Experience with Echinodorus species?

[Fresh2o]

Are you still adding root tabs with every water change? Would that be once a week? Sounds a bit too frequent. I add them 3-4 a year at best.
What plants are you trying to get tall growth out of? IMO I would do easy stem plants such as Bacopa spp.
Limiting light to promote tall growth might work but it may result in gangly and unattractive growth.

 

[bhavik95]

Hi I try to some times I forget to add them and no I do water changes every 3-4 weeks or so
I'm assuming that my plants need the roots tabs hence the growth and leaves

Well I have ludwigia which is growing tall but the lower leaves ain't great as you can see in the picture
Also trying to get the water wisteria Amazon swords, hydro and red tiger lotus to grow tall as well

So in your opinion what shall I do?

 

[Fresh2o]

Reason I ask about the addition of root tabs is that recommendations I've seen is generally every 30-45 days.
Side question: Based on your stocking and water change schedule, how do you keep the nitrates and other pollutants in check? Water changes every 3-4 weeks in a tank with a pleco, a shark, an angelfish, a pair of I-don't-know cichlids, plus tetras is insufficient for that bioload. But that is not the discussion you raised.
Honestly, I removed all of the plants on MY tank that get tall. Partly due to maintenance and I wanted to try something different.
Not sure what to suggest in your case. If the water column ferts don't match the lighting you've provided, then there will be nutrient deficiencies resulting in poor growth. I don't have much experience with the plants you've listed.

 

[Delapool]

Another reason for the water changes perhaps is the red lotus produces a chemical that inhibits other plants. I'm not sure how true that is, I'll PM one of the local guys. I decided I didn't have the room for it.


http://www.theaquariumguide.com/articles/red-tiger-lotus-care-guide

 

[bhavik95]

Yeah I generally tend to do it every month maybe more as I tend to forget

As for your question I'm not sure how but they all seem fine and they are happy with me changing the water every 3-4 weeks I even have the angelfish breeding as well

Yeah I wish I could get to that stage as mine aren't really getting tall :/

What I have done now is up the brightness of the leds to 100% and I'm now going to start dosing a bit more than I should of the lush max liquid ferts daily

On a side note I have another tank that I have running which only has shrimps and the plants in there are going fine getting tall and looking healthy and the light that I have is a aqua lux 7000k and I have had this like for maybe 10 year
So I don't get what's happening

As for the red tiger lotus problem I don't think it's that's as the ludwigia is growing tall it's just the leaves are unhealthy :/

 

[Coursair]

My plants ?
Thrive All in One 2-3x weekly
Excel Daily or when I remember
Root Caps for the Swords and Crypts

50% weekly water to changes to reset ferts and keep Nitrates in balance.



I'm in an Aquatic plant club. My clubmembers preach water changes unless you really know exactly how to balance your ferts, lights and are lightly stocked.

Just light , just ferts, without proper CO2 or water changes you'll either get slow growth or you'll grow Algae.

I hope you find a good balance for your tank.

 

[bhavik95]

I'm having no luck with the plants they are all looking gloomy and brownish
And I don't have clue what to do

 

[Bert2oo1]

I'm having no luck with the plants they are all looking gloomy and brownish
And I don't have clue what to do

Got a picture at all? Browning is generally a lack of light?

If your ferts are consistent then it's either lack of water changes causing your issues or a lack of light

 

[bhavik95]

I'll take a couple of pictures of the plants when I can but how can it be lack of light as I have just upgraded my lights from t8 to 2 fluval aquasky led. Surely the leds are better than the t8s?

 

[bhavik95]

Also I wanted to ask when I had a sandy substrate I felt and saw that the plants were growing much better than they are now and ever since I changed to gravel it's been pretty crap!

So is it possible that they grow better in the sand then gravel?

And this was before I changed the lights as well so was running the t8s before

 

[Delapool]

Imo it would be the clay with the sand (e.g. straight quartz of sand or gravel size is inert either way).

 

[bhavik95]

Sorry I don't understand?
I have read that the roots of plants grow easier in sand than gravel

 

[Delapool]

I find there is no difference. The gravel and sand parts that are made up of rock basically (for sand this is quartz rock) is pretty much useless for the plant except for the roots to hold onto to keep the plant floating off. Like having rocks in garden.

The clay (or this would be soil in a garden) contains and also holds nutrients (eg from dosing ferts), that the plants can get hold of.

http://www.soilquality.org.au/factsheets/cation-exchange-capacity

 

[bhavik95]

Oh ok so it would make no difference if I put in the sand that I was using before?

I mean I don't know what is going wrong I just can't get the plants to grow even after spending money on leds

 

[Bert2oo1]

Oh ok so it would make no difference if I put in the sand that I was using before?

I mean I don't know what is going wrong I just can't get the plants to grow even after spending money on leds

The tanks a 40b isn't it? I've posted on so many posts I can't keep track lol

Really need a full tank shot with the lights on so I can see what plants are where and what's going on. My main concern would be the water changes to be honest. Once a month is a long time if you could atleast get it down to once every 2 weeks of atleast 50% that would be best.

Are the plants going brown or is it brown algae on the surface of the leaves?

 

[Delapool]

Oh ok so it would make no difference if I put in the sand that I was using before?

I mean I don't know what is going wrong I just can't get the plants to grow even after spending money on leds

If the sand has clay, then it will be better than gravel. I've found I can grow plants in soil that don't work in gravel for example. The soil / clay helps if the plants are struggling elsewhere.

So your last setup may not have been ideal, but the sand (+ clay) got the plants over the line. When I buy substrate ferts tabs now, I'm also looking at the clay it will add (else I'd just go straight diy ferts in capsules).

 

[bhavik95]

Here are the photos you asked for bert hope that helps?
Please let me know what you think?

I also have put to plants in a pot of sand with root tabs just experiment to see if actually it does grow better in sand then gravel

 

[Bert2oo1]

Wow ok I can see your frustration for sure.

Your going to hate me but I'd say it is a lighting issue. Are those fluvals on 100%?

Also how many root tabs do you have spread around the substrate? I think I recall you saying you were adding them every week? You don't want too many or you'll end up burning the plants.

After doing a little bit of research on your Lights I've read a lot of mixed results. Some people have said they are rubbish and other have said they worked fine for them.

I'd say with your tank depth looks like your tanks classified as a "deep tank". Is it over 450mm deep?

 

[bhavik95]

Yes I know it's very frustrating the plants basically look like crap!

Really lighting again? :/ yeah they are I'm going to turn the red and blue light to 100% as well to see what happens

As for root tabs I only add it during every water change which for me isn't very often and that's when I remember to

Yes the tank is over 45 cm deep maybe around 50-60cm

Would these lights not work for my tank then?

 

[Bert2oo1]

Yes I know it's very frustrating the plants basically look like crap!

Really lighting again? :/ yeah they are I'm going to turn the red and blue light to 100% as well to see what happens

As for root tabs I only add it during every water change which for me isn't very often and that's when I remember to

Yes the tank is over 45 cm deep maybe around 50-60cm

Would these lights not work for my tank then?

Try putting everything to 100% to start with and see how you go. I know that people have a lot of trouble getting lighting for tanks that deep. I think I remember reading the par for your lights was 55 par at 11" deep so you'd be around 10-15 at substrate (abit low)

Do you know the lens size of your lights are? To penetrate deep tanks you want 60-90 degree optics (thinner more concentrated beams)

I apologise for giving u a wrong steer with the lighting I didn't realise your tank was so deep. Increasing the red and blue will certainly help a lot tho [emoji106]

Ease up on the root tabs too, you'll only need to add 4-5 every 3 months or so [emoji106]