Struggling with my plants :(

[AlexH]

Hey guys,

This is my first planted aquarium and I'm struggling to get the right balance - its a serious case of Noobie Syndrome.

These are some photos of my plants:



(This is how it should look!)



(This has grey filamentous algae - I can't identify it!)









(My camera isn't great on this one - but you can see the leaves pointing upwards? There is a colouration issue, part red partly green - that whole stem will likely need removing shortly)





As you can see, there are plants which have stunted leaf growth, the ludwigia' leaves appear to be dying off and the ludwigia diamond is the only plant that seems to be doing okay. The MC is starting to get a grip but has a brown tinge around its leaves and the weeping moss is taking forever to grow and worse still it is starting to develop a grey filamentous algae.

I've got pressurised CO2 - through the week my photo period is 6 hours with CO2 coming on an hour before lights on and 1 hour and 15 mins before lights off. My lights are 2x T5 Hi Lite Day Light Juwel 39w with reflectors.

I'm currently dosing every other day with 6ml of TNC Complete - I've got ADA AS as the substrate.

Ive learned that my water in this part of Yorkshire is soft - So i've got a bag of oyster shell to balance the acidity of the water and to add some hardness to it.

I added a pre-filter sponge but have since removed that - I was concerned it was reducing flow too much. I've also removed from fine foam filter inside the canister. my filter is a Fluval 406 with Biohome Ultimate.

My tank is 180L - However, its probably around 165/170L when you take into account the substrate etc.

I recently tested the water parameters - I know these hobby kits aren't really reliable - but ive got 0 ppm Ammonia/Nitrite and approx 10ppm Nitrate.

Really would appreciate feedback guys - hate the fact my plants are dying because I'm evidently making a mistake with some factors that I've overlooked.

Thanks!
Alex

 

[Costa]

What are you dosing with? Your plants aren't looking that bad, frankly. Maybe missing some iron, but let's wait for some more experienced growers comment.

 

[AlexH]

In terms of nutrients - I'm dosing TNC complete. Its 1ml per 10 litres - So I dose a little over, 6ml every other day. TNC recommend dosing once per week, but people on this forum haven't recommended that so I dose every other day.

I removed a significant amount of foliage yesterday from the ludwigia which just wasn't doing well and was beginning to die. I removed it to prevent it leeching nasties into the tank or I could've provided photos.

Also, my temperature is set at 24 degrees C.

Also, on weekends I extend the light period to 11am - 9:30pm with CO2 starting an hour prior and finishing an hour and 15 before the end of the photo period.

 

[Costa]

You mentioned 39W, is that for each bulb or both lights combined? For your 165L you would need 0.5W/L for easy plants and 1W/L for more advanced ones. Even with 2x39W you are at <0.5W/L, and you are dosing more often than you should for this amount of light you provide your plants with, so algae is taking advantage of this imbalance. That said, the reflectors do help, but again I find that your light is probably not as strong as it should be for you to experience the vivid greens you want. (But I still think your plants are doing OK and look nice)

 

[AlexH]

Its two bulbs at 39W each.

Do you think I need a higher light intensity? Another two bulbs?

The problem is, some are stunting growth and others are loosing leaves - unfortunately!

Thanks
Alex

 

[Costa]

Maybe the plants that are losing leaves are simply adapting to your aquarium? When were they planted? The filaments in the ludwigia tells me that the plant is growing OK. It's well documented that ludwigias need more light to show their true colors.

 

[AlexH]

With the higher light - How do I cope with the algae?

Thanks

 

[Costa]

Algae is a result of imbalance between light:ferts:CO2 - the stronger the light, the faster your plants grow, and need more nutrients and CO2. I think you are throwing in more nutrients than your plants need, and that's why you are getting some (very little at this point) algae. If you keep adding the same amount of ferts but increase the strength of your lights, your plants will be growing faster and will be using more of the nutrients that you make available to them. I hope that makes sense, I'm not a native English speaker as you might have guessed 🙂

Do you do weekly water changes? How much water do you change each time? Water changes is the best way to get rid of excess, unused nutrients and greatly reduce the risk of algae appearing.

There's a great article on ukaps on EI, with a lot of details on fert dosing and algae, I'd strongly encourage you to read it!

 

[AlexH]

Thank you

Yes I do a 30% WC weekly. I recently did a 60% WC and gave the tank a thorough clean.

Do you think one more 39W T5 with a reflector would be sufficient? That gives me around 0.7 warts per litre.

 

[Costa]

Well 3x39=117W, devided by 165L is 0.7W/L

I think you should be looking towards >150W, if you want super green colours.

Another piece of info you need is the luminosity of your T5s. The new standard is lumens per liter. Check this guide:

http://tropica.com/en/guide/make-your-aquarium-a-success/light/

For example I have 2 floodlights lighting my 600L tank (plus 200L sump), 50W each, 6500K, 6000lm each. So in total I have 100W (0.16W/L) but the luminosity is 12000 lumens, which is 20lm/L, enough for easy-to-medium plants.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Well I am not totally sure,but this is what I would do,your using TNC so because of the soft water they also do a GH Boost and why not add temporary at least some bunches of healthy fast growers Egeria,H.Polyperma or floaters while you get your lighting sorted.Maybe it's a question of time it's probably better to gradually increase lighting that have too much?