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Where am I going wrong ?

H

Hyenasden

New Member
Joined
15 May 2024
Messages
10
Location
Worthing UK
Hello , I hope everyone is well
After almost four years of constantly losing and having to replace my aquarium plants I’ve decided to reach out for help .
When I inherited the aquarium I like most of you envisioned a lush green thriving aquarium but alas this has never happened.
I have been to the fish suppliers many times for advise and end up dosing the aquarium with new products , none of which have helped in the slightest 🙁.
I have a constant battle with algae and every plant I put in turns brown and eventually dies .
I’ve just received some Seachem fertiliser sticks which I will put in later today .
Any help with identifying the possible problem would be hugely appreciated , I still dream of the lush green tank I at first envisioned and sadly funds are no longer able to support my continual need to replace the plants every month or so .

I’ve just done a water change and uprooted everything to give it a clean as was in an awful state so please forgive the murky water , it’s not usually that bad

1. Size of tank. 50



2. Age of the system approximately. 4 years



3. Tap water parameters. Two with added tap safe



4. Filtration and Media.pump , black sponge and white hoops



5. Lighting and duration.Fluval ,8hrs



6. Substrate. Black plant beads



7. Co2 dosing or Non-dosing. Non



8. Drop Checker. ?

9. Fertilizers used + Ratios. About to use seachem root sticks



10. Water change regime and composition. 30 percent every week



11. Plant list + Invitro/Emersed. Emersed not sure of specie



12. Inhabitants. 5 harlequin, 5 neon , 2 chain loach , 2 Otto
 

Attachments

Hi all,
Welcome to UKAPS,
Hyenasden said:
I have been to the fish suppliers many times for advise and end up dosing the aquarium with new products , none of which have helped in the slightest.
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Unfortunately this is <"quite a common finding">, but I'm going to say you are now in the right place now.

When you have time read through: <"What is the “Duckweed Index” all about?">.

In terms of plants have a look at the <"Tropica Easy"> range, they are likely to suitable plants for you. Start with a floating plant, it has access to atmospheric CO2 and first dibs on the light, so any growth issues are likely to be nutrient related.
Hyenasden said:
Hyenasden said:
Any help with identifying the possible problem would be hugely appreciated , I still dream of the lush green tank I at first envisioned and sadly funds are no longer able to support my continual need to replace the plants every month or so .
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Click to expand...
It is likely to be a nutrient issue. As well as light and inorganic carbon, plants need all <"fourteen of the essential nutrients for plant growth"> to be plant available. Plant growth is like a car assembly line, if one component is missing you don't get a "car".
Hyenasden said:
Fertilizers used + Ratios. About to use seachem root sticks .
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Rather than root taps I'd advise getting an <"all-in-one"> mix.

cheers Darrel
 
First of all, well done for persevering for 4 years!

A few pointers and questions:
As you don't use CO2, don't worry about drop checker.
What ave you been using to fertilise to date?
Do you have information on your water hardness from supplier water report? What KH and Gh do you have? what is your pH? This will affect how you give iron.

It also looks lie your substrate has quite a bit of detritus on it. Best to keep it as clean as possible.
As @dw1305 says, use an all in one fertiliser. You won't go wrong with something like TNC Complete. it will add everything you need.
 
do you please have more info on the model of light?

If you're truly set on superior plant growth, i'd really recommend looking into dosing co2 if possible, but if you can't, it might be worth listing the plants you're interested in to gauge opinions on feasibility here
 
Thank you so much for the time and answers .
I’m pretty new to forums so hope I’m replying correctly .
I will have a look for floating plants when I next go to the store .
I have printed the duckweed pages and will go through that .
I’ve been using Tropica premium nutrition but to be honest I’ve not used it as often as I should as I never see any improvement
I can only find that my water is listed as Hard 115.2 , does that help ?


I’ve just ordered the TNC can it be used alongside the sticks that I have already put in ? Or should I take them out ?
I struggle with the upkeep of the gravel as the vac keeps blocking due to the decaying plant matter .

I’m using a Fluval aqua sky 380mm I got this when I inherited the tank so may be a few years old now ?
 
Hi all,
Hyenasden said:
I’ve been using Tropica premium nutrition but to be honest I’ve not used it as often as I should as I never see any improvement
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<"Tropica Premium"> doesn't contain any nitrogen (N) or phosphate (PO4---). Because these are two of the nutrients that <"plants require most of"> and because of this we usually recommend a fertiliser that does contain them.
Hyenasden said:
I can only find that my water is listed as Hard 115.2 , does that help ?
Click to expand...
hypnogogia said:
Do you have information on your water hardness from supplier water report? What KH and Gh do you have? what is your pH? This will affect how you give iron.
Click to expand...
I'm going to say that may well be where your problem lies. Hard, alkaline water makes some (plant) nutrients (like iron (Fe)) less plant available. Have a look at @keef321 "before" and "after" tank photos <"here">.
Hyenasden said:
Also Ive never used c02 before would it help on such a small aquarium
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A lot of us don't add CO2, I don't and <"I never will">. Access to CO2 is one reason for recommending a floating plant, it has access to atmospheric gases, the <"aerial advantage">.

cheers Darrel
 
dw1305 said:
I'm going to say that may well be where your problem lies. Hard, alkaline water makes some (plant) nutrients (like iron (Fe)) less plant available. Have a look at @keef321 "before" and "after" tank photos <"here">.

A lot of us don't add CO2, I don't and <"I never will">. Access to CO2 is one reason for recommending a floating plant, it has access to atmospheric gases, the <"aerial advantage">.

cheers Darrel
Click to expand...
Oh wow what a huge difference !!
I definitely need floating plants in there .
Thanks again for such a detailed reply 🙂
 
Hyenasden said:
Also Ive never used c02 before would it help on such a small aquarium ?
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Yes, it can definitely help. You will always be CO2 limited in a low-tech setup. You can get started for very low cost with a homemade citric acid + baking soda system to see if you like what it does. There are lots of youtube videos on how to make one. I have a 45L system that is CO2 gas injected - this is certainly doable as well although will have some initial outlay costs.

Without going to injected CO2 and with your hard water I have had really good success with Helanthium bolivianum ‘Quadricostatus’, and also to my surprise good success with Alternanthera reineckii ‘Mini’. I agree with others that you're best off with a complete fertiliser and I would go with water column ferts only - I am really sceptical of root tabs since they will leech into the water column anyway and at a rate that you can't really predict or control. You can save a lot of money by mixing your own 'dry salts' ferts (lots of instructions on UKAPS) but for a small set-up like yours liquid ferts won't be too pricey. For an algae problem my first thought would be to reduce the light intensity but not reduce the light duration - I think you're fine with 8 hours. Depending on the type of algae, you can also help get that under control (or maybe by accurately keep it under control) with water-column glutaraldehyde (marketed as 'liquid carbon' - lots of suppliers for that). Glutaraldehyde use is controversial, but for me I have found it helpful from time to time as a preventative - if you already have a ferocious algae problem (it doesn't really look like that from your pictures) it won't cure it. You can also try introducing some shrimp - these are very low bioload and can scavenge up debris for you - others will also advocate snails but for me I'm less convinced (I like the aesthetic of shrimp better than snails).
 
Hi @Hyenasden looks like you're getting some useful advice here to help you solve your problems.

To address some of you other questions:
I wouldn't bother with CO2 quite yet. You need to get the basics right before CO2 will add any value. To this end, start using a full NPK fertiliser like TNC complete. I suspect you'll be able to keep the Seachem sticks in. I'm not familiar with them though - check if they contain ammonia. If so I'd take them out otherwise you'll have an ammonia spike.

Regarding keeping the substrate clean, you'll need to persevere with it. the organic waste can contribute to algae, so bet to get rid off this. You can either keep trying the hoover, or suck it out when you do your water change. Alternatively, use a Turkey baster or your hand to waft up the waste on the substrate and then suck out the water. Do this every week, and eventually you'll get it cleaned up.

I'd also lower the temperature. 22 or 23C is fine.
 
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Unfortunately I can’t add snails or shrimp ( such a shame as I would love to) due to the chain Loaches 🙁
I think I’m going to remove the Seachem sticks as the tnc arrives tomorrow
Just given the tank it’s second clean today and it looks much better 🙂.
In regards to the lights I have to be honest I’m totally clueless so will put up another post in regards to the settings as I’m a bit of a technophobe lol
 
hypnogogia said:
Yes you can. I have kept clown loaches and snails together in the past. Your chain loaches will actually help manage the population, but not wipe them out. As @Andy Pierce says though, shrimp are prettier.
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Would there be a specific type of snail that would survive the chain loaches when I first put them in they took every snail I had in the aquarium ( not sure where the snails came from but were numerous
 
Looks like you are getting some good advice here. The floating plants will give you a good idea of it is your ferts or not. Your tank looks like it is rather brighltly lit for a non-co2 tank, but it might just be the photo. Lets try a complete fertiliser first, have some floating plants (frogbit are awesome) and see how they go, if the frogbit starts to melt, or is pale and not green then we know we need to add more ferts or a seperate chelated iron, due to your hard water. Try one thing at a time, to see which thing is making the improvement. Ps liking the terminator skull 🙂
 
Hyenasden said:
Would there be a specific type of snail that would survive the chain loaches when I first put them in they took every snail I had in the aquarium ( not sure where the snails came from but were numerous
Click to expand...
Nerite Snails are big enough not to be eaten and are good at eating algae. They're also quite pretty. MTS will eat algae and waste fish food, and are great for helping clean up.
 
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