Any advice for beginner planted tank?

[Izzy08]

I started my planted tank last week on Sunday. It is a 5.5 gallon, no Co2 tank with Aquasoil and fertilisers. The light is around 12watts and is quite bright. I have already found myself in a little trouble with PH. The PH reading was about a 6.0ppm and below which is drastically different from the taps PH which is around 7.6ppm. I know this is due to the Aquasoil but I didn't think it would get that low. I added about a 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and it raised the PH to around 6.8 - 7.0. I'm also planning on getting a buffer for long time use. The main reasons I'm making this post is because my Java Fern looks strange to me. It has some brown marks and for some reason goes lighter and a little transparent after the light has been on for while.

Tank plants are so far:
- Java fern
- Regular Hairgrass
- Violets

 

[Caliban07]

Put some crushed coral or oyster grit in the filter or a bag or just chuck it on the gravel/sand. This will provide a stress free buffer.

Low pH had no visible effect on anything in my tank. This tank did not receive a water change for over 18 months only topping up with rain water with a TDS of 35ppm.

After that I decided to do some water changes and again noted no visible improvement or deterioration plant or animal wise. So high or low pH for me was never an issue.

Java ferns usually get brown spots. Don’t know why but I think this is a trait of the plant. Perhaps prior to growing new ‘baby java fern’ which grow off their leaves.

Translucency is melt and most plants will melt until they become used to their new environment.

Just keep at it.