I can't win with these plants

[Lifesabichir]

Here's what most of my stems are dealing with right now. The ambulia here grows great but it gets brown and droopy 🙁 I test and my nitrates are always at 40+ppm throughout the week. I have been dealing with issues like this for years and I'm at my final string before I leave the hobby. The crypts grow and new leaves just melt away after forming immediately.


1. Size of tank is 60 gallons
2. Age of the system approximately. 3 years old.
3. Tap water parameters. 7ph kind of soft
4. Filtration. Canister is spray bar in back
5. Lighting and duration. 7 hours finnex 24/7 max
6. Substrate. Sand
7. Co2 dosing or Non-dosing. None
8. Fertilizers used + Ratios. Nilocg thrive in the beginning of the week
9. Water change regime and composition. Once a week 50 percent
10. Plant list. Ambulia, cryptocoryne, hornwort, pogostemon octopus, anubias, hygrophila angustifolia
11. Inhabitants. Overstocked on tetras currently
12. Full tank shot & Surface Image.

 

[Lifesabichir]

This is what tested from my tap

 

[Simon Cole]

@Lifesabichir Please can you state the dimensions of your tank (depth), temperature, other fertilisers trialled?

For other members, here is Nilocg thrive described on their website:

DOSING INSTRUCTIONS​

For Advanced Users: 1 pump(2ml) per 10g will add ~6ppm NO3, 1.1ppm PO4, 5ppm K, and 0.25ppm Fe​

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS​

Total Nitrogen (N) 2.5600%​

2.5600% Water Soluble Nitrogen (N)​

Available Phosphate (P2O5) 1.5800%​

Soluble Potash (K2O) 9.7400%​

Magnesium(Mg) 0.3200%​

0.3200% Water Soluble Magnesium(Mg)​

Calcium(Ca) 0.0200%​

Sulfur(S) 0.5400%​

0.5400% Combined Sulfur(S)​

Boron(B) 0.0080%​

Copper(Cu) 0.0002%​

0.0002% Water Soluble Copper(Cu)​

Iron(Fe) 0.4200%​

0.4200% Water Soluble Iron(Fe)​

Manganese(Mn) 0.1680%​

0.1680% Water Soluble Manganese(Mn)​

Molybdenum(Mo) 0.0006%​

Zinc(Zn) 0.0038%​

0.0038% Water Soluble Zinc(Zn)​

Derived From: Potassium Nitrate, Potassium Phosphate, Potassium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, DTPA Iron, EDTA Iron, Manganese Sulfate, Boric Acid, Zinc Sulfate, Sodium Molybdate.​

I don't want to speculate because I don't grow cryptocorynes on sand, I don't use this fertiliser, nor the light. Light and dosage being something I would investigate.

 

[sparkyweasel]

Are those leaves brown in themselves? Or is it a coating that you can wipe off with your finger and thumb?
Are the other plant species affected in the same way?
What are the brown spots in the pic?
What is the flow rate of your ffilter?

 

[Lifesabichir]

48.5” W x 12.75” D x 25” H in inches and the tank is sitting at 77 fahrenheit. Before this I was doing dry dosing using a different brand and went back to this brand because I had great luck with it before. The whole tank was carpeted in crypts now I have only a few hanging on 🙁 I asked her before and was told to try and up the lighting which did work but got the same results after a few weeks without changing anything in my schedule.

 

[Lifesabichir]

Are those leaves brown in themselves? Or is it a coating that you can wipe off with your finger and thumb?
Are the other plant species affected in the same way?
What are the brown spots in the pic?
What is the flow rate of your ffilter?

I'll check here in a bit if it can wipe off. The flow rate stated on the canister says 550gph. But it's just the stems really getting the brown.

 

[Andy Pierce]

Do you see your plant leaves moving in the water flow? If no, then you don't have enough flow. Maybe your spraybar isn't up to the job or isn't aligned correctly. If your flow is not adequate your nutrients won't solve anything because they won't be able to get to where they are needed.

 

[Simon Cole]

was told to try and up the lighting

@Lifesabichir - The Finnex website states: "PAR readings taken with 48-inch fixture through open air" ; they also state the PAR readings for 14" deep (empty) tanks for their different aquarium light models.
This post has the 24" depth PAR readings for three of the most common Finnex models, but I do not know where the data was sourced from.
On a side note, I thought that I might as well mention Hirschmanniella nematodes <infecting Cryptocoryne species>, a <pest in the USA>. Perhaps a full aquarium photograph, or photographs of dying plants (and roots) might help?
Anecdotally, my Limnophila Sessiliflora (Ambulia) grows like mad with enough light and nutrients.

 

[Hanuman]

@Lifesabichir Could you please share a picture of the entire tank?

 

[Simon Cole]

Don't give up yet, we'll help you as best we can 😉 I'm sure we can get this fixed.

 

[Ash6526]

out of curiosity, do you use root tabs or just dose the water column?

 

[Midwife]

The plant behind that looks like the Vallis is covered in what looks like BBA. Can this also help solving issue with your original query?
I was under the impression it was silicates in your tap water that causes the brown stuff.

 

[xZaiox]

I was under the impression it was silicates in your tap water that causes the brown stuff.

My understanding is that diatoms need silicates to grow, but that silicates themselves don't directly cause diatoms, they just feed them. Considering there is also a plant in the back of the original pic with some sort of fuzz algae / black beard on it, I'm going to hazard a guess that the OP's tank is not well-balanced.

The system is apparently 3 years old, so this should be a well cycled fully mature tank. OP - What is the flow like in your tank? Do all plants gently sway in the current? You say you don't use CO2, this will naturally mean that your lighting levels should be low, have you tried reducing the lighting intensity and seeing the results? If plants are forced to grow while carbon limited then their growth will be unhealthy, and algae will take advantage. Also, how often are you cleaning your tank? Not just water changes, but vacuuming and rinsing out filter sponges? High organic loads can fuel algae too.

 

[Lifesabichir]

Hey y'all update I forgot about my thread. I was being really hard headed and thought no way not doing water changes was my issue. I started doing smaller frequent ones and everything is stable and starting to grow again. Thank you all so much though. In my head I thought ",hey this YouTuber can do it so can I" well I'm wrong