My plants are not growing. Help pls

[PlantedTankOnTheWay]

My tank been running for 2 months after planting but my plants havent been growing properly except for the anubias. Recently i noticed brown algea showing up on plant's leaves and on the glass which worsen the plant's condition.
Hope to get advice from anyone

My spec:
Tank 800 liters 190x60x80cm sump filter with plenty of aeration and K1 reactor
Week p600 pro Lamps 9 hours a day at 35%
2 co2 cylinder which i havent set to full gas mode, just enough to make ph drop from 7.5 to 7.2
Diy fert (100g kno3, 5g kh2po4, 50g k2so4, 15g fe dtpa and micro) lasting 3.4 weeks
Nutrient subtrate under inert aquasoil and sand
Temp 23 degrees C
Water change once a week 100-200L of water
Many emerged plants waiting to transform to submerged and some submerged plants

 

[Connswater]

No one has commented yet so I'll offer a 'pennyworth'. Up the lighting, aim for something in the region of 20+ lumen per litre, I use more than twice that amount. Make sure you have around 15- 20 ppm of CO2, what colour is your long-term indicator if you have one? What is your hardness, especially the KH? You might need to add sequestered iron, I have no shares in any company making the latter.

 

[PeerUnk]

What you could or should do, depends a lot on your goals.
In general I would recommend a cleanup crew like ramhorn snails to mitigate the brown diatoms.
It seems flow is good in your tank.
It might be wise to start a tank with fast growing plants like egeria densa, limnophila sessiflora, hygrophila polysperma etc. to ensure yourself not gazing on the slow growing plants you have currently. Fast growers are good for oxygen production and uptake of NH3/4 and NO2 when cycling a tank.
The hardest part: mastering patience and take time letting nature do it’s thing.

 

[PlantedTankOnTheWay]

No one has commented yet so I'll offer a 'pennyworth'. Up the lighting, aim for something in the region of 20+ lumen per litre, I use more than twice that amount. Make sure you have around 15- 20 ppm of CO2, what colour is your long-term indicator if you have one? What is your hardness, especially the KH? You might need to add sequestered iron, I have no shares in any company making the latter.

I thought getting algae means reducing light is the way to go. I guess that's not the case with brown diatoms. I have a co2 indicator but i haven't paid much attention to it, its usually blue which, i think, means that i didnt put enough Co2? I been gradually increasing my co2 level over weeks but seems like i've been doing too little.
My KH is 3, PH is about 7.0 for now, i dont test gH level.

 

[PlantedTankOnTheWay]

What you could or should do, depends a lot on your goals.
In general I would recommend a cleanup crew like ramhorn snails to mitigate the brown diatoms.
It seems flow is good in your tank.
It might be wise to start a tank with fast growing plants like egeria densa, limnophila sessiflora, hygrophila polysperma etc. to ensure yourself not gazing on the slow growing plants you have currently. Fast growers are good for oxygen production and uptake of NH3/4 and NO2 when cycling a tank.
The hardest part: mastering patience and take time letting nature do it’s thing.

My goal is to have a beautiful lush planted tank, including those fast growing plant, anubias, ferns,... I have some Panda Garra to clean the tank but they seem low effectiveness, i'll introduce more cleaning fish but not the snails tho, i hate snails eggs.
I guess i'll plant more fast growing, easy plant to combat algae but the main problem still remains: other plants not growing healthy

 

[Connswater]

means that i didnt put enough Co2

KH of 3 is fine, I wouldn't then worry about the GH too much and with soft water iron deficiency is not normally a problem, but I thought Hanoi normally had hard water, thus I would expect a higher KH and a high GH. Are you collecting and using rain water? The best way to know is of course do you get scaling in domestic electrical appliances?

But yes, blue means on your indicator, you haven't had enough CO2.

Yes absolutely there is a link between light intensity and duration and algae problems but obviously you need enough light to stimulate photosynthesis, and once you create the conditions for photosynthesis, algae will grow, the higher plants and algae are in direct competition and are both at a cellular level very similar light needing life forms. As I have joked here before put a bare tank in the total dark for weeks on end and there will be no algae whatsoever. There is no magic formula, no algae free lush plants in nature, rather in some environments the plants are almost algae free, in others smothered. In the planted tank we try to tilt the balance towards the higher plants, keeping phosphate levels below 0.5 ppm for example and ensuring enough light but not too much and ensuring adequate CO2. Brown diatoms are generally a young tank thing and will clear.

Mixing high light plants and shade loving plants requires a lot of careful tank management and arrangement, I have never found shade loving plants easy to grow in my main tank, simply because, I use high light, much higher than I suggested to you. I run high light to maximise plant growth but that means slower growing shady plants are vulnerable to algae not just because of the light but because the fast growers steal the nutrients and weak or dying leaves are colonised by algae feeding on the nutrients released by weakened leaves.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I thought getting algae means reducing light is the way to go. I guess that's not the case with brown diatoms.

Diatoms and Red Algae have very low light compensation points and you won't stop them growing by lowering light intensity, they can grow at lower light levels then your plants.

It is really difficult to judge light levels by eye, so I always recommend adding enough <"light intensity, and duration">, so that you know it isn't a factor in poor plant growth.

I have a co2 indicator but i haven't paid much attention to it, its usually blue which, i think, means that i didnt put enough Co2?

You can use a <"floating plant"> it has access to 425 ppm CO2 <"Trends in CO2 - NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory"> and will also act as a "net curtain" (light diffuser) if required. Have a look at <"What is the “Duckweed Index” all about?">.

I have some Panda Garra to clean the tank but they seem low effectiveness, i'll introduce more cleaning fish but not the snails tho, i hate snails eggs.

Snails are massively your friend in helping combat algae "issues". Ramshorn (<"Planorbella duryi">) eggs are pretty inconspicuous, they aren't <"like Nerite eggs">.

cheers Darrel