Hi all,
I've had my first planted tank set up for around 5 to 6 months now. It's a 90 litre tank, low tech setup.
I planted some Marsilea Hirsuta in vitro during the initial setup, among a number of other plants. It has spread considerably in the time it's been in there, and I'm happy with the growth rate. However, some of the leaves seem to develop dark brown, almost black, patches on them, as shown in the pictures. They look almost burnt.
It seems to only affect some of the leaves, and it doesn't actually seem to kill the leaves off - some of the affected leaves have been that way for months. It's just a bit unsightly.
As far as dosing is concerned, I just use the Colombo Flora Gro fertiliser (primarily because it came with the tank and I saw good results, so have continued to use it). I did have some root tabs in the substrate on initial setup, but haven't "topped those up" recently. I've also used the Colombo Flora Gro Carbo, but I only dose this at less than half the recommended dose - it seemed to help keep the initial algae blooms at bay.
I'm assuming it's a nutrient deficiency of some kind? Could it be the Flora Gro Carbo having a negative effect? I've done a bit of googling but can't seem to find any pictures that quite match what I'm seeing, and as I say it only seems to affect some of the leaves.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I've had my first planted tank set up for around 5 to 6 months now. It's a 90 litre tank, low tech setup.
I planted some Marsilea Hirsuta in vitro during the initial setup, among a number of other plants. It has spread considerably in the time it's been in there, and I'm happy with the growth rate. However, some of the leaves seem to develop dark brown, almost black, patches on them, as shown in the pictures. They look almost burnt.
It seems to only affect some of the leaves, and it doesn't actually seem to kill the leaves off - some of the affected leaves have been that way for months. It's just a bit unsightly.
As far as dosing is concerned, I just use the Colombo Flora Gro fertiliser (primarily because it came with the tank and I saw good results, so have continued to use it). I did have some root tabs in the substrate on initial setup, but haven't "topped those up" recently. I've also used the Colombo Flora Gro Carbo, but I only dose this at less than half the recommended dose - it seemed to help keep the initial algae blooms at bay.
I'm assuming it's a nutrient deficiency of some kind? Could it be the Flora Gro Carbo having a negative effect? I've done a bit of googling but can't seem to find any pictures that quite match what I'm seeing, and as I say it only seems to affect some of the leaves.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
