Plant help

[shrimparecool]

Hey everyone,

My plants are looking a little sad in my tank and I can’t figure out why.

They’re in a 25 gallon bowfront with a finnex 24/7+ light. I’ve kept the light on MAX just about every day to make sure the plants are getting enough light. I ordered Thrive fert and added the recommended amount about two days ago after the weekly 20% water change. Some of the plants are still yellowing. Some of them seem to have some brown algae on them. Any thoughts?

Fish: 8 harlequin rasboras
1 betta
At least one red shrimp. Maybe a few babies in there.

Thanks!

 

[dougall]

Brown algae will come, and it will go by itself eventually too, you should be able to wipe it off too if needed.

thrive dosing, is just a suggestion, you likely need to do more or less depending on the needs and the amount of plants

test your water, especially for nitrogen compounds (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)

watch the amount of light, and the photo period, instead of being on all day, have 4 hours on in the AM, 4 hours off, then 4 hours back on, you likely don't need it to be at maximum either.


but doesn't look too terrible to me, just wait a bit, check for new growth, not necessarily existing growth because plants may have been grown emersed, not submerged,

 

[shrimparecool]

Thanks!

Since I’ve got the finnex 24/7+, it’s got the fancy daylight program. It runs through the day and automatically dims.. maybe I’ll try to actually use that.

Some of the plants have a little new growth, which makes me optimistic. The whole setup is still fairly new, so maybe that’s why the algae is going a little nuts. Seems like it happened overnight haha.

 

[dougall]

I do love the colors given off by the 24/7 light... I wasn't so much of a fan of the fact that the first edition never actually went completely off.

But see how it goes, take photographs at the same time each day (if you are using the light cycle thing) to see how your tank progresses and be able to look back to see what has improved and what has worsened.


and look for a plant group in your area (or any fish club) if you can, it can be a great source of advice and free stuff too!

 

[shrimparecool]

I do love the colors given off by the 24/7 light... I wasn't so much of a fan of the fact that the first edition never actually went completely off.

But see how it goes, take photographs at the same time each day (if you are using the light cycle thing) to see how your tank progresses and be able to look back to see what has improved and what has worsened.


and look for a plant group in your area (or any fish club) if you can, it can be a great source of advice and free stuff too!

I’ve looked for groups and haven’t had any luck

Most people around here have saltwater tanks I think... there’s only one LFS that sells freshwater.

 

[dougall]

I’ve looked for groups and haven’t had any luck

Most people around here have saltwater tanks I think... there’s only one LFS that sells freshwater.

Where are you located? (roughly) I imagine that someone may be able to help.

there are a number of clubs listed on the AGA web seite too... https://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/links.html


hope that helps.

 

[shrimparecool]

I’m in Wilmington NC. Thanks I’ll check out that website when I get a chance!

 

[dougall]

Just off the top of my head, there is a club in Raleigh, but likely a little far.