my tank is going into its 4th week, and i think i made a mistake of adding TMG at the second week... my tank is a 50 gallon with 4 wpg, i recently did a filter change on the canister filter and then the tank became cloudy, the hygro sunsets are doing good, but the rest seems dying. The stargrass are burning out and the leafs are falling, and the others are just not growing! the Ph now is around 6.8... should i just wait for the balance to settle down and not do anything for now? wa should i do right now while i'm waiting for my test kits to arrive? please help
need help but without test kits!
- Thread starter kagentx
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Sati
Aquarium Advice Addict
What is TMG? And did you change all of the filter media at the same time?
madasafish
Aquarium Advice Addict
Not sure what TMG stands for either... But if it doesn't stand for "something something gravel" or if it doesn't signify fertilizers or CO2, you don't have all the components you need for a healthy planted tank. Do you add liquid ferts, do you have a fertilized substrate and do you have CO2 injection? Without CO2 and with lots of light, your plants will grow poorly--they'll become stringy and limp. Without liquid ferts (specifically iron and potassium) your plants will appear yellowish and their leaves may become translucent.
Appart from this (and if my previous comments aren't applicable), starting a planted tank can be very tough!!! I had a lot of bluesy days during which I cursed myself for spending hundreds of dollars on a CO2 system, adequate lighting, plenty of Fluorite substrate etc. Sometimes plants and the environment just take a lot of time to adjust. I received many of my plants via the USPS and found that a quick bath in an ammonia solution (to kill of bacteria, snails) and a not-gradual-enough adjustment to tank temperatures (considerably warmer than the USPS holding facility and the cold New York winter air) wreaked havoc on them. They all lost their leaves for the first 3 weeks, and had me in utter despair. Desperately, I held on to the stems, and found that after a little time they regrew their leaves; now my planted tank is looking wild and wonderful! Must post some pictures soon!
So don't despair. If you need to get the items I've mentioned above, do it soon: w/o CO2 and ferts your plants will really deteriorate.
Feel free to PM me if you have any follow-up qns. I can be bad about checking back on threads I've posted on...
Appart from this (and if my previous comments aren't applicable), starting a planted tank can be very tough!!! I had a lot of bluesy days during which I cursed myself for spending hundreds of dollars on a CO2 system, adequate lighting, plenty of Fluorite substrate etc. Sometimes plants and the environment just take a lot of time to adjust. I received many of my plants via the USPS and found that a quick bath in an ammonia solution (to kill of bacteria, snails) and a not-gradual-enough adjustment to tank temperatures (considerably warmer than the USPS holding facility and the cold New York winter air) wreaked havoc on them. They all lost their leaves for the first 3 weeks, and had me in utter despair. Desperately, I held on to the stems, and found that after a little time they regrew their leaves; now my planted tank is looking wild and wonderful! Must post some pictures soon!
So don't despair. If you need to get the items I've mentioned above, do it soon: w/o CO2 and ferts your plants will really deteriorate.
Feel free to PM me if you have any follow-up qns. I can be bad about checking back on threads I've posted on...
G
Guest
Guest
TMG = Tropica Master Grow. It's about the same as Flourish.
Your problem is no test kits. You need to get your nutrients in balance and TMG is not going to cut it on a 4 wpg tank. See my FAQ for a lot of info including what your nutrients should be.
Your problem is no test kits. You need to get your nutrients in balance and TMG is not going to cut it on a 4 wpg tank. See my FAQ for a lot of info including what your nutrients should be.
my stargrass grows really well in the intial setup all the time, i don't know why after about 2 weeks, it starts to die out. leafs fall out, it turns transparent. Is my tank still flucuating because of its immaturity? BTW i only have 3 wpg. that is what confuses me, it does well then does bad. what else would you recommend me ordering besides anubias? i want some Ludwigia Narrow Repens and Ludwigia Needles, Radican Marble Queen , and Hairgrass.my gravel is flourite, i've been using it for about half a year. wen does it exhaust? also my lighting contains a triple tube flourensent and a smartlite power compact. Should i put a glass to prevent evaporation? i wanted to but i also want to know if that would block some light from going into the tank. my tank is evaporating about 2 gallons each day, seems like!
I have one more question concerning my plants: this radican sword i have, grows new leafs that are red, then the veins also look reddish. What does that indicate? i read that it indicates lack of nitrogen. Does that mean i need to add more fish? thanks alot!
I have one more question concerning my plants: this radican sword i have, grows new leafs that are red, then the veins also look reddish. What does that indicate? i read that it indicates lack of nitrogen. Does that mean i need to add more fish? thanks alot!
Mr Burns
Aquarium Advice FINatic
the transparency might be due to a lack of iron. as for the nitrogen, i'm pretty sure you don't need to add more fish...it could be that the cycle just isn't in ful-effect yet.
what kind of substrate are you using?
there is a huge amount of chemistry and trial & error involved with growing plants. i'm still a bit green to it (no pun inteneded...or was it???) but i've learned a massive amount in the past two or three weeks. if you haven't read rex's faq, it is strongly recommended that you do so, and check this out http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=131591#131591
HTH
what kind of substrate are you using?
there is a huge amount of chemistry and trial & error involved with growing plants. i'm still a bit green to it (no pun inteneded...or was it???) but i've learned a massive amount in the past two or three weeks. if you haven't read rex's faq, it is strongly recommended that you do so, and check this out http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=131591#131591
HTH
G
Guest
Guest
Flourite doesn't exhaust in a normal tank life. You need to get some basic test kits and get a handle on your tank chemistry. With the amount of light you have on the tank trying to keep a tank balanced without test kits is very similar to driving while blindfolded. When you say Smartlight do you mean that half the tube is a blue actinic color? If so that's part of the problem.
yes it is part actinic... what does that mean? i have no clue about its affects... i heard it was good for plants... i'm planning to get some nitrate test and phosphate... my current problem now is that my tank is cloudy after i cleaned the canister...
Mr Burns
Aquarium Advice FINatic
who told you actinic was good for plants? actinic is referring to the color temp..it's more blue if i remember correctly. good for coral and marine life, not great for plants... i'm guessing you still haven't read rex's faq, so i'll just quote it here:
it sounds to me like you're trying to do way too much and the problems are compounding, but we'll still try to help you through it. the cloudiness is most likely a bacterial bloom and will go away in a few days. that is very typical in new tanks and when filters are thoroughly cleaned. if it's a canister filter, let it run without cleaning for at least a month. when you do clean it, try and just rinse the media in a bucket of tank water that you've drained from a water change as that will help maintain the beneficial bacteria that has formed. do not use tap water to clean the media...the chlorine/chloramine will kill the bacteria you need. the better job you do at maintaining this bacteria, the less chances you have of getting another cloudy bacterial bloom.
since this is a new tank, you should load up on fast growing plants to get you over the hump. if i were you, i'd go out and get as much anacharis and hydrophila you can fit in the tank. then read this - http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_newtank.htm
HTH
it sounds to me like you're trying to do way too much and the problems are compounding, but we'll still try to help you through it. the cloudiness is most likely a bacterial bloom and will go away in a few days. that is very typical in new tanks and when filters are thoroughly cleaned. if it's a canister filter, let it run without cleaning for at least a month. when you do clean it, try and just rinse the media in a bucket of tank water that you've drained from a water change as that will help maintain the beneficial bacteria that has formed. do not use tap water to clean the media...the chlorine/chloramine will kill the bacteria you need. the better job you do at maintaining this bacteria, the less chances you have of getting another cloudy bacterial bloom.
since this is a new tank, you should load up on fast growing plants to get you over the hump. if i were you, i'd go out and get as much anacharis and hydrophila you can fit in the tank. then read this - http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_newtank.htm
HTH
i was planning to buy Ludwigia Narrow Repens , Ludwigia Needle Sagittaria subulata, Radican Marble Queen Watersprite and some anubias... think that would do? what should i do with my smartlite? another bulb would cost me $50! maybe i should do a water change... sorrie i missed out on an important detail of rex's article... but i know the basics...
malkore
Aquarium Advice Addict
Unfortunately, you'll need to replace the smartlite bulb. Try www.hellolights.com for cheaper bulbs.
actinic is maybe 10% usable by plants.
planted tanks require a LOT of research...not for the faint of heart.
actinic is maybe 10% usable by plants.
planted tanks require a LOT of research...not for the faint of heart.
yea, but the thing is that i understand almost all of the concepts besides the actinic blue light affects, and i still can't seem to get it right. but i've told my self that i lack the test kits, because the tests are the map to my troubles. Yet i still haven't gotten them. Running low on $$. I turned off the Smartlite now and the tank is running at 90 watts on its 50 gallon tank. I don't know what to do anymore, i either buy plants that require lower lights, or get the $34 bulb...
G
Guest
Guest
A bulb is available for around $20.
betowess
Aquarium Advice Freak
I like the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals which I use. Big ALs online has them on sale really cheap right now: http://www.bigalsonline.com/?splash_done=1 I don't like my Hagen Nutrafin Phosphate test as the last self dispensing agent is hard to get just one drop out so I would try Seachem or A. Pharm instead. I bought the Hagen PO4 because it was cheapest.
IMO, You need to get some Seachem Excell for CO2 (for the time being). And study Rex's FAQ regarding dosing of ferts. The balance is key. And give it some time as Rome wasn't built in a day and you will run into algae problems next, probably. I sure did/do! Check out the PMDD primer in Aqua botanic library. I'll leave you some great links which Rex Grigg originally turned me on to... Consider all 6700K lamps when you can from AH Supply... good company and good prices. Call Kim at AH with any questions. HTH http://www.ahsupply.com/bulbs.htm http://www.aquabotanic.com/PMDDprimer.htm http://www.gregwatson.com/products.asp
IMO, You need to get some Seachem Excell for CO2 (for the time being). And study Rex's FAQ regarding dosing of ferts. The balance is key. And give it some time as Rome wasn't built in a day and you will run into algae problems next, probably. I sure did/do! Check out the PMDD primer in Aqua botanic library. I'll leave you some great links which Rex Grigg originally turned me on to... Consider all 6700K lamps when you can from AH Supply... good company and good prices. Call Kim at AH with any questions. HTH http://www.ahsupply.com/bulbs.htm http://www.aquabotanic.com/PMDDprimer.htm http://www.gregwatson.com/products.asp
i usually purchase everything from BIGALS because they not only do price match but beat the price by 5%. I'm going to buy the seachem phosphate test kit and the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals nitrate test kit. I"m also going to buy the 96 watts power compact bulb from them at 6700 K. Hopefully this time i've made a good purchase and hopefully i don't have to spend more. =/ i'm draining money like crazyyy. I want to buy better plants as the ones i'm growing are the first ones i've ever bought.
The water right now is clear, the fish seems to be doing fine, i turned off the actinic blue power compact light. Red started to faded as expected from the hygros. Other seems to be fine. i'll probably update in another post later on... to report hopefully success!
The water right now is clear, the fish seems to be doing fine, i turned off the actinic blue power compact light. Red started to faded as expected from the hygros. Other seems to be fine. i'll probably update in another post later on... to report hopefully success!
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