New plant problems!

[zombie2k]

Hi all, I've got a couple of problems after I got my new equipment (yay!).

1. I have an Eheim 2213, versa glass top, coralife 65w PC flourescent lighting on my 30G high. The light is a pretty small strip and the versa glass top has a black strip in the middle.

Unfortunately that black strip is in the middle and I can't just plop the light there--so I have to choose either the front or the back. My question is will that totally screw plant growth in the back? I wanted to plant some swords and anacharis in the back--but it doesn't really get direct light like the front does (right now I have a java fern, banana plant, and some sort of moss-more on that later). Will having the light in the front be a problem? or should I find some kind of new glass top?

2. Last night I bought some moss that I thought was java moss but after researching a bit after the fact as I thought it was darker than I've seen it online I think it might be Willow moss--what is the difference between the two?

3. Also, literally overnight I have an algae problem in the front of the tank (I'm guessing because of the intense light there?). It's bright green and kind of hangs off the glass and stirs in the current. Solutions?

4. What plants should I get?!??! I'm not really heavily planted. I have pretty good coverage on the left side but the middle and right side (front to back) are pretty bare with exception only to the far left back side that houses a tiny leaf of anubias that has been hanging on for dear life since I got the tank over a year ago. I know the advice is to plant heavy so, what other plants should I get? Right now I have the previously mentioned lighting and also I'm using flourish, flourite, and flourish excel.

5. and finally--LIVESTOCK! I don't plan to buy anymore fish for awhile till the new plants get settled but I really want some bottum guys that wont destroy the plants though. Right now it seems everything sits at the top of the tank. I have one blue gourami, 8 zebra danios, and 1 tiger barb--He seems pretty docile now, though he's not nearly as big as the ones ive seen that the store yet but he's what im worried about. I'd really love some ghost shrimp but I'm afraid my gourami and tiger barb would see them as lunch. I like corries when they are small but it looks like they get really fat and grub like (lol). Any suggestions?

Thanks a bunch for your help once again! I look forward to your advice!

 

[Purrbox]

1. I'd try out both positions and see which works best for you. If all else fails you could even remove the hinge.
2. Mosses (and most other plants for that matter) can vary greatly in appearance depending on the conditions that they've been grown in. Java Moss is often a darker mosses especially when not grown in high light nutrient rich water. Trying to visually id most mosses with the naked eye is impossible. You'd need a microscope for the task. If you bought it at a LFS it's probably Java Moss.
3. Does it dust off easily or do you really have to scrape to remove it. If the first it's dust algae and just needs some time to go away on its own. If the second you may need to increase the Phosphates.
4. Check out PlantGeek.net's Plant Guide. Take a look at the low to medium light plants and see which ones strike your fancy. Definately try to pick out a couple of fast growing stem plants as this will help keep your aquarium more balanced especially while adjusting the aditional light.
5. The Dwarf Cories (corydorus pygmaeus, corydorus hastatus, and corydorus habrosus) stay small and cute if you can get ahold of them.

 

[neilanh]

Why the glass tops? I run all of my planted tanks open top. Does your light fixture accomodate this?

 

[zombie2k]

@ Purr

Thanks for the reply! Useful information!

@ Neil

Sometimes it can smell like water in the room and I find that the top alleviates that problem a bit. It also is supposed to help with evaporation. Besides, while my light does have an acrylic splash guard, it says on the box to not use without a glass top.

I don't want my fishes to jump ship either

 

[zombie2k]

Sorry to double post, but I just checked the algae that was growing on the front side of the tank and it comes off very easily (just lightly rubbed my finger on it and it came off).

Also if any else has ideas as far as livestock for the bottum or anything I welcome your advice!

 

[happygirl65]

Kuhli loaches are really cool and good at cleaning up the leftovers at night, though you rarely ever see them, when you do they are so fun. They look like mini eels.

 

[zombie2k]

That sounds cool--I kind of want to get more barbs, would that fish be ok with a school of tiger barbs? or even the single one I have now?

 

[happygirl65]

I think so. Mine hide all day long under rocks etc. They like to dig in the sand so if you have a softer sandy like substrate they really like that.

I also don't think they would be a problem with those fish as they are REALLY fast.

 

[zombie2k]

Great I'll go out looking for those when my plants stabilize (I hope they do).

Another problem though: My plants all look like they are dying! The anacharis leaves are going transparent, the moss seems to be turning more brown than anything--how bad is this?

 

[Purrbox]

Unfortuantely Flourish Excel and Anacharis are not compatible. Flourish Excel is confirmed to be deterimental to Vals and Anacharis, and many have also reported problems with Riccia especially at higher dosages.

This shouldn't be affecting your moss. Is the moss actually turning brown, or is it just collecting detris or getting covered with diatoms? Is it being shadowed by anything? Had it gotten rather thick?

 

[happygirl65]

It doesn't sounds good. If the entire plant dies, remove it or it can cause problems.

What kind of light do you have, what size tank etc, do you dose ferts? Have a plant substrate?

How long have you had the plants?

Need more specifics to truly help, but you have come to the right place!

 

[zombie2k]

I put the plants in less than a week ago.

I have a 30g High tank, flourite substrate, 65W PC, only putting in flourish and flourish excel.

The moss seems green on the outside still, but the inside is pretty brown. There is some brown stuff hanging off of it though.

My banana plant has a new leaf opening up on it, so not all of my plants are doing badly.

So the anacharis is screwed? Should I just trash it now?

I also have some plants that I got from petsmart that were just marked as "potted plants" but they look a lot like amazon swords to me--how should those do? Some of them had brownish leaves when i bought them--should I yank those off the plants as they look like they are getting browner.

Thanks again in advance!

 

[Purrbox]

If you're planning to continue using Flourish Excel, then you might as well trash the Anancharis. They just don't do well together.

Try spreading out the moss thinner and removing any bits that are overly brown from the center. You need to thin moss back occationally or the lowest portions get shaded by the rest and die off. It also helps to make sure that you clean any junk off of it that it accumulates. Usually a weekly brush off is suffiecient. If you're not doing a water change, then a turkey baster can be used to removed the gunk out of the the water column when your done or just stir it sufficiently so that the filter picks it up.

Definately remove any leaves that are dying or dead. This will prevent them from rotting and messing with your water parameters and encourage the plants to focus on growing new leaves instead of trying to repair damaged ones.