Plants dying - need some ideas

micron929rr

micron929rr

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Jun 14, 2006
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OK A few months ago I removed the UGF from my aquarium because I could not filter the water that well. Plants were growing like crazy w/o the addition of any ferts. Well, since the UGF was removed none of the plants seem to be doing that well and most have died off. The Amazon Swords are still alive and fairly green but not growing at all. I have tried seachem flourish and small doses of ferts. I am using two aquaclear 500 filters and also a hot magnum micron filter (which i was not using before) Could this be causing my plants to die by removing something from the water? I have a 125 gallon tank. I am not using, nor was I before, using any type of CO2 injection. Please help!! Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

The plants were growing like crazy in the UGF...I was not using any type of foam filter at all...just using the gravel as the filter and cleaning accordingly. So could it be the micron cartridge killing my plants? Or the lack of nutrients being pulled thru the roots of the UGF? I have even placed fertilizer tablets near the roots with no luck
 
I bet it has more to do with aerobic and anaerobic changes. But we need more information like how much light, what is in the filters etc. Pretty much if you want to grow plants they need ferts and they need a source of carbon. I fought with that idea for years but it really isn’t worth it.

Sometimes you can get away with low light plants and weekly water changes depending on what is in the water in the first place. Usually you still need to add some ferts. I find that kind of tank at some point crashes.
 
Well I have a 450 watt lights running 6700K bulbs...run for 10 hours day...
nothing in filters except for foam filter and ceramic stones for biological growth. That is it really....I have plenty of light for the plants....use ferts....all the same things except im not using the ugf anymore....when it was removed it seemed that the plants just started dying off....wish i never took it out...plants grow great with them :) from my experience. Water quality and tests are exactly the same. Could it be the micron filter taking something out of the water? Maybe I will try removing it and just running a sponge filter in my Magnum HOT instead of the cartridge.

PS I cant even get the water sprites to grow now....before they were growing outside of the tank!!
 
Seems to me about ten years ago there was a raging debate about UGFs. People were running them backwards and forewords and claiming that with out one you were doomed. Heaters were being stuck in the tubes and claims were made that this was even better than substrate heating coils. Whole dissertations were written on convection currents and plant nutrients.

Anyway, I think you will need the ferts and the co2 in the end. Read the stickies they are very helpful.
 
Yeah, but I just dont understand why I had none of that before with the UGF and all was working great. All I can say is that the UGF is definately a huge benefit with live plants. I believe it carries the nutrients down thru the gravel to the plants rooting systems.
 
I tihink Ergo hit the nail on the head. Removal of the UGF cause the plants to go into shock (root starvation). Yes, with all detritus laying under the UGF, the roots were going like crazy (fat city). Healthy roots, healthy plants. Don't gravel vac the tank for a few months and let that richness develop down there. You will start to see growth again and it will very slowly increase. CHECK OUR ROOT STRUCTURE.

Your tank sounds like it has been around for awhile. It's been my experience that plants create their own environment. That environment has been altered. It will come back quicker if you cut back on your filtration (no hot magnum & no powerheads) for a a couple of months and let the plant environment be established, then gradually increase filtration (Magnum first). Continue sechem and ferts. Be patience. You know how slow we grow.
 
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OK I will try that out...do you recommend I start a DYI CO2 injection? Or just keep using the SeaChem Flourish....does it do the same thing? I tested my ph and kh last night and my KH is low, which is probably another reason the plants aren't growing.

It just doesn't seem like flourish is doing the trick...maybe Im wrong. My ph is 7.1
 
I also wanted to mention that my water sprites are dying off too....shouldnt they be the easiest to keep? They used to grow out of the tank before!! Amazon swords are still alive, just not growing anymore....what other plants could i use?
 
450 watts of light over a 125 gallon tank is a huge amount of light. I would venture to guess that your plants are starving to death.

With the UGF a lot of mulm is trapped under it. This was feeding the plants. Remove the UGF and the mulm goes away.

Take a few minutes and read my Guide.
Get CO2 started. And DIY is not going to work on your setup.
Get some fertilizers. Flourish is a great trace element additive but contains very little in the way of macro nutrients.
Cut back the lighting to around 250 watts unless you want to switch to a reef tank.
 
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