My plants are dying... Help

[SpellEcho]

I've recently started a planted tank which will eventually have fish in it but first I wanted to make my plants Flourish and like the title says, that's not happening. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong so I'm hoping someone can tell me.

I have a 20 gallon fully cycled tank I used fluval on the bottom and just a regular black gravel to cover the top. I have the fluval co2 systems which I fill up once to twice a day and I have a plant light that I bought at petsmart. I dose with nutrafin plant gro once a week. I don't have a bubbler going or a huge current I keep the water line high so the filter doesn't cause much agitation. The light is on probably 12 hours a day. The plants are losing their leaves and the remaining leaves are turning see through. Any suggestions would be great!

 

[Old Scales]

Please answer a few questions first.
1. Describe the Fluval CO2 system. Is it the yeast based or the pressurized can you load from?
2. Exactly describe your light. Is it fluorescent or LED? If fluorescent is it a T8, T5NO, T5HO? Does the bulb say what temp it is in K? How many bulbs in it?
3. Does the Nutrafin Plant Gro list nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus in the ingredients or just trace elements?
4. Please list the species of plants in your tank.
With this info maybe I can help you. OS.

 

[SpellEcho]

1. CO2 system is pressurized
2.The light reads aqueon flora max 15w 120v T8. Just one bulb
3. It lists nitrogen, boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, zinc
4. I can't for the life of me remember what the plants are called haha, I know I have Java moss and some moss balls I think one of them is a scarlet temple but I'm not to sure.

Thanks for your help

 

[Mebbid]

You bought the plants that came in a plastic tube or package correct? These are grown emersed and will need to switch over to the submersed form of growth. This usually means they lose all their leaves.

How often are you changing the co2 cylinder? Do you have a drop checker? How many bubbles per second are you running?

The fertilizer you are using isn't a very appropriate one if that's all the nutrients in it. You should look into doing either pps pro or estimative index fert regemin. The ferts can be bought at green leaf aquariums.

The light you have isn't going to grow anything but low light plants. Sadly this means your scarlet temple is very likely going to die. Unless you change your light fixture you should look at crypts, java moss, java fern, bolbitis, and any anubias.

 

[SpellEcho]

When I tested the water the results were
Ph 6.4
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrates 80

 

[SpellEcho]

You bought the plants that came in a plastic tube or package correct? These are grown emersed and will need to switch over to the submersed form of growth. This usually means they lose all their leaves.

How often are you changing the co2 cylinder? Do you have a drop checker? How many bubbles per second are you running?

The fertilizer you are using isn't a very appropriate one if that's all the nutrients in it. You should look into doing either pps pro or estimative index fert regemin. The ferts can be bought at green leaf aquariums.

The light you have isn't going to grow anything but low light plants. Sadly this means your scarlet temple is very likely going to die. Unless you change your light fixture you should look at crypts, java moss, java fern, bolbitis, and any anubias.

I bought the plants from Petsmart they are in an aquarium and they reach in there and grab them for you. I just got my co2 so I have yet to change it and it doesn't come with a drop checker. And my light was on my other aquarium with these plants in it two weeks ago and they were doing fine and growing big and now that I switched it over to this tank their not.

 

[SpellEcho]

This is what they looked like before I moved them







And now they look like this




They hardly have any leaves left and the bottom bit is all bare

 

[Rivercats]

What size tank were they in before? Is the new 20g tank taller than the tank they were thriving in?

You also need to remember when relocating plants from one tank to another they will need time to acclimate. You need to watch your ph as it is dropping low which means your plants may not be getting enough magnesium or calcium. These can be monitored by testing your gh and kh. Generally a low ph indicates you have a low kh and possibly gh as well. Both gh and kh should be at 4 or a little higher in planted tanks.

You also to get your nitrates lower to at least 20ppm. In a planted tank you generally want to have nitrates at 10-20ppm and phosphates at 1-3ppm. Most likely as already mentioned you need a better fertilizer. Using dry ferts provides all the micro and macro nutrients needed and are very economical to use. If you want to continue using liquid ferts then you might want to try using Seachem Flourish Comprehensive weekly or bi-weekly as directed. Also using a liquid carbon such as Excel or Metricide 14 daily will help plants with photosynthesis and better growth in low light tanks.

 

[SpellEcho]

I have another bulb laying round would you be able to tell me if it would be better for the plants it is

F15T8-CW cool white
15w

 

[Rivercats]

When plants lose lower leaves it is generally due to lack of enough light reaching the lower stem/leaves. If the new tank is deeper than the old then plants are getting less light than before. You most likely need to increase lighting by either adding another fixture or upgrading your lighting.

 

[SpellEcho]

When plants lose lower leaves it is generally due to lack of enough light reaching the lower stem/leaves. If the new tank is deeper than the old then plants are getting less light than before. You most likely need to increase lighting by either adding another fixture or upgrading your lighting.

Yes it is a lot deeper I went from a 15 to a 20 gallon. Can you tell me which bulb is better or if their both not good enough. Are they good enough for fish?
I'll probably end up taking the plants out anyway but I'd like to know

 

[SpellEcho]

Is it possible to get a two prong 18" light that's higher than 15w. I know I looked at the pet store when I started my 15 Gallon for something higher than 15w but they were all bigger than 18"

 

[Rivercats]

That bulb would be fine for fish and possibly you could get anubia's, java ferns, bolbitus, and crypts to grow but not much else. If you could add the second bulb it would possibly support the plant growth you have a lot better. Using liquid carbon daily would also greatly help the plants utilize the available light better. I use 1ml liquid carbon to every 2 gallons of water daily in all my low light tanks.

 

[Rivercats]

Is it possible to get a two prong 18" light that's higher than 15w. I know I looked at the pet store when I started my 15 Gallon for something higher than 15w but they were all bigger than 18"

You can only get 15w bulbs. Each length bulb has a set wattage. Which is why you would need to add a second bulb.

 

[SpellEcho]

You can only get 15w bulbs. Each length bulb has a set wattage. Which is why you would need to add a second bulb.

Thank you for helping me, I'm going to look into making a light fixture for it