Java ferns not well in discus planted tank

[wickerman]

Hi
I have a low light (1.5wpg) planted discus tank,kept at 85f.(NO CO2)

Before it was a discus tank,the same plants where kept at 76f as a community tropical tank.

Since the discus set up im now Useing 100% ro water,which then i add RO right too,to get my GH back up to 2gh.
Then i add ph stable to raise my KH

Now my problem is....my java ferns arnt doing very well (see pic)...thay are going brown and holes are appearing in them.

Could this be a nutrient deficiency ??

The RO right contains traces and twice a week i add flourish.

MY n03 is 10ppm p04 is 1ppm

should i BE ADDING k?..but bearing in mind this is a low light tank.


OR.....could this be due to the rise in temp from what thay have been kept in 76f to 85f?

also is it safe to add K to a discus set up?

MANY THANKS

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[fresh_newby]

They first need to be cut back. Those leaves will not repair, so let the energy from the plant go to making new leaves, not trying to keep the poor ones. Secondly, the temp change may have sent them into shock. I am assuming that you turned up the temp. And IMO even with 2wpg, you will likely have to add some Potassium. I know Discus keepers that dose EI for Macros and Micros with no trouble to the fish.
Keep us posted.

 

[echoofformless]

I had java ferns (and all other plants) not doing well in a 5g tank once, in which there was plenty of light and I was using the exact same water as every other tank where the plants were thriving.

I ended up testing almost every parameter known to mankind and nothing was different in any significant way from my other tanks.

So I'm not saying this is the case, but sometimes sh-t happens. No explanation...no reason. Plants just decide to melt away and die off.

But I will say that I believe r/o water is not the best choice for a planted tank. (Or for any tank that isn't a reef or a breeding tank for that matter.) Maybe you should reconsider it and just go back to tap water or a mix of the two. (Unless your tap water has something very wrong with it?)

 

[wickerman]

echoofformless i have NO3 out of tap at 10ppm...and what with discus messy feeding, my nitrate soon goes over 10pmm in 4 days(with usein RO)..and thay dont like it much over that...so its best to start with 0ppm.
Think im gonna cut them back and see what happens
thanks

 

[echoofformless]

Actually the 10ppm of nitrate is no worse than my tap water - and with lots of plants I end up with 0ppm within days. I would honestly suggest more plants and using plain tap water.

 

[JJman]

I too, have problems growing java fern in my discus tank. I have about 200 W over a 125 gal tank and the temperature is ~82-85F. I can grow difficult plants like L. pantanal and L.cuba just fine and bright red. But the darn "easy" plant like java fern just won't grow. Sorry I can't help you here, but maybe someone has the answer.

 

[echoofformless]

I too, have problems growing java fern in my discus tank. I have about 200 W over a 125 gal tank and the temperature is ~82-85F. I can grow difficult plants like L. pantanal and L.cuba just fine and bright red. But the darn "easy" plant like java fern just won't grow. Sorry I can't help you here, but maybe someone has the answer.

I just chalk it up to good ol' "sh-t happens."

 

[icecubez189]

maybe 1.5wpg is still too bright with java ferns. bright light will cause the leaves to "burn" or become transparent, but im not sure if thats the cause here.