my 180, 6 x 2 x 2 foot, has issues. im guessing its a lighting issue due to the height of the tank but am unsure. i have 5 tubes over it, 38w 38w 38w 40w 25w, 4 are tropical sunlight tubes and the 40w is a flora grow tube. i have nutrient clay balls which i push into the gravel by the roots of the plants, and i dose with plant food maybe twice a month, whichever one i happen to grab and usually dose every other water change.
my problem is, the plants do really well for the first few weeks of adding them, the wisteria in particular thrives, grows huge, bushes up lovely, then all of a sudden the bottom leaves start to brown and get covered in algea and then they all fall off leaving a bright green tiny sprout of new growth at the very top and a bare 1.5foot stalk-not a good look. ive been taking them out, cutting them right to the top sprout and re-planting, to have them do exactly the same again.
then theres the one i know as 'baby tears', its a stem plant, grows like a weed, i swear if i sat and watched i could see it grow, but it reaches the surface and grows out across the surface, starts to grow up above the surface of the water, all good, but the stuff still under water gets covered in thick algae, almost black, and then it starts shooting off roots from the top parts down into the water which also get covered in this dark algea growth. its like dark brown/green/black tufts.
my fountain plants, very little growth out of these they are about 6 inches tall, they too are covered in this dark tufty algae, if i scrape it off the plant is still nice and dark green under it but im guessing they arent thriving in these conditions.
i also recently picked up some vals, which have started to twist so im guessing twisted vals, when i had these in my smaller tank they shot up to over 2 feet long, were huge and did amazingly well, in this tank, they barely grow, theres one right in the middle of the tank which is doing the best buts its not doing much, it just isnt dying off which at this point is a plus.
i have what i think are some crypts too, they do thrive, they occassionally loose the odd lower leaf which will slowly die off and turn yellow then brown but 99% of each plant is lush green, but they dont have the height i want in the plants in my tank.
any ideas for what i can do to get the tall plants i want, that will thrive in my tank. i dont use CO2 as i have lots of fish and darent incase i manage to kill them off plus i cant afford to set-it up either. thanks for reading my essay!
my problem is, the plants do really well for the first few weeks of adding them, the wisteria in particular thrives, grows huge, bushes up lovely, then all of a sudden the bottom leaves start to brown and get covered in algea and then they all fall off leaving a bright green tiny sprout of new growth at the very top and a bare 1.5foot stalk-not a good look. ive been taking them out, cutting them right to the top sprout and re-planting, to have them do exactly the same again.
then theres the one i know as 'baby tears', its a stem plant, grows like a weed, i swear if i sat and watched i could see it grow, but it reaches the surface and grows out across the surface, starts to grow up above the surface of the water, all good, but the stuff still under water gets covered in thick algae, almost black, and then it starts shooting off roots from the top parts down into the water which also get covered in this dark algea growth. its like dark brown/green/black tufts.
my fountain plants, very little growth out of these they are about 6 inches tall, they too are covered in this dark tufty algae, if i scrape it off the plant is still nice and dark green under it but im guessing they arent thriving in these conditions.
i also recently picked up some vals, which have started to twist so im guessing twisted vals, when i had these in my smaller tank they shot up to over 2 feet long, were huge and did amazingly well, in this tank, they barely grow, theres one right in the middle of the tank which is doing the best buts its not doing much, it just isnt dying off which at this point is a plus.
i have what i think are some crypts too, they do thrive, they occassionally loose the odd lower leaf which will slowly die off and turn yellow then brown but 99% of each plant is lush green, but they dont have the height i want in the plants in my tank.
any ideas for what i can do to get the tall plants i want, that will thrive in my tank. i dont use CO2 as i have lots of fish and darent incase i manage to kill them off plus i cant afford to set-it up either. thanks for reading my essay!
