Problems growing plants

[Jeanette]

I have been trying for twenty-five years to get plants to grow in my 40 gallon aquarium. Recently I added light so now have 100 watts and not 20 watts. I bought val, Myro, Amazon and hornwort. I have about twenty small to medium fish. The hornwort is growing well but the val which has been there now for three weeks is not setting up runners and there is obviously a grey filament fungus showing up from the new val. I was wondering if the gravel sand mix may be containimated since I haven't cleaned it for at least three years. I have added iron and today replaced about 40 percent of the water since the nitrate level was off the wall. The water hardness is also extreme. Really want the val to grow. How do I get rid of the fungus?

Feel free to email at jgvneagu@yahoo.com

Thanks,


Jeanette in Michigan City In.

 

[fort384]

Jeanette,

Welcome to AA! Do you have some pictures of the plants? That might help diagnose the problem. What makes you think it is a fungus and not a variety of thread algae or the like?

Also, some general water parameters would help, like what is your nitrate level, GH, pH, temp, ammonia, etc.

While it is a good idea to occasionally vacuum your gravel, I don't think it would be poisonous to your plants. How long have you had the light over your tank? You are very close to a light level with 100W over a 40G tank where your tank may benefit from the addition of CO2 and fertilizer. With more than 2 watts per gallon (WPG), your plants may be bottoming out because of a lack of 1 or more nutrients.

 

[jsoong]

What kind of light do you have ... watts are not enough info, the different fluorescents (T8, T12, T5 .... etc) all put out different amount of light. The most common failure for plant growth would be inadaquate light.

You can get away without CO2, I think, but might be missing some nutrients. <Esp. if you stated that nitrates are off the charts & hornwort is growing .... my hornwort normally sucks up all nitrates (and grow about an inch a day) ... it is unusual for me to see even 5 ppm .... so if you might be limited by a major nutrient like K or P.>

 

[Jeanette]

I was afraid to add any fertilizer because of the high nitrate level. I did break up two Lily Pons tabs and put them in the sand about an inch down two days ago. I had fed some dried tubifex worms that the fish didn't eat and noticed clumps of fibrous matter that had collected or was growing near the roots of my Amazon. I removed it and cleaned the roots about an hour ago. Have been try to find out what the mats are but I do believe they are not good for the plants or fish. Thanks so much for your quick response.

 

[fort384]

Yeah, nitrate provides just one of the essential nutrients plants need to grow. High Nitrates doesn't neccessary indicate high P, K, or micros like Mg, Fe, etc.

 

[Jeanette]

I have a gro light 24 inches and the new light is a Nova Extreme T5HO Fixtures - 36" FRESHWATER NOVA EXTREME T5HO

It gives off 80 watts.

 

[Jeanette]

So what do you recommend I add that won't have nitrates? I have added only iron. I don't have a complex system to check levels only a test strip.

Jeanette

 

[fort384]

you can use several ferts... I use the flourish line of ferts, separate dosing for N, P, and K, as well as another bottle for micronutrients. You can also buy dry ferts and make your own solutions for pretty cheap (far cheaper than buying the premade mixes).

 

[fort384]

Checkout this link: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/a-guide-to-fertilizing-your-planted-aquarium-53371.html

 

[Jeanette]

I goggled the line and will go out tomorrow to buy the Plant Supplement. It apparently doesn't have any any nitrogen. Thanks so much for the advise.

Jeanette

 

[fort384]

Just beware: There are several varieties... flourish makes a whole line, it is not just 1 bottle. I use separate formulas for Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorus, and micros nutrients, and 1 other supplement that has more potassium, and iron. A lot of lfs and places like petsmart only carry 1 kind of fert, and it won't have all the macros that you need to make sure you have. With hornwort in your tank, i think once you balance out your water column with all the essentials, your N levels will go way down. I have a pretty large bioload in my tank, but still add N twice a week to keep my nitrates between 15-20ppm.

 

[Jeanette]

Boy you are fast. I think some of the problem is treated water from the City. In the 50's I had a 20 g tank, a simple fluorescent light strip and grew Val so well that the tank was filled with it. I used just Lake Michigan sand and we had well water. Never added anything and never had any problems. Had about twenty fish that lived for years. Puzzling as to why that doesn't work today.

Jeanette

 

[fort384]

hmmm I wonder if the sand you pulled out of the lake could be a factor? I would imagine that there would be a lot of beneficial elements to using a living substrate like that.

 

[Jeanette]

I thought so too. So last summer I went to the Lake and got two buckets of sand. I mixed that with the gravel I already had. With the sand and new lights I surely hoped the plants would grow. Maybe I am too eager. I just planted the Val on January 8th so it has had less than three weeks.

Jeanette

 

[fort384]

yeah that is not a ton of time - but you should see some growth if conditions are right. How long have you had your T5 fixture on the tank? Also, what kind of bulbs are in the NOVA extreme? The standard fixture comes with a 10000K and an actinic bulb. This is a marine setup, so you want to make sure you replace the actinic if it is in there with a 6700K bulb.

 

[Jeanette]

I bought the FreshWater version: Current USA Nova Extreme T5 X2 Freshwater Aquarium Lighting Fixture, 2X39 Watt, 36 inch Do I need to replace one of these bulbs? I put the light on around January 8th.

Jeanette

 

[fort384]

Nope you should be good. Just wanted to make sure you got the FW version... sometimes harder to find than the marine version. I would say you are good on lighting... should be adequate and in the right spectrum. How about your photo period? Would recommend lighting the tank 10 hrs a day or so, and do so with a timer so the photoperiod is pretty constant from day to day. If you are doing all of this, then I think you can eliminate lighting as your issue.

 

[Jeanette]

I have the light on for 12 hours a day. Too much?


Jeanette

 

[fort384]

Not neccessarily, but probably not required to be on that long. Excess light will encourage more algae growth. It is important that plants have time in the dark too - past a certain point there becomes no benefit for your plants to have the light on, but algae can still capitalize on the longer photoperiod. I am not an expert here, but I can tell you that several folks advised me to reduce my photoperiod to 10-10.5 hrs (I was lighting for 12.5 hrs). This, in combination with several other factors I would bet, helped me eliminate most of the algae growth in my tank (And my plants still grow like mad with 10 hrs a day).

 

[Jeanette]

Thanks so much for all your input.
When I remove the fibrous mass it looks exactly like the mass that I put in as supposedly freeze dried tubiflex worms. I am thinking that the package of worms may have been very, very old and a fungus had started on them. I am afraid that has invested my aquarium. I am going to remove every site of the mass. Will post pictures in case someone knows what it is. My clover is also not growing very fast. It was in peat moss which I buried in the sand after taking it out of the pot. I will get Florish additives this afternoon.

Thanks again for all your input.

Jeanette