Dying plants

[grahammcmillan]

I have recently set up my tank and put my plants on last week. Bigot a mixed bundle of 25 plants. My tank is going through a faithless cycle so no fish as of yet. I'm at the end of the cycle and have nitrates. They were quite high readings for nitrate but the plants seem to have taken the majority of them. My problem is every plant is turning Brown, disintegrating and looks like it's dying. I have just bought interpet flora boost to see if it can help them. If I were to cut the Brown bits Ofcom wouldn't have much of a plant left. Do I cut away and hope it can regrow or leave it alone and hope for regeneration

 

[Cactuspixie]

I have recently set up my tank and put my plants on last week. Bigot a mixed bundle of 25 plants. My tank is going through a faithless cycle so no fish as of yet. I'm at the end of the cycle and have nitrates. They were quite high readings for nitrate but the plants seem to have taken the majority of them. My problem is every plant is turning Brown, disintegrating and looks like it's dying. I have just bought interpet flora boost to see if it can help them. If I were to cut the Brown bits Ofcom wouldn't have much of a plant left. Do I cut away and hope it can regrow or leave it alone and hope for regeneration

I believe the parts that have gone brown will just rot and contaminate your water. I'd take them out and trim away dead roots, stems and leaves, and replant using fertiliser and liquid carbon. Make sure you don't plant them in bunches or close together- the light needs to penetrate to the base of the stems. What sort of lighting do you have and how long do you leave the light on?

 

[grahammcmillan]

I believe the parts that have gone brown will just rot and contaminate your water. I'd take them out and trim away dead roots, stems and leaves, and replant using fertiliser and liquid carbon. Make sure you don't plant them in bunches or close together- the light needs to penetrate to the base of the stems. What sort of lighting do you have and how long do you leave the light on?

I try to have the lights on for around fourteen hours a day. That's what an aquarium book said so I try and hit that. I have a jewel Rio 125. Do I have the t5 light unit with two standard day spectrum bulbs if that makes Sence. I only put In the flora boost two days ago do you think if I cit away any Brown parts and replanted the nutrients will help to grow back healthier leaves. They are all cuttings, my plan was to leave them and hope they root. They're harder to keep than the fish lol

 

[Cactuspixie]

I try to have the lights on for around fourteen hours a day.

Wow, that's a whole lot of light! Personally I'd reduce it to about 10 hours before you end up with an algal bloom.

That's what an aquarium book said so I try and hit that. I have a jewel Rio 125. Do I have the t5 light unit with two standard day spectrum bulbs if that makes Sence. I only put In the flora boost two days ago do you think if I cit away any Brown parts and replanted the nutrients will help to grow back healthier leaves. They are all cuttings, my plan was to leave them and hope they root.

if you trim away the dead matter, the plants will be able to use the nutrients more effectively. A lot depends on the species you have. Some are just hell bent on dying in all but the most perfect of circumstances!

They're harder to keep than the fish lol

You are not wrong!!! It's so complex- I have trouble *getting* chemistry. I pretty much just stick to the low care plants now. I don't seem to be able to kill those

 

[grahammcmillan]

Wow, that's a whole lot of light! Personally I'd reduce it to about 10 hours before you end up with an algal bloom.

if you trim away the dead matter, the plants will be able to use the nutrients more effectively. A lot depends on the species you have. Some are just hell bent on dying in all but the most perfect of circumstances!

You are not wrong!!! It's so complex- I have trouble *getting* chemistry. I pretty much just stick to the low care plants now. I don't seem to be able to kill those

I get what your saying I'll cut it down a bit. How long does it take for them to root.

 

[Cactuspixie]

I get what your saying I'll cut it down a bit. How long does it take for them to root.

I've never actually made a point of checking that. The ones I had grew roots whether they were planted or not! lol.