New tank help

[nedens]

Ok my son and I have a 20 gal tank. We have had it for about 2 years. We have had sorta bad luck keeping fish alive. Mainly because I had no idea what I was doing and knew nothing about tank cycleing. So every time some fish would die we would wait a couple of weeks with only like 1 fish then buy about 8 more fish. Then the take levels would wig out (I didn't have a test kit then so I didn't really know this until reacently) then the fish would die. Then the cycle starts all over.

Right now we have a stable enviroment with happy fish.

I have the following fish
1 placo about 4-5 inches long (he is the only survivor from origonal setup)
1 Diamond Tetra about 2 inches long
2 black tetras each about 1 inch long
1 zebra danio about 1 inch long (had 5 but he was the only one who made it before I figured out what I was doing )
2 red phantom tetras about 1-2 inches each
1 red tail phantom tetra ( had two but one got picked on two much and died I think from stress though it could have been the water. The one I have left has his tail fin eaten. )

I have about 2" of aqarium gravel in the bottom of the tank.
I also have large rocks from a river setup around the tank..

I also have several plants (all the same kind just spread out around the tank) I dont remember the name but I know it starts with an "a" and it comes in bundles.

Well my question is the plants are starting to brown at the tips of the leaves. I have 45 watts of 67000k light. Its 3 15 watt bubls. I am also having problems keeping the tempurature much below 81. Should I add a DIY CO2 injector as I am contemplating getting some java moss as well.

So any suggestions would be welcome with anything with the tank.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Menagerie]

[center:6aef97a319] Welcome to Aquarium Advice, nedens! [/center:6aef97a319]

I'm moving this to the planted forum so you get the best advice.

 

[greenmaji]

brown tips sounds like nitrate or potassium defeciecy.
what are your NO3 and PO4 levels currently?
I dont think that CO2 is absolutley needed at your light level but you would have improvement from it.
Im going to take a wild guess that your current plants are anubis? HTH

 

[BrianNY]

I'm guessing anacharis. With that much light CO2 would be useful but not essential. Are you aware that java moss thrives in low light conditions?

Adding CO2 can be tricky without knowing your water parameters. Before contemplating this you need to get a better handle on your water chemistry. I suggest reading the stickies at the top of this forum.

 

[nedens]

yes anacharis is right I googled it
So will java moss not grow in my light conditions at all?

I was changing my water weekly (about 25%) and it was keeping my NO3 levels between 0 ppm and 5ppm (closer to the 0ppm). Is that not right?

My test kit (Aquarium Pharmacuticles Freshwater Master Test Kit) does not include a test for PO4

What should my PO4 and NO3 levels be at?

I'll have to recheck my PH tonight but I think last time I tried it it was at ~7.4.

With the fish I have what PH level should I be at?

Also is there a certian target temperature I need to be at is my 82 too high?

Also is there another kind of moss I could get that would work with my light conditions?


Thanks already for all your help.

 

[malkore]

For a PO4 test, look for SeaChem brand.

You want about 10ppm nitrate to 1ppm phosphate

a stable pH is more important than a perfect one...but 7.4 is fine for all your fish.

81 is a little high for temp, but not terrible considering the time of year.

Java moss should be ok in your tank. One thing I suspect though, is that your bulbs could also be old. NO tubes on planted tanks should be replaced about every 9 months.

 

[nedens]

Actually I just got my bulbs two weeks ago. I switched from 1 bulb (the one that came with the tank) to a DIY hood with three Hagen Aqua~Glo T8 15 watt bulbs.

I look for the SeaChem test this weekend. I turned my heater down last night again and got my temp to around 78 this morning. So we'll se how that goes now.

If my phosphate is low how do I get it up?

 

[Hoovercat]

If my phosphate is low how do I get it up?

You can use fleet enema or Grant's stump remover and this page http://users.ev1.net/~spituch/Chemicals/chemicals.html will help you work out dosing. CO2 will help keep your algae problems to a minimun at your light level. You can get most of this info in the ferts sticky.

 

[Hoovercat]

Oh, are you dosing any trace elements or micronutrients?

 

[nedens]

No I am not using any trace elements or micronutrients. Is there something specific I should be using?