Plant turning brown.

[djdestructo]

I am not sure what kind of plant this is, I forgot to take a picture of the name while at my LFS. I planted it last Sat, and almost instantly (next day) I noticed that the leaves were turning brown. I am not sure if the plant is just adjusting to its new home, or if light or ferts are to blame. Any ideas?

Lighting
Aquaticlife T5 HO 48"
11 Hours a day.

CO2
Pressurized CO2

Substrate
Eco-Complete (80lbs) (with root tabs through out)

Ferts
Seachem Flourish once a week after water change.

 

[jasonG75]

Most plants have a die off when they become submerged. You see at the plant company plants are typically grown emersed, so now that it is completely submerged it has to acclimate.

Dont worry just yet. Crypts are the worse, its called Crypt Melt.

First things first you might wanna tone down the lighting period (photperiod) or you're going to be growing more than plants. How many inches is your light from the substrate? Whats the dimentions of the tank?

 

[djdestructo]

The tank is 75gal, the light is on the legs provided so I would guess about 22 inches or so.

 

[jasonG75]

I honestly think the photoperiod is TOO long, most Hi-Tech systems run 6-8 hrs.

( 2x54W T5Ho) + 1 24" 39w T5HO (7am-8am) 1
Then I run my T8's (2x15w) from (8am-11am)
( 2x54W T5Ho) + 1 24" 39w T5HO (11am - 2pm) 3
T8's (2x15w) from (2pm-6pm)
( 2x54W T5Ho) + 1 24" 39w T5HO (6pm - 8pm) THEN LIGHTS OUT. 2

 

[jpappy789]

I agree with Jason. It's not out of the ordinary to see a die off when plants are trying to adjust to new conditions, especially if going from emersed to completely submerged conditions.

That's a pretty decent amount of light, so personally I would start thinking about dosing more than just Flourish comp. That really only helps with micros, not so much NPK (the macros). I would suggest going with dry ferts, which you can find on quite a few sites online, and are much more cost effective than anything bottled. There are several different dosing strategies. Probably the most common and effective for your setup would be EI (estimative index) which essentially comes out to trying not to limit the nutrients at all. There are suggested dosing and target levels posted in the sticky here as well as numerous other planted forums. But when it comes down to it you can always tweak to fit your plants' needs.