java moss

[hartman57]

i had tried java moss in my cichild tank but it seemed to just die off and turn brown. it seemed to cause a mess in my tank!! I thought that moss did not need bery much light. am i wrong. any suggestions
also i have some annubias and they are turning brown and yellow at the ends. i trimmed them down, but still no growth. i have a 45 gallon tank what type of light should i buy, im new with plants. i just need some quick advice here. what should i look out for.

 

[malkore]

well, anubias bartari v. nana can almost survive in darkness, so light shouldn't be the issue.

Yellowing leaves, however, is a sign of nutrient deficiency.

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm - is an excellent source for nutrient deficiencies.

possibly low nitrogen, but more likely your potassium is low, possibly iron and other trace nutrients as well.

regular water changes usually keep traces in check on low light tanks, unless you have semi-soft tap water. on moderate to high light tanks, you'll have to dose traces, as well as macro nutrients.

be sure to read through the stickies. they cover everything: lights, fertilizer, etc.

 

[Tiffi]

Compact Flourescents are the best deal for light intensity, price and don't take as much space as the same amount of light by NO bulbs. From 1.5wpg to 2wpg you have enough light to grow a lot of plants, but Co2 is not absoulutely necessary yet, though it can support the growths of your plants. You can also read everything about light in the sticky about light for planted tanks on top of this forum.

As for the Javamoss I've heard that many times that it died because of no apparent reason. I've bought some a little while ago but mine died shortly after introducing it into my tank as well while other plants thrived.
Since your anubias is sickly too, I suspect it is a nutrient deficiency or lack of light. Could be too little potassium. Do any of the plants in your tank have pinholes or so in their leaves? How much light do you currently have?