Plants dying. Don't know why

[SnakeIce]

More light depends on how much you want to do to keep on top of nutrient dosing. Algae occurs when some nutrient is depleted, what kind of algae depends on the nutrient. But all the same it does seem like you could go with a bit more light and have more options plant wise. Some of the plants you tried may not have gotten enough light and had the nutrient deficiency problem on top of that.

When I had two 18" t8 plant bulbs over a 20 tall I could grow a quite limited number of plants. I'm happier with the options I have with two 24" t5 high output bulbs over a 20 long. The height of the tank is another matter though. I like the light, but the short tank makes trimming needed more often. It is a learning curve though, because with more light deficiencies happen faster and so do the problems. It is rewarding though to see the plants respond to proper dosing.

 

[WailuaBoy]

I think it looks like it was over fertilized

 

[myswtsins]

According to Hoppy's light chart a single T8 with white reflector at 12" is about 40 micromols putting that fixture in medium light. Now I use his charts as a guide not an end all be all. I would still consider this low light but good low light, call it low-med. But I see that fixture sits right on the rim so how deep is your substrate? Cause that makes the distance even less putting the light intensity higher.

You're current light should grow java fern, anubias, Java moss (maybe other easy mosses), low light crypts and easy stem plants like water wisteria, hornwort, anacharis etc. without any problem. And there a lot of different java fern, anubias and crypts varieties to work with. All with little effort on your part, maybe even just weekly dosing and water changes.

What are you trying to grow? How much time/effort were you looking to put into the tank? What's your water source and it's parameters (ph, gh, nitrates etc)? When you added those other ferts how did you add them and at what ratio?

As far as if the green temple looks like a deficiency or an overdose is a hard one, the signs for those actually look very similar unfortunately. First thing to do is put that light on a shorter light schedule, 6hrs minimum to 10 hours max. As mentioned a timer is cheap and easy, also the room light will not affect the aquarium plants.

 

[dougall]

What are you trying to grow?

This!

I don't see where you said what plants had failed in the past, It is entirely that you were trying to grow plants that were not suitable for the environment.

I would go with mosses, ferns, anubias and buces for now, all are low light, snd should serve you well.

 

[fishorama]

I think you need a timer as others have said. They can be cheap, maybe $6 or so. If you want to see them in the am you can set the time for a couple hours then off while you're work or school, then on again for a few more hours. Anything more than 8 hours can cause trouble like algae & bleached leaves. I shoot for 6 or 7.

There's nothing wrong with trying plants that need higher lighter light or co2, some may be ok. But be prepared for many to die or become "leggy" (plants stretch up toward light, longer stem between leaves & lowest leaves die).

But if you want to avoid that, try plants in the low to medium light range; ferns, mosses, anubias, most crypts... but few stems & even fewer "ground covers" will grow well. You can still have a pretty planted tank & much less stress, lol.

 

[p0tluck]

i have a similar question but my light fixture is a led 48" with 8 whites, 4 blues , 2 color enhancing and 2 HI DEF red, i only have anubias and 3 swords, would i be okay with this light fixture to grow these plants

55 gallon , 48" elive led.