so i think i have a 30g tank, with 2 german blue rams, about 16 rummynose tetras, and 4 panda corys. i had stock lighting for all this time, and got some java fern and java moss. the moss never grew, just collected algae. the java fern would be constantly growing new little ferns, but they NEVER get large.
i finally got sick of the dull lighting, and also i wanted to grow plants. so i got a finnex ray (planted?) light for my tank. i also bought bacopa (caroliniana) and pogostemon erectus. ive only had the new lighting and those new plants in the tank for a few weeks. the LFS owner said that with this lighting, im going to need flourish. so i dose about half a cap every week or so (but i also do weekly water changes). i do not dose co2 and i dont plan on it. i was basically just trying to move a step up above having moss or ferns in my tank.
(please click images to enlarge)
here you can see the leaf starting to break in half and browing of edges of leaves
here you can see the browning and thinning of the leaves
the bottom is clearly rotting away...
as with the last two, they also are browning and dying off.
so what am i doing wrong here? as you can see the sand substrate is covered in algae as well, as long with the plants. i heard doing too much (or is it too little?) fertilizer will cause more algae? should i just do a blackout for a few days? will the plants be ok that way? regardless..how can i get these plants to grow healthier? and what are the proper techniques for .. i guess, multiplying these plants? with the java fern, new ferns would just grow on a dead leaf, and i would just take that and let that new fern grow. how does it work with stem plants?
p.s. just for added fun..heres a couple pics of my tank about a week and a half before the pictures i posted above were taken. (notice the bacopa looking healthier when it was newly introduced into my tank?)
i finally got sick of the dull lighting, and also i wanted to grow plants. so i got a finnex ray (planted?) light for my tank. i also bought bacopa (caroliniana) and pogostemon erectus. ive only had the new lighting and those new plants in the tank for a few weeks. the LFS owner said that with this lighting, im going to need flourish. so i dose about half a cap every week or so (but i also do weekly water changes). i do not dose co2 and i dont plan on it. i was basically just trying to move a step up above having moss or ferns in my tank.
(please click images to enlarge)
here you can see the leaf starting to break in half and browing of edges of leaves
here you can see the browning and thinning of the leaves
the bottom is clearly rotting away...
as with the last two, they also are browning and dying off.
so what am i doing wrong here? as you can see the sand substrate is covered in algae as well, as long with the plants. i heard doing too much (or is it too little?) fertilizer will cause more algae? should i just do a blackout for a few days? will the plants be ok that way? regardless..how can i get these plants to grow healthier? and what are the proper techniques for .. i guess, multiplying these plants? with the java fern, new ferns would just grow on a dead leaf, and i would just take that and let that new fern grow. how does it work with stem plants?
p.s. just for added fun..heres a couple pics of my tank about a week and a half before the pictures i posted above were taken. (notice the bacopa looking healthier when it was newly introduced into my tank?)