very sudden java fern die off, plz help
- Thread starter hmt321
- Start date
Just curious, why such heavy water changes?
I have 2 19 watt CFL's over my tall 20g tank....which is quite a bit of light. I do 25% water changes every 2 weeks and add a capful of Fluorapride. My java fern on the bottom has multiple leaves approaching 12-inches.... and one bunch growing right at the top has short leaves, but 12 inch roots. There's a bunch of community fish in there, and I use a cannister filter, so there is almost no evaporation or surface agitation.
I have 2 19 watt CFL's over my tall 20g tank....which is quite a bit of light. I do 25% water changes every 2 weeks and add a capful of Fluorapride. My java fern on the bottom has multiple leaves approaching 12-inches.... and one bunch growing right at the top has short leaves, but 12 inch roots. There's a bunch of community fish in there, and I use a cannister filter, so there is almost no evaporation or surface agitation.
well, i used to have water quality issues (never could get the amonia down) so i got used to doing the bi-weekly waterchanges. I have good filtration now but i kinda got in the habbit, also I am under the impression that more frequent water changes are better (as long as the water is conditioned)
Well, java fern is pretty resilient. By the looks of yours, even though the leaves are browning, the roots still look very healthy. They are long and have those bristly hairs which means they are in good condition. Leave some of the browning leaves for a few weeks and see if they sprout seedlings. After most of mine darken, they start spawning seedlings like crazy. I've got too much java fern already.
Someone else may have to chime in about excessive water changes. If your levels are all near zero, there's no reason to change. When nitrate starts building up, its part of their diet. Maybe try backing off on water changes & hold your nitrates around 30ppm.... see if the plants respond. You said you had water problems in the past...since plants feed off that excess ammonia and nitrate, they may be starving. Instead of purchasing stuff, I'd just back off on the water changes. 25%/week is healthy for a normal tank. My tanks with plants get 25% every 2 weeks.
Good luck.
Someone else may have to chime in about excessive water changes. If your levels are all near zero, there's no reason to change. When nitrate starts building up, its part of their diet. Maybe try backing off on water changes & hold your nitrates around 30ppm.... see if the plants respond. You said you had water problems in the past...since plants feed off that excess ammonia and nitrate, they may be starving. Instead of purchasing stuff, I'd just back off on the water changes. 25%/week is healthy for a normal tank. My tanks with plants get 25% every 2 weeks.
Good luck.
