Vallisneria helpo

[Tanktop]

I'm trying to fishless cycle a 38g tank
It's effectively my first (had a tank for 1 yr approx1985)
It's a rio 125 with factory lighting which I think works out as middle level medium intensity light. It have 7-8 cm Eco complete.
It's planted with 12 different species of plant, and they are all doing ok, some are not growing fast, but that's to be expected as they prefer higher light (reflectors delivered this week), but the vals just won't grow. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I have weighted some to sit just in substrate and I have manually planted some. Several look to be doing ok but then lose the fresh shoots they're sending up, some are just going brown and rotting from the top. I have tried trimming the brown bits, I've tried removing all of affected leaves, I've tried doing nothing. The end result is val die back.
I'm dosing a small quantity of seachem flourish daily and have done some water changes (irregular because still fishless)
Please help - I want pretty vals

 

[mfdrookie516]

What is your nitrate level?

 

[Tanktop]

Sky high. Did 60 pc WC 1 week ago, but it's off the scale.

 

[Coleallensmom]

Why dose the flourish daily? Are you putting anything else in the tank?

 

[Tanktop]

Sometimes it's alternate days, but I've got 11 other species of plant and am trying to encourage them to grow without going down the co2 route. It seems to be mostly successful because everything else is either growing very well, or not growing much but looking green and healthy. It's only the vals that are going in the wrong direction.
They're supposed to be foolproof plants so I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

 

[Tanktop]

I'm also dosing with ammonia, and doing water changes to keep the nitrite measurable as the fishless cycling threads tell me I should.

 

[rich311k]

Are you using Excel at all?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I'm having the same issue with some of my Italian vals. Original plants are having some die off, but I'm getting tons of new shoots all over the place. Not sure about regular Flourish, but the Excel vers. will melt vals and anacharis.

 

[Tanktop]

Ah, yes it's flourish excel. I'd read that it could cause problems at higher than recommended doses for treating infections but can it cause trouble at standard doses?

 

[Coleallensmom]

Ah, yes it's flourish excel. I'd read that it could cause problems at higher than recommended doses for treating infections but can it cause trouble at standard doses?

This is why I asked what you were dosing and why you were doing it daily. 1) Flourish Comprehensive is usually what people dose when they have plants (if they are not using dry ferts) as it's a mixture of micro and trace elements that plants need to be healthy. Comprehensive is not dosed daily but normally only 1-2x per week. 2) Flourish excel is an Organic Carbon supplement. It would make more sense to dose this daily but is not always needed if you have lower light and no plants that need the extra Carbon.

I looked up the Rio 125 and it's a 33gal tank with 2x 28w fixture? That would put you at about 1.7w per gallon.

Excel CAN harm vals even at standard doses.

 

[rich311k]

Vals, anacharis and some other plants can have issues with Excel. I killed a tank of jungle vals with it.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Ah, yes it's flourish excel. I'd read that it could cause problems at higher than recommended doses for treating infections but can it cause trouble at standard doses?

I do 1/2 doses of excel and like anything I add, I take water from the tank mix the additive to that water and pour it back in to avoid a high concentration hitting the tank (meds, ferts, etc.). I think my die off is due to the bundles of original plants being to tightly bound together (a weak theory I know lol), but the off shoots are growing like mad and no die off due to the Excel dosing.

 

[Coleallensmom]

I do 1/2 doses of excel and like anything I add, I take water from the tank mix the additive to that water and pour it back in to avoid a high concentration hitting the tank (meds, ferts, etc.). I think my die off is due to the bundles of original plants being to tightly bound together (a weak theory I know lol), but the off shoots are growing like mad and no die off due to the Excel dosing.

I agree that it is possible for Excel can be used in a tank with vals. Just know that if you use Excel you're risking your vals.

I have a couple vals in my 20 gallon. They grow slowly (some of which I attribute to Excel use) however, as long as I do not put the excel directly near them I am dosing the tank, they experience no melt.

 

[Tanktop]

Thanks everyone. I've ordered some more vals (glutton for punishment obviously). I'll stop the excel for a month or more and see how I get on. Fingers crossed.