Is cycling killing my plant?

[Elle2]

Hi,

I have just begun cycling my tank and one of my live plants (corkscrew grass?) is doing very poorly. Is there something in the cycling process that may be hurting it? Should I wait until the cycle is done before adding live plants?

Today is day four of the cycle and my levels are:

Ammonia: chart shows b/w 4 and 8 so I am guessing around 6?
Ph: 7
Nitrite: 0

Temp: 29 C (84 F?)

Thanks,

Elle
p.s. yesterday my Ammonia was 4 so I am going to remove one shrimp (I had 2).

 

[Jchillin]

Hi Elle:

In order to diagnose what is happening, we need to know a little bit more info:

What size tank?
What is your current light level?
What kind of test are you using?
Other plants in tank?

I also moved your thread to the planted tank section since it involves plants during your cycle.

 

[Elle2]

Thanks!

I have a 20 G.

I don't actually know what level of light... I have one of those package deals and am using the light that came with that. The aquarium itself is in a fairly bright room but not in direct sun (if that helps).

I have pool filter sand as a substrate, and for live plants, in addition to the grass I have two small java ferns which so far seem ok.

I have a fresh water master kit which has tests for PH, Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrates, and a high range PH test which I don't expect to use (?).

 

[fish_4_all]

I am really just learning but this is what I have seen from other members. If I get this wrong, I am sure someone will correct me.

The first thing is probably not enough light. If it is like most I have seen at the LFS, it is below 1 watt per gallon. You might need to upgrade your lighting if you want to have a good planted tank with anything but low light light plants. Second, if the plant is low light, during your cycle, you will need to add certain nutrients like PO4 and potassium because there won't be enough for your plants in a new tank. You might even need to add NO3 because your plants might not be able to use the nitrogen in the ammonia well enough to thrive. Another problem might be the temperature although I haven't seen this as being a problem before. I know with a fishless cycle you raise the temperature for a faster cycle but the plants may not like this and react negatively.

Best of luck and stick with it. I have gone through a lot of questions and a lot of headache before I got a plant to thrive longer than 2 weeks. Now I have a red melon sword that is a monster and 2 java fern that are thriving compaired to no growth in 4 months. Be patient, it is worth it.

 

[noncentric]

Hi Elle, is this the 'grass' that you have? http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=194

As mentioned, it is probably the lighting that is the issue. Java ferns can survive with very low light, which may be why your java ferns are doing okay while your 'grass' is not.

Can you check the type of lights you have (compact fluorescent, fluorescent strip light, incandescent, etc) and the wattage?

 

[Elle2]

Hi,

Hi Elle, is this the 'grass' that you have? http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=194

Yes- that looks (looked) like it exactly. Its dead now.. should I take it out?

from what I can gather (I bought one of those aquarium packages and the information included isn't great), I have a 24" flourescent bulb- the electrical rating for my cover is 120V 60 Hz and 15W. Does that help at all? I sort of assumed that this info would be on the bulb itself but it isn't. I also have this white knob in the hood about an inch away from the bulb that looks like it can be replaced... there are no diagrams or instructions explaining what it is.

This may be a problem as well... I have not been turning out the light at night and just read that this is recommended?


Thanks for all the help!
Elle

 

[zachxlutz]

Elle, as i said on your other post in the "getting started" forum, you should remove the plant, as it doesn't provide ammonia for the cycle, it just rots off and leaves phosphates which are beneficial to algae growth.

as for your lighting you have 20 gallon tank and a 15 watt bulb giving you .75 WPG. That is a very low light rating... look into lighting and CO2 if you want to have a successful planted tank!

cheers.

 

[Elle2]

Thanks- I just saw that- I will take it out now. I think I got the shrimp pictures to work.

As for the lighting, will this require getting a new apparatus or just s stronger bulb?

Thanks!

Elle

 

[zachxlutz]

yeah, i saw the shrimp pictures... gross! but hey, the fish will be happy in their new home after cycling is complete.

you can get a new fixture if you like, or there are retro-fit kits if you feel like being a do-it-yourselfer.

check out these sites for more info on retro-fitting a new kit.

http://www.hellolights.com/
and
http://www.ahsupply.com/

i would suggest going with a power compact system with about 40-55 watts.

cheers.