JRagg
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Well I'm just getting started on my planted tank. Right now I'm happy with what I have in there, but it seems that all of the plants aren't happy. That's where I'm asking for some help. As it is, right now I'm cycling my tank, and I would be willing to guess that most of the required nutrients are not in there.
My tank is a 15W bulb over a 10gallon tank. I'm using Flourish Root Tabs near all of the plants. I dose Leaf Zone (K2O and Fe) once a week like suggested on the bottle. pH is around 7.8, Ammonia 4.0 (cycling), Nitrite 0.25, and Nitrate 5-10 (dkH is 4 and dgH is 10). I've got a piece of petrified wood in there along with the following plants:
Cryptocoryne Lutea (right in the middle)
2 x Anubias (not sure which kind)
Anubias Nana
Red Melon Sword
Water Sprite (the guy at the store really messed up bagging it and broke 4 stems)
Java Fern
Red Wendtii
Here is a picture. Excuse the screwdriver. I took the light fixture apart so that I could see what was inside (I'm an engineer). I plan to put on a black background before the fish go in, but for now it's naked.
I'm looking for some suggestions on how to set this up. I need a little more growth before I can "fill up the tank", but some of my plants aren't doing so well.
The Java Fern - Black spots and Brown Dead spots on some leaves. I'm guessing this is a deficiency of some sort. Should I prune the bad leaves (even though they are the largest by far)?
Red Melon Sword - I know I don't have enough light for this guy. I screwed up at the store. If I moved it to the middle would that help?
Anubias' - Slow growers for sure, but it looks like they could be healthier. Do they take a while to get used to the tank and take off? How deep should they be planted?
Lutea - Doing very well. I pruned the dead and dying stuff, and the rest of it has perked up a lot.
Red Wendtii - It is "melting" a lot worse than the Lutea did. How much should I prune (how much is too much)?
Water Sprite - Just introduced today. The guy at the store didn't do a good job bagging it and broke a few stems. I left it potted for the time being because the pot has some ferts in it to help it bounce back. I put the other stems in the sand near some root tabs. Should they grow back?
Fertilizers. What else do I need (other than patience)? Phosphates?
My tank is a 15W bulb over a 10gallon tank. I'm using Flourish Root Tabs near all of the plants. I dose Leaf Zone (K2O and Fe) once a week like suggested on the bottle. pH is around 7.8, Ammonia 4.0 (cycling), Nitrite 0.25, and Nitrate 5-10 (dkH is 4 and dgH is 10). I've got a piece of petrified wood in there along with the following plants:
Cryptocoryne Lutea (right in the middle)
2 x Anubias (not sure which kind)
Anubias Nana
Red Melon Sword
Water Sprite (the guy at the store really messed up bagging it and broke 4 stems)
Java Fern
Red Wendtii
Here is a picture. Excuse the screwdriver. I took the light fixture apart so that I could see what was inside (I'm an engineer). I plan to put on a black background before the fish go in, but for now it's naked.
I'm looking for some suggestions on how to set this up. I need a little more growth before I can "fill up the tank", but some of my plants aren't doing so well.
The Java Fern - Black spots and Brown Dead spots on some leaves. I'm guessing this is a deficiency of some sort. Should I prune the bad leaves (even though they are the largest by far)?
Red Melon Sword - I know I don't have enough light for this guy. I screwed up at the store. If I moved it to the middle would that help?
Anubias' - Slow growers for sure, but it looks like they could be healthier. Do they take a while to get used to the tank and take off? How deep should they be planted?
Lutea - Doing very well. I pruned the dead and dying stuff, and the rest of it has perked up a lot.
Red Wendtii - It is "melting" a lot worse than the Lutea did. How much should I prune (how much is too much)?
Water Sprite - Just introduced today. The guy at the store didn't do a good job bagging it and broke a few stems. I left it potted for the time being because the pot has some ferts in it to help it bounce back. I put the other stems in the sand near some root tabs. Should they grow back?
Fertilizers. What else do I need (other than patience)? Phosphates?