Whats up with my plants?

[Foxtrot90]

So, im still pretty new to keeping plants in my aquariums, but i've spent a vast amount of time doing research on how to keep them. And in the past few months i've been buying plants like crack in an attempt to fill every inch of my 29 gallon

So heres my current set up

Lighting: 2 T8's, one 5000k Floral sun and one 5500K Tropic sun
Aquatek C02 injection system
I dose Seachem Flourish once a week + API root tabs

Parameters: 0,0,40

But heres what my plants look like at the moment

Also been getting some of this brown fuzzy algae in some places

My plants seem to be surviving, but not thriving like i want them to. So what am I doing wrong? Is my lighting not strong enough perhaps? Let me know if yall need more information about anything

 

[Krissycakes]

How often do you do water changes?

 

[aquandrew]

your lights aren't going to cut it for the height of a 29 gallon. are you dosing any ferts? do the swords have root tabs?

 

[Oohitsae]

your lights aren't going to cut it for the height of a 29 gallon. are you dosing any ferts? do the swords have root tabs?

Agreed - and you'll want to get some root tabs if you aren't using them already, those yellow spots usually mean there's a deficiency in ferts

 

[Foxtrot90]

Ive been using API root tabs + Flourish for the past month or so, perhaps its needs more time to make a noticeable difference?

And about the lights, you guys are saying the two T8's arnt going to cut it? I was thinking about bringing home an Aquasun T5 fixture

 

[Foxtrot90]

Oh, and I do maybe a 20% water change once a month

 

[Oohitsae]

I'd look into a t5HO fixture, there are some good inexpensive ones on eBay, about $50 for dual bulbs and would give you a perfect amount of light

 

[Catfish Lover]

I'd look into a t5HO fixture, there are some good inexpensive ones on eBay, about $50 for dual bulbs and would give you a perfect amount of light

2 T8's is fine over a 29 gallon. This seems like a fertilizer issue, I would dose flourish twice a week instead of once.

 

[Foxtrot90]

The only thing that worries me about dosing twice a week is that i have several inverts in the tank. Maybe ill start slow and increase my dosing by 25%

Also, i gave in and came home with an Aquasun T5HO fixture. Just set it up with one 5000K and one 10,000k, and holy cow this thing is bright

 

[Catfish Lover]

The only thing that worries me about dosing twice a week is that i have several inverts in the tank. Maybe ill start slow and increase my dosing by 25%

Also, i gave in and came home with an Aquasun T5HO fixture. Just set it up with one 5000K and one 10,000k, and holy cow this thing is bright

I would invest in some floating plants, bright lights stress fish out.

 

[Foxtrot90]

Ive got that tree trunk there if they need some good shade, and i cant keep floating plants anyways. Too much surface movement. I couldnt even keep duckweed when i wanted too!

 

[blizowman1]

I'm seeing a couple algaes in the tank too..... I'm thinking that maybe the combination of ferts and maybe not enough co2 in the tank is causing the algae. And at the same time if there isn't enough co2 for the plants to use then the algae maybe using both the ferts and co2 up before your plants get it cause algae requires much less levels of both to grow..... The key is getting enough co2 and fertilizer in the tank for the plants to out grow the algae.... Something to remember is higher light requires higher co2 for a plant. It's all about finding the balance.... tom Barr actually believes and practices that if you have enough co2 in the tank then you can never have to much fertilizer. Because your plants will use what they need Nd grow fast enough to kill off algae there for the root cause of any plant problem should always begins with co2. If you have enough of that the you can find out which fertilizer you need to do away with the deficiencies you have.

Sorry for rambling haha

 

[Foxtrot90]

Hmm, Ive thought about that, how i might not be injecting enough CO2. Ill slowly turn it up over the course of the next few days + increase my fert dosing.

All that plus the new lights and i will hope to see a difference soon. Thanks for all the advice guys

 

[Jkeating8]

Wtih pressurized co2 and that amount of light, you really need to get into either EI (which I recommend) or PPS-Pro. You will have algae if you're not dosing ferts. Get yourself a drop checker and put it on the opposite side of the co2 diffuser. There are some cheap ones on Ebay for less than 10$ shipped with some 4dkh solution. Dosing ferts will not hurt the shrimp. I've dose ferts in tanks with inverts all the time.

 

[Foxtrot90]

EI or PPS-Pro? im not sure what those are.

And yea, ill go ahead and order a drop checker

 

[Jkeating8]

EI or PPS-Pro? im not sure what those are. And yea, ill go ahead and order a drop checker

EI and PPS Pro are both fertilization methods. EI consists of overdosing the water column to give the plants anything they would ever need. This prevents deficiencies and algae. PPS-Pro is a method where ferts are dosed to the needs of the plants. You only dose what they can consume in a day.

You can order the EI Fert pack on Greenleaf Aquariums. It's far cheaper than liquid ferts and will supply the plants with the macro and micro nutrients needed. I personally use EI because it doesn't require testing and test kits, and i never seem to have algae problems when using it. Just my luck. Haha.