Masha
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I've got a number of problems with plants in my low light, low tech tank. I suspect I've got an imbalance of light / nutrients, and I'm hoping somebody can point me in the right direction.
Specs:
90 litre tank, (23 gallons)
I don't add CO2
I do weekly water changes of about 40%
Ammonia and nitrites 0
Nitrates are under 12.5 after a week
PH 7.6
Temperature 25.6 Centigrade (78 Fahrenheit)
I don't know any of the other measurements, KH, GH, Phosphates etc. The tests are incredibly expensive here so I've only got the basic ones. I suspect the water is high in calcium because my apple snail shells healed right up after the broke, filling in a big hole in just a few days.
Lighting - a single 20w fluorescent t8 tube on for 8 hours a day
Filter - Aquaclear 70
I've got quite a few ramshorn snails and two pagoda snails (who I've never seen near the plants although they're supposed to eat plants? Also their new additions so I don't think they are relevant )
Do I need to specify the fish? Black skirts, swordtails, cories, silvertip tetras, one java loach.
Plants are anubias, hornwort, java fern, java moss, a lily, and something else I don't know what it is with small leaves.
Also some emergent plants - a small pothos vine and a fairly well established philodendron dangling their roots in the water. Small maidenhair fern rooted in the filter.
My problems -
The new anubia leaves look just a little buckled, and the older ones look discoloured and speckled. Not algea growing on them, more like they are a little worn away. Could that be the ramshorn snails?
Same for the java fern - it looks rippled, and has sort of worn, brownish, almost coppery spots. I recently removed the worst ones, they get progressively worse:
The small leaf plant (don't know what it is) is ok, but I don't think it gets enough light, only the leaves at the top really look good. I cut off the tips and replant them, which is why there are stronger leaves near the bottom now:
You can see the lily in this ^^ picture too - I put a Tetra root tab in with it, but I'm not sure how often to renew that. It looks ok, producing new leaves and growing quite quickly.
I've also got a BBA problem on the driftwood. It's been getting slowly, slowly worse.
I tried adding a bit of Seachem Flourish, but all that seems to happen is I instantly get a lot of olive brown algae growing on the glass.
I suspect the light is really too dim, you can see it doesn't stretch all the way across the tank and there's a bright spot in the middle.
Any advice?
Specs:
90 litre tank, (23 gallons)
I don't add CO2
I do weekly water changes of about 40%
Ammonia and nitrites 0
Nitrates are under 12.5 after a week
PH 7.6
Temperature 25.6 Centigrade (78 Fahrenheit)
I don't know any of the other measurements, KH, GH, Phosphates etc. The tests are incredibly expensive here so I've only got the basic ones. I suspect the water is high in calcium because my apple snail shells healed right up after the broke, filling in a big hole in just a few days.
Lighting - a single 20w fluorescent t8 tube on for 8 hours a day
Filter - Aquaclear 70
I've got quite a few ramshorn snails and two pagoda snails (who I've never seen near the plants although they're supposed to eat plants? Also their new additions so I don't think they are relevant )
Do I need to specify the fish? Black skirts, swordtails, cories, silvertip tetras, one java loach.
Plants are anubias, hornwort, java fern, java moss, a lily, and something else I don't know what it is with small leaves.
Also some emergent plants - a small pothos vine and a fairly well established philodendron dangling their roots in the water. Small maidenhair fern rooted in the filter.
My problems -
The new anubia leaves look just a little buckled, and the older ones look discoloured and speckled. Not algea growing on them, more like they are a little worn away. Could that be the ramshorn snails?
Same for the java fern - it looks rippled, and has sort of worn, brownish, almost coppery spots. I recently removed the worst ones, they get progressively worse:
The small leaf plant (don't know what it is) is ok, but I don't think it gets enough light, only the leaves at the top really look good. I cut off the tips and replant them, which is why there are stronger leaves near the bottom now:
You can see the lily in this ^^ picture too - I put a Tetra root tab in with it, but I'm not sure how often to renew that. It looks ok, producing new leaves and growing quite quickly.
I've also got a BBA problem on the driftwood. It's been getting slowly, slowly worse.
I tried adding a bit of Seachem Flourish, but all that seems to happen is I instantly get a lot of olive brown algae growing on the glass.
I suspect the light is really too dim, you can see it doesn't stretch all the way across the tank and there's a bright spot in the middle.
Any advice?