Hey

[Derek015]

I have a 55 gal tank and right now i just have some small grasses growing in it. i sometimes put some anachris in the tank but it doesnt grow the leaves just fall off and i dont know what to do about that.

I had some amazon sword but that started to die off. Only 1 plant started to grow. but when i had to take them out(because all their leaves were brown) the roots were EVERYWHERE in the tank i didnt think they were growing since they were all brown and dead.


i have this light bulb http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9871&N=2004+113345 in the freshwater 48" on my 55 gal.

Please throw in ideas and all my tank specs are good. all levels are low

Nitrates 10 ppm
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrites 0 ppm
pH 7.01 (i bought a pinpoint pH meter )
Alkalinity pretty high (how do i lower this?)
Hardness its pretty soft because we have a water softener

 

[malkore]

You don't have enough light. 40w over a 55gal is well under 1wpg. You'll have to stick to java fern, anubias nana, and low light crypt species if you want yoru plants to survive.

double, triple, or quadruple your lighting if you want a 'fancier' planted tank.

The water softner isn't helping you either...but softened water should have very low alkalinity. with a 7.01pH , i think you alkalinity test kit is bad...a natural 7.0 pH would have little to no alkalinity (a.k.a. carbonate hardness).

 

[Derek015]

well i have 4 65 watt lights so i have like 260 watts of lighting in my tank i dont think that was accurate -_- but i tried lolz

i think i have like 4.7 wpg

 

[Lonewolfblue]

If they are CF lights, you have a bit more than 4.7w/g. More like 6.38w/g I believe, if I have the correct calculation.

 

[Derek015]

is that good :?

 

[nitrous]

yes more light the better but do you dose any fertilizers or have co2? because ur plants may be suffering from nutrient deficiency

 

[Lonewolfblue]

More light is better, but that's extremely high lighting, like my tank. I had to cut back on my lighting til I get everything back on track. You will definitely need several things:

1. CO2 injection
2. Nutrient dosing
3. Constantly check parameters and dose accordingly
4. Buy sunglasses for your fish.

My recommendation. Til you catch on, run only 1 bank of lights (130W). That is where I currently am. On my 75G, I'm only running 130W in the rear and 130W up front. Then I run 130W actinics in the middle and the other 130W is off for now. And yes, I have 2 260W fixtures on my 75G (Insane lighting).

 

[Derek015]

What kind of nutrients should i put in my tank??

because i know there are alot (im not a plant buff if you guys can tell)

this is my first attempt at a planted tank and im trying my hardest LOL

i just dont know what to do really :-/


agh! im trying to convince my dad to get these things for me like the CO2 injector and he says that they are a waste of $ and do nothing for the tank

 

[Lonewolfblue]

For the nutrients, you have macros and micros. The macros are Nitrogen, Phosphates, and Potassium. The micros are like Iron, magnesium, and a bunch of others. Weekly water changes help replentish micros, but may still need extra dosing with your lighting.

To learn more, go through the dosing stickies in this forum. Also look at the stickies on lighting, and plants. You will get a lot of valuable info.

 

[Derek015]

ok i read them the lighting i have i believe i have PC lights because the tubes are bent like a U shape and i have 4 of those bulbs they are 60 or 65(dont remember eek im a bad fish keeper) and i can turn off 1 strip or both.

is there a thing as too much filtration? because these are my filters

Canister Filters
Fluval 404
Magnum 350

HOB
2 Emperor 250 (i think its 250)

 

[Lonewolfblue]

No such thing as too much filtration. As long as the current isn't too strong for the fish, you are fine. I'd only keep 1 light strip on til you get things down, then you can try experimenting with full lighting from that fixture. Sounds like you have what I have. I have the Odessea 265W 4 bulb fixture and 3 switches, one for each row and the 3rd for the moon-lights. I have 2 of them on my 75G.

 

[Derek015]

awww i want moon lights but yea the current is blowing up against the glass and it all evens out the canister filters blow into each other and the HOB filters blow water against the glass and the plants dont show much current and the fish are fine, sometimes they just idle in one place in the tank other times they decide to chase each other

but all is well and the current appears to be non-existent

 

[fish_4_all]

Just my two cents but I think you are killing your light. With that much chop and current at the surface, you could be reflecting all your light or a majority of it. Also, that is gassing off CO2 if the water splashes at all against the glass. I honestly believe you can overfilter just for the fact that you have so much current, and with the bioload distributed between all those filters, it could lead to an ammonia spike if you take 2 of them out. 2 filters rated for 55 gallons or more should be fine, more than enough filtration.

I could be way off base here but undergravel filters running air stones supposedly not only gasses off CO2 but also cuts your light penetration but up to 75% depending on the surface agitation.

 

[Derek015]

it doesnt splash on the glass.... i have no air stones one of the filters is currently off and the light is fine and my plants are still healthy and green

thanks for the vote of confidence

 

[fish_4_all]

Sorry to make it sound like I was dissin ya, I didn't mean for it to sound that way. It just seemed like it might be a lot of current and that might be disrupting the light penetration. I know if I don't keep the water level right at the outflow of my AC my plants show the effects almost overnight. The red melon sword I have won't pearl if the water isn't high enough keeping the water waves to a minimum. Otherwise it pearls in continuous streams.

 

[Derek015]

my plants still pearl i just have some grasses and 2 java fern right now

 

[BillD]

Way too much filtration for a planted tank. Also do you have a lot of live plants, or "just a few grasses and Java fern"? Keep only the 404, and make sure there is no carbon in it. there are other things that need to be done, but I'll let the plant experts fill you in on that. That is a lot of light for a non CO2 tank.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Alkalinity pretty high (how do i lower this?)
Hardness its pretty soft because we have a water softener

And here is a small problem.. Most water softeners that use salt are ion exchange, so they swap 1 molecuule for another, not that great for plants since that is typicaly not something your plants need. you'ld be better off bypassing the softener for your tank water.. (better the devil you know then the devil you don't) if you truely want to sften your water then look for a cation exchange unit/resin. Water softening pillow is one such beast, but I'm unsure of cost for a unit like this.