH of your tap water (or the tank water, which presumably will be the same)? My first suggestion is a deficiency of "hard" minerals, which prepared fertilizers like Flourish Comprehensive will not supply sufficiently if the water is very soft. I have the same issue.

Byron.
 

aparker2005

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Apr 15, 2007
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I don't have a gh test kit and our water office doesn't have it listed anywhere :/

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aparker2005

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Apr 15, 2007
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And if it is a hard mineral lacking, what do I get to supplement it?

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Byron Amazonas

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Jul 22, 2013
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And if it is a hard mineral lacking, what do I get to supplement it?

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You should ascertain the GH first, as you don't want to be wasting money and adding substances unnecessarily, and while I do see some evidence of calcium deficiencies it is not easy to diagnose plant issues with symptoms so often similar. Calcium deficiency for example also looks the same as excess iron, and if that were so it is a very different thing. Can you call the water authority and ask about general hardness? Or if they have a website, post the link and I'll try to track it down, it is sometimes "hidden" in other data.

If you do need to increase the GH, next consideration is the fish. You don't want to be causing difficulties for certain soft water fish by increasing the GH beyond what is necessary. Calcium for example is known to get taken up by the kidneys (the prime task of fish kidneys is to remove all mineral salts from the water that is continually entering the fish via osmosis through the cells) and can cause blockage leading to death with no external symptoms whatever. But having said that, and depending upon the GH now, increasing it to around 4 or 5 dGH will be sufficient on both counts. I use Seachem's Equilibrium in three tanks for this (the large swords in these tanks will not last if I don't, so this shows the importance of sufficient calcium in particular, as I also use Flourish Comprehensive). Another product is Brightwell Aquatics' GH booster, not sure what they call it, but they manufacture a liquid product. And now Seachem have a new line out called AquaVitro, and there is a liquid GH booster in this line. I would prefer the liquids as they do not temporarily cloud the water, but I use the powder Equilibrium because it is much less expensive in bulk and I have to watch my spending.

But I really would want to know the GH before we go down this road, as we might be dealing with another issue. Something that I do wonder about is the high intensity of the light, and the present nutrient supplementation not being equal to the task.

Byron.
 
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