My Crypt keeps melting..

[Jag1980]

My plant keep melting..
It starts to grow back and gets a few leaves and then it melts again..
Any ideas as to why? It never has a chance to grow nice because of this.

Could it be sensitive to other roots that may be touching the roots of this plant or something?

Or water changes pouring in to close to the plant?
My tap is about 7.6 to 7.8 and my tank water is 6.4

 

[7itanium]

what is causing that huge drop in PH between tap and tank? I know a drop is expected but that seems like a big drop to me... your not using buffers are you?

 

[Jag1980]

Co2

 

[mellowvision]

excel?

 

[coach_z]

lack of ferts? plantgeek.net states crypts like a nutrient rich substrate

 

[nickmcmechan]

try using root tabs that contain N and P

 

[fishorama]

I had a crypt that also melted after water changes. Smaller changes & root ferts helped a lot, but moving to a different tank fixed it.

 

[crimsonmoon]

if you aren't moving it around a lot then i would guess that it is the big fluctuations in ph. they require a pretty stable setting to do well

 

[coach_z]

what is your tanks PH at night? i found some info on crypt melt and crypt rot and it appears to bef rom parameter changes. if your PH goes back up ~1 at night it might be best to do water changes before your lights come on.

 

[jmhart]

I've never heard of this being a problem, but it could be:

Many people suggest that crypts grow best on wood/rocks where the roots are loose. A lot of us grow crypts in AS, Flourite, or other rock like substrates. Could the sand be too compact for the roots to grow properly?


Also, what is the temperature fluctuation during a water change? It's likely that TDS doesn't change much, so I wouldn't be concerend about pH fluctuation. If there is a sharp change in temp of the water directly pointed at the crypt, that could be the culprit.