Dying plants because of gravel?

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maronov

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Dec 14, 2006
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New York, NY
I got some hardy, low light plants (basically water sprites) recently, and they are browning and look like they are dying off. My lighting is adequate (40W fluorescent bulb for a 5.5G tank), and I have flourish tabs in the gravel (it's about 3mm in size) and use small daily doses of flourish for trace nutrients. I think the problem may be the gravel. I read that gravel that isn't "lime-free" can cause problems, and the gravel I have doesn't specifically say that it is lime-free, but I'm not sure if this can be an issue big enough to cause dying plants. I also have a couple of java ferns attached to a piece of driftwood that are doing fine, which also makes me suspect that the gravel is the problem. Can it be? And if not, what could be the problem?
 

kjf91004

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Jun 4, 2006
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Is fluorish trace the only thing you are dosing? At that light level you should be sure to dose Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Also, a source of CO2 would give you the best results... no matter if you use Excel, DIY or pressureized CO2.
 

maronov

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Dec 14, 2006
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Flourish trace and the tabs in the gravel are the only things that I'm using, but if it's an issue of fertilizer, wouldn't this affect all my plants (the java ferns are not having problems)? Also, I don't see how too much light would cause plants to die.
 

fballguy

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Feb 27, 2006
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Too much light would hurt the plants because they would be photosynthesizing too fast for the amount of nutrients the plant is getting. You need to have a proper balance for plants to grow quickly. With that much light you are going to need to dose ferts pretty heavily, and for sure get CO2 in some form. CO2 will help you the most, and will help stop algae from growing.
 

maronov

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Dec 14, 2006
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This is all fine, but then why isn't this affecting my java fern?
 

webcricket

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Mar 22, 2006
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Compared to water sprite, the java fern is a slow grower. Faster growing plants are the first to show signs of deficiency.

What is your nitrate reading?
 

maronov

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Dec 14, 2006
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I don't have a nitrate test kit. So do you guys recommend that I get a less intense light? Or maybe just keep the light on less - I have it on 10 hours a day right now. I really don't want to mess around with CO2 for a 5.5G tank...
 

fballguy

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maronov said:
I really don't want to mess around with CO2 for a 5.5G tank...
What about a DIY CO2? You could probably use a 1 liter bottle for a tank that small and have plenty of CO2. Or if you don't like that idea, Flourish Excel is a source of carbon for plants.

I reccommend getting a nitrate test kit. Plants need nitrates, and in such a small tank they probably be bottoming out nitrates pretty quick. You will probably need to dose nitrates.
 
Last edited:

maronov

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Dec 14, 2006
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New York, NY
I guess I'll try using Flourish Excel and Flourish Nitrogen. I'm currently using 1ml Flourish trace daily - not overdosing, am I?
 
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