Aquarium plants dying

[Fishie boy]

Hi guys,

I recently started a planted tank, but the plants have now started to die. Im not sure why? They are all slowly turning brown/clear from the bottom up and then disintegrating
Ammonia and nitrites are 0, nitrates are 20
The plants are planted in 2” of Tropica soil and I dose weekly with a liquid fertiliser
Photos of some of the plants are below

 

[dougall]

What light are you using? Over what tank?

 

[the loach]

I can't really tell from the 1st picture, but are those floating plants?
Check the pH and KH.

 

[Fishie boy]

What light are you using? Over what tank?

Im using a 7W white and blue LED on a sunrise/sunset timer, with a max intensity of 85%. The tank is a 20l cube

 

[Fishie boy]

I can't really tell from the 1st picture, but are those floating plants?
Check the pH and KH.

Yeah the first ones are, but I think they might have been damaged by the light. The ph is 6.4, not sure what the KH is

 

[the loach]

Floating plants are unlikely to be damaged by light unless they physically touch it, but in general you either choose for floating plants or submerged aquatic plants, you can't have both like you do they take away the light and nutrients for the other plants.

 

[dougall]

Im using a 7W white and blue LED on a sunrise/sunset timer, with a max intensity of 85%. The tank is a 20l cube

Watts do not really indicate how much light there is, just how much power the light will use to run.

I will say that more light couldn't hurt, so turning it up to full would be an ok thing.

Where possible try to get plants that have been grown submerged, or have been submerged for at least a couple of weeks.

Finally, try to seperate the plants before you plant them.. don't put all stems into the same part of the substrate; make sure there's room for light to get down in there.

 

[WilliamBowman]

Yeah the first ones are, but I think they might have been damaged by the light. The ph is 6.4, not sure what the KH is

KH is basically the buffer capacity of the aquarium if KH above 50 ppm helps prevent a sudden drop in pH. KH (carbonate hardness) is an important energy source in the nitrification cycle of microorganisms consuming ammonia and nitrite. In addition, carbonate is used by plants to photosynthesis without carbon dioxide.

 

[dougall]

I think he was saying that he didn't know the value, rather than the definition

 

[itsethan]

Chances are that there is nutrient imbalance inside the tank. Check for the same esp. iron.