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All plants struggling in freshly cycled tank

Phil63

Phil63

Member
Joined
10 Apr 2017
Messages
38
Location
Uk
Hi guys, this is my 2nd post on here with yet another plea for some much needed advice. My first post was about an algae bloom that I had which has now been sorted. The issue seemed to be that I was using too much light. Now my issue is that none of my plants look healthy and some have died and literally disintegrated within 2 weeks.

My tank setup is.

150 litre, deep tank ( probably 100 liters of water as I have a lot of substrate)
Substrate was 20 litres of caribsea eco complete and 20+ litres of tropica aquarium soil.
Lights are 2 x fluval fresh and plant 2 led 32w. I have 1 on 8 hours a day with the other on for 3 of those.
900l powerhead to try to get some water movement at the bottom of the tank where there are lots of roots and dead areas.
Fe co2
Eheim 130 canister filter
I'm doseing npk and micro every other day to the EI.

My tank is just coming out of its cycle and it's taken around 8 weeks.
My plants have never looked like they are thriving but at the moment they are looking like they are just about making it through.
IMG_20170611_201844.jpg looks ok from afar, but looking up close and it's not looking good.
The dwarf hair grass is looking slightly yellow, java fern new shoots look black and I've added some alternanthera rosaefolia which completely rotted in less than 2 weeks.
Valis is going transparent and dying and I brought the plant at the back right last week and it's literally just fallen apart. I'll add some pics and if anyone has some advice on what to do I will be very great full.

Thanks in advance,

PhilIMG_20170611_201922.jpg IMG_20170611_201857.jpg IMG_20170611_201857.jpg IMG_20170611_201916.jpg
 
Hi Hogan, thanks for the reply. 6 is that 1 light on for 6 hours or both lights? If anything I was trying to slowly increase the light .
Yes I do have a drop checker but I'm not too sure if it's accurate, it's always very light green. I think I need a some new solution.

Thanks again,

Phil
 
Hi Phil
Purchase another drop checker and position just above the lowest part of the substrate....for monitoring C02 levels!
6 hours is adequate for a new set-up....it takes months for a aquarium to become mature in all aspects!
Water changes (weekly) and general cleaning are crucial.....to remove debris and excess nutrient build ups.....get some floating plants and some fast growing stem plants to mature the aquarium!
All aquariums are unique....experience will help you find the solutions to certain problems, if not I think you will find the answers on the UKaps!
Cheers
hoggie
 
Well I got a new drop checker on the way home and it went from blue to very light green in a few hours. So I'm guessing that co2 levels are good. I've reduced the lighting to 1 light on for 6 hours and the other on for just 2 withing the same period. Ordered 20 stems of ludwigia repens and some dwarf water lettuce for the floating plants.
Hopefully this will help level everything off.
Do I just wait for the black spots to start to disappear then increase the light period and intensity over time?
Thanks,
Phil
 
Hi Phil
Meant to say remove dead/dying/discoloured leaves the plant is just wasting energy!
You can increase lighting when you see nice new growth.....I have found Pogostemon helferi can be one of the more difficult plants to grow!
It needs specific requirements.....https://www.flowgrow.de/db/aquaticplants/pogostemon-helferi
I'm sure you will get there...you can increase your Co2 to achieve a yellow drop checker colour if you have no inhabitants!
hoggie
 
Well the pogostemon is holding on ....for now. What ya beautiful so I hope it makes it. Thanks for the help. I'll crank up the co2 when I get home then and get that indicator yellow.
One last piece of advice though. Should I be keeping the light intensity down as well as the duration. Could I have both light on (2wpg) for 6 hours, or would I just reduce it to one light for a while?

Thanks,
Phil
 
Hi Phil
I would have one light on for 6 hours for a week to see how the plants respond....if you see new growth with the extra Co2 you can switch on the other!
I think your filter is a tad lightweight for this aquarium....a 10x volume turnover is advisable for all planted tanks minimum!
Hope all goes well.....keep us posted!
Cheers
hoggie
 
Last edited:
Hi Phil,

I was looking over your post and I remeber what problems I had with Pogostemon Helferi. This is a light-loving plant. It is one of the best indicator of how the light penetrate the water column. When it grow close to the substrate, this is a clear sign the light is OK at that level. When it grow tall, then there is a problem with quantity of light at that level. Same happens with HC, Marsilea or other plants placed to the bottom of the tank. Now, your aquarium is ... high. Meaning that is not an isues regarding the intensity of the light but how the light reach the bottom of the tank, where Helferi and grass are. This is symptomatic for the plants placed in the corner of the tank or under very tall plants. And, in my opinion, this is your case. Same happen with my Helferi and when I increase the light, it makes a nice bush and start to grow horizontally. Remember that, without proper light intensity and time, CO2 is useless. So my advice is to have at least 8 hours/day light program with a pause of 3-4 hours in the mid of the program. Another problem with the plants that are growing high, searching for more light, is that, in time, roots become weak and, finally, the plant is suffering from less absorbtion surface of the roots. This happens to me even with Hygrophyla Polisperma Sunset. Fortunately, Sunset can develop aerian roots, like Ludwigia sometimes or Rotala, and this help them to survive with the nutrients from water. But Helferi is getting most of the nutrients from substrate, along its rhizom, despite the fact that have also some aeriena roots. This because why, if is not close to the substrate, is suffering. Helferi is found, in nature, in places with soil rich in iron. So a supplement of iron (ex. Ferropol) is very welcome for such a plant. When I used a combination of Ferropol and Khalium-Potasium, together with unifersal fertilizer, changes were seen in a few days. Is just the opposite of Microsorum or Anubias, that is taking everything from water. Probable you should reconsider the fertilizartion in water, because Microsorum is not doing well too.
 
Hi guys, thanks a lot for the detailed responses, really appreciate it. It seems I'm fighting a few things here but I feel the main challenge is getting the lighting right. The intensity is needed to feed the deeper plants with light but it's too much for the rest of the tank to take. The light duration is currently at 6 hours to play it safe and my co2 checker is yellow.
I'm currently dosing withe an aquarium plant food fert starter kit, do you think I need to change this/ add additional ferts to help my plants? I did think that java fern was a hardy plant but as you have pointed out, mine is struggling.
Again guys thanks for the help, although this is it going to well at the moment I must admit I'm enjoying the challenge of my first planted tank, but I would have crashed and burned a while ago without this help
 
Everybody have this problem when start an aqvarium. It is also true that two aqvarium are not the same. Algae will grow anyway, the ideea is to control its. If the plants are growing slow, algae will thrive during cycling time. But after this, you can use algae eaters (shrimps, fish and snails). Of course, is up to you to decide what to do. Maybe you should check the parameters of the water and, if NO2 looks OK, after a masive waterchange, you should add Amano, Oto and neritina. It is a vicious circle : low light - no algae but also no plants; high light - algae grow but plants suffering. It is just a matter of balance. Anyway, a risk should be taken. In my 100 litters aqvarium, I had brown algae and GSA. When "cleaning team" were inside, in two weeks I had green water. After blackout, water was cristal clear. No anti-algae products, no UV, just natural measures. But need a lot of patience.
 
Regarding Pogostemon Helferi ...
Please see bellow two pictures. First is from my nano, where I decreased the light due to a problem with the lamp. You can see how Helferi oriented itself to the center of the aqvarium and grow tall. In the second one are Helferi from my 100 litters aqvarium, with good light and fertilization. So, you may make the difference.

HMmKz5l.jpg
o4tL3iA.jpg
 
I also look very close to your Helferi and I am sure most of them are uprooted. Please check this, you should see at the base of the plant something looking like a wadding formation.
 
Hi guys, I've checked my water and NO2 is ok so I did a 50 percent water change and added my new plants, 20 ludwigia stems and 10 floating dwarf lettuce. I've also have 3 SAE and 5 nerite snails with 10 amano shrimp arriving tomorrow. I'm unsure what to do with the lighting but as you've pointed out my helferi is really stretching so it must need more intensity. I'm going to try adding both lights at the same time for 6 hours per day and see how that goes. I'm guessing I'll either see a nice improvement or I'll get an algea bloom.
I've also noted hat my filter is on the weak side. I'll look to upgrade as soon as I have some money. I have also made sure the helferi is properly planted as it did look a little raised.
Fingers crossed all goes well and I'll keep you posted.
Thanks guys all the help is appreciated.
 
Hi guys, I've checked my water and NO2 is ok so I did a 50 percent water change and added my new plants, 20 ludwigia stems and 10 floating dwarf lettuce. I've also have 3 SAE and 5 nerite snails with 10 amano shrimp arriving tomorrow. I'm unsure what to do with the lighting but as you've pointed out my helferi is really stretching so it must need more intensity. I'm going to try adding both lights at the same time for 6 hours per day and see how that goes. I'm guessing I'll either see a nice improvement or I'll get an algea bloom.
I've also noted hat my filter is on the weak side. I'll look to upgrade as soon as I have some money. I have also made sure the helferi is properly planted as it did look a little raised.
Fingers crossed all goes well and I'll keep you posted.
Thanks guys all the help is appreciated.
 
Hi guys, I just wanted to give a bit of an update. First of all thanks for all the advice on here it's been great!

So ive done as I was advised, added some fast growing stem pants and floating plants, upped the co2 and upped the lighting so that both my 32 watt lights were on for 6 hours. I've also added 10 amano shrimp, 3 SAE, 5 nerites and 10 harlequins.
The result is that the plants are coming back to life! It's probably a little early to tell if the plants in the lower part of the tank have improved but the taller plants definitely look much healthier. Algae has definitely increased on the glass, I think it's brown algae, but I'm hoping that it will be manageable with my weekly maintenance.
Also the ludwigia repen diamond red (back right) I added has lost its redness, again I'm hoping this is temporary as I'm dosing ferts.

Here's a picture, it not perfect but it looks like I'm on the right track.
IMG_20170621_184758.jpg
Thanks guys!
 
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