# Amazon Sword Plant melting



## Brad123 (23 Feb 2017)

Lighting on for 6.5 hours. Lights are 2 t8 18 watt and aquarienEco led.
Co2 nice green on drop checker.  Good water flow I think. 
Dosing EI.  Doing root tabs as well.
Ops for got to ask why is is melting?


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## Brad123 (23 Feb 2017)

Turn the pumps off and took this pic of a leaf





The plant have been in the tank for about 2 weeks


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## Soilwork (24 Feb 2017)

How long have the other plants been in there with them? Have you considered the possibility that you are adding too much fertiliser? 

Are you adding EI for micro elements too? I noticed some algae starting on the plant on the wood.  This could be another sign of too many traces.


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## Daveslaney (24 Feb 2017)

Do you have any Bristlenose or other plecos in your tank?


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## Brad123 (24 Feb 2017)

The plants on the wood have been in the tank for nearly a year the rest of the plant are the same time and are growing well. 
Yes am adding micro the amount it says to add.  Don't know much about Dosing to be honest.
Yes I do have a bristlenose pleco.


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## Daveslaney (24 Feb 2017)

More than likley could be the bristlenose grazing on the leafs. Mine do the same,For some reason they only do it on the swords.
Try feeding some algae wafers this seems to stop mine doing it as much.
The rest of your plants look fine so i suspect this could be the cause and your dosing is fine.


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## Brad123 (24 Feb 2017)

Thanks Daveslaney it dose spend a lot of time on one leaf all day (resting or sleeping) not sure what it dose when the lights go out.  Did feed it some algae wafers then change it when it finished.It dose not like the new food so might go bye the old one again and see what happens.


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## Brad123 (24 Feb 2017)

Soilwork said:


> Are you adding EI for micro elements too? I noticed some algae starting on the plant on the wood.  This could be another sign of too many traces.


Just been looking at my tank and have noticed the algae is also on the rocks a bit more than I remember. Could I be putting to much fertiliser in.  It a 125l tank and I dose 25ml of macro and micro 50% wate changer on weekend.  We have very had water in Oxfordshire.


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## foxfish (24 Feb 2017)

Your sword looks great to me! Just remove any damaged leaves, from my experience new leaves will appear very quickly!
If fact I have found the bigger swords to be quite differcult to maintain because they are so prolific and dominant.
If you ever decide to remove the plant, you will soon discover how invasive the roots will be, even cutting the stem down at substrate level won't kill it, at least not the first time.


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## Soilwork (25 Feb 2017)

With respect.  Looking at the pictures the swords seems to be only part of a bigger issue.  The layout and plant choice looks fab but the alternanthera looks brown and shrivelled around the edges.  The stem plants along the substrate look the same and the new leaves look small and a little stunted.  The Pogostemon helferi looks weak and vals are melting too.  Seems to be algae growing on the plants as well as the rocks.

Please don't take this as critism, I'm just trying to help and bare in mind I am not an expert.  It's just that I have seen the symptoms of overdosing traces time after time and I know what they look like.

Once I applied micros to the root via soil substrate and ceased column dosing I had no trouble growing and maintaining sword plants.  The growth and meting is definitely not normal in a tank that receives additional co2 and sufficient fertilisation.


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## Brad123 (25 Feb 2017)

Thanks Soilwork no critics taken I need the help.  I've always had a tank that looks ok want one that looks healthy and nice. You tank looks great 
OK if I'm Dosing 25ml of micro and macro should I half it or only half 1. If half 1 wich 1. Or is in just experiment and see what works. Would it help if I got my tap water tested to see what's in it.  Might be able to get that done at work.  If so what do I ask them to look for.

Cold I have to much water flow?
Have been reading about spot Dosing with 3% hydrogen peroxide what all think about it?
I do 50% water change on Saturday should I do a water change mid week?


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## Soilwork (25 Feb 2017)

Thank you.  This was my old tank and I hadn't only just gotten it looking like this before I had to pull it down. 

It's always a good idea to know your source water.  You say your water is very hard which is good for counteracting micro toxicity or sometimes bad for blocking uptake of other elements.  But what ratio of the constituents of hard water do you have? Calcium and magnesium.  Calcium is normally higher in tapwater but magnesium could be low.  Your tap might contain higher amounts of trace elements like iron etc.  So adding them to the substrate and to the water column could be asking for trouble even in hard water.

Can you break down your dosing? Are you using dry powders? How many grams and how do you mix it?

Unless your flow is very weak I doubt this is the issue. 

Have a look at this thread I found in 2015

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/micranthemum-monte-carlo-carpet.34813/page-3

Everyone talking about co2 and flow.  Yet the only thing changed was the addition of GH booster. 

Two weeks before things took off.  Look at the difference in his tank.  Higher GH protecting against micro overdose or calcium/magnesium deficiency?


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## Brad123 (25 Feb 2017)

Thanks for link. 
*Macro Solution*
4tsp Potassium Nitrate
1tsp Potassium Phosphate
6tsp Magnesium Sulphate
500ml Water
*Micro Solution*
1tsp Chelated Trace Element
500ml Water
I just flow the EI starter http://www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk/fertilisers/dry-chemicals/starter-kits/ei-starter-kit.html 
My ph 7.5 with a ph pen before co2 comes on.  We have a lot of lime scale as for the rest will try and find out at work. Is their a way I can check my tape water.


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## Brad123 (25 Feb 2017)

Ok went to the local fish shop and got a Mg/Ca test kit. What a job to work out how to test the water had to read the instructions a few times (I'm a fitter). 
Tap water: 120mg/l Mg + Ca .   And 120mg/l Ca  so I don't have any Mg in my tape water.
Tank water after doing a 50% water change: 240mg/l Mg+Ca and Ca 140mg/l . So that makes it 100mg/l Mg and 140ml/l Ca.
Not sure what this all means hope it makes sense ro you.
Did the test on tap water and fish tank water 2 times and come out with the same result.


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## Soilwork (25 Feb 2017)

Does your water company website not have a breakdown of your source water?

I used the same traces.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/11-fertilizers-water-parameters/503585-toxicity-csm-b.html

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...ameters/853001-csm-b-toxicity-experiment.html

http://www.barrreport.com/forum/barr-report/estimative-index/14637-how-easily-csm-b-can-become-toxic

Just Google around to see other potential cases. 

Aquarium plant food traces is very similar to CSM+B


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## Soilwork (25 Feb 2017)

Do you know what the root tabs contain?  I've never used them and not sure if they are supposed to provide macros or trace elements.

If they contain traces then you could stop the powder all together for few weeks and see what happens.  You might have to do a few large water changes to reset nutrients and just continue with macros. 

The substrate doesn't look like it has any nutrient binding/retaining properties.  Don't know how much of an issue this could be.  Have you always dosed EI in this tank?


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## Brad123 (25 Feb 2017)

Thanks Soilwork for all your help.  I did fine a breakdown of our water. It a very long list.  Not to sure what to look for or at.
Very interesting read on the links you gave.
Going to cut back on my Dosing but not sure what.  Will experiment.


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## Soilwork (25 Feb 2017)

Thanks Brad.  I don't think you need to add micros.  Certainly not as much as EI suggests.  Do a detox for two weeks and see what happens.  You can then resume micro at a much lower amount. 

You probably don't need to add nitrate either as your tap contains more per litre than what typical EI targets for the week.  You could just dose potassium seperate and carry on with phosphates and magnesium.  Your tap has high manganese per litre too.  I would keep micros at the root from now on.


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## Brad123 (25 Feb 2017)

It a diy root tab miracle go all purpose.  Before was using JBL kugeln balls.  Only just started think last week with the diy root tab.
It a dirt tank it about 8 month old
I did in the beginning when first started the tank then stope for a long time.  Then about 2 weeks ago started again. Bought the led light and got some new plant. That's were I'm at now


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## Brad123 (25 Feb 2017)

Ok thanks for all you help Soilwork will stop Dosing for 2 week and see what happens. Then start with small dose like you suggested.  Thanks again.
Will be back in 2 weeks with update pics


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## Soilwork (25 Feb 2017)

If you're using dirt you don't need root tabs or additional micro Fertilisers.  Now I'm almost certain this is your issue.  Definitely stop dosing the dry micro powders.


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## Soilwork (25 Feb 2017)

Keep hitting the BBA and removing infested or melted/damaged leaves where possible.

Some of my plants in my new tank just never recovered and had to be thrown away.  I still have one plant (s.repens) in my new tank that is badly stunted and shows no sign of recovery.  Lower leaves have developed green spot algae. I'm going to replace it tomorrow. I could try s.repens again just to prove to myself I can grow it in the new setup but I'm not a big fan of the plant.


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## Brad123 (25 Feb 2017)

Soilwork said:


> Keep hitting the BBA and removing infested or melted/damaged leaves where possible.


I have got 3% hydrogen peroxide. What I have read about it it's ok in small amounts. Will start spot dose.


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## Brad123 (3 Mar 2017)

It been nearly a week since I stoped Dosing.  After 2 days after I stop Dosing I noticed some of the leaves on the Hygrophila turning brown so started 25ml of macro.  Have been doing 25l water every second day. 
Have remove a lot of BBA leaves.
Have been doing spot Dosing with H2O2 and have not seen to much change.  Do love the pealing affect it dose. Today 6 days later went and got some excel.  Did first spot dose with it.



 
The plants all seem to be growing 

Moderator if this is in the wrong please move it


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## Brad123 (10 Mar 2017)

All growing well thanks for your help Soilwork


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## Soilwork (10 Mar 2017)

No probs.  Are you still off micros?


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## Brad123 (10 Mar 2017)

Soilwork said:


> No probs.  Are you still off micros?


Yes still not Dosing micro.  Am thinking of Dosing a little bit next week 10ml every second day just to see what happens.


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