Plants are dying

[calfishguy]

My plants in my 29 gallon are dying I have crypts amazon swords micro swird moss balls but only my bronze crypts and amazon swords seem to be affected.

I dose flourish excel and flourish when I remember have a dual t5 no 6700k lights and have a sand substrate. I have also noticed that some algae is starting to form on the glass

Any ideas
Thanks

 

[bigbanker]

Are you using anything at the roots for the swords?

Also what kind of algae are you noticing on the glass?

Are the plants melting or are they yellowing? Getting holey?

 

[nereksnad]

greetings.

how old are the light tubes? do you dose according to the guidelines or have you adjusted to your plants needs? is there good flow in the tank?

sincerely,
nereksnad

 

[calfishguy]

I am not using anything for the swords, I have new bulbs, it's brown algae , the plants are melting, there is good flow in the tank and I dose according to guidelines

 

[nereksnad]

crypts melting could mean that there is too much nitrate in the water, the leaves die and release their nutrients into the water - worsening the conditions. if your fertilizer is without nitrate and phosphate you could try dosing a bit more to see if the swords do better.

 

[calfishguy]

crypts melting could mean that there is too much nitrate in the water, the leaves die and release their nutrients into the water - worsening the conditions. if your fertilizer is without nitrate and phosphate you could try dosing a bit more to see if the swords do better.

I don't think it's because of nitrate they are under 20. Would adding root tabs possibly help.

 

[Rivercats]

One question, you mentioned brown algae, are you talking about diatoms? How long has this tank been set up? Crypts melting can be common in a new tank when first planted. Never heard of swords dying like that. What type of plants do you have and what are you dosing for ferts? If dosing ferts are you using ferts for the water and root tabs for crypts and swords?

 

[calfishguy]

One question, you mentioned brown algae, are you talking about diatoms? How long has this tank been set up? Crypts melting can be common in a new tank when first planted. Never heard of swords dying like that. What type of plants do you have and what are you dosing for ferts? If dosing ferts are you using ferts for the water and root tabs for crypts and swords?

The tank has been set up since August as for the algae it's possible that its diatoms. I dose flourish and excel according to the instructions on the bottles. I'm not using root tabs. What I find strange is that only one of my amazon swords and only one of my bronze crypts is dying the others are only melting a little one or two leaves. For my stock list and plant list please refer to my profile thanks.

 

[Rivercats]

Well swords are root feeder hogs so they may be needing some good root tabs. Crypts will benefit from them also. Other than that I can't imagine anything else it could be. both are pretty hardy plants IMO.

 

[Chrissa]

I had the same problems with my plants....some melting is normal when they are in the adjustment period. All of my water prams were good I was also dosing with flourish and tabs with still no avail ...plants seemed to be dying turning black on the edges and would not thrive. I started to bring my ph down from 8 to 7 (our ph is 8 from the tap where I live) problem solved everything has cleared up on the leaves plants are thriving growing as they should. I am not sure where you live and what your ph is but I would suggest trying to keep it at around 7 see if that helps.

Good luck
I forgot to mention I have crypts, swords, Anubias, pogostemon and java ferns

 

[calfishguy]

My ph is at 8 but I don't know if I want to mess with it

 

[Chrissa]

If your ph is 8 and your plants are dying and look black/ veiny/ and tattered my guess is your ph is to high. It is actually very easy to bring it down. I use acid buffer by seachem you dose every day until your desired ph is reached once it is reached you then does the fresh water you add after a Water change. It sounds much more complicated then it is it is very easy and makes a world of difference and you will notice straight away.

 

[bigbanker]

Or add driftwood .

 

[calfishguy]

Or add driftwood .

I already have a piece and I think the tank ph is the same as tap. I will check tomorrow though.

 

[Kursed]

Apologies for my niavity, I am currently trying to balance my pH and I am curious as to how the driftwood would help
Thanks in advance.

 

[bigbanker]

No need to apologize! As the driftwood ages it buffers the water causing the PH to come down. I'm positive that there is some scientific proof to back this up but I don't have it at my fingertips.

Another solution is peat moss to help lower the ph

 

[Kursed]

No need to apologize! As the driftwood ages it buffers the water causing the PH to come down. I'm positive that there is some scientific proof to back this up but I don't have it at my fingertips.

Another solution is peat moss to help lower the ph

Ahhhh fantastic! I definitely wanted some driftwood for my tank so I'll be investigating that more! Thanks!

 

[hpiguy]

The tannins in the wood are acidic (low Ph), this counters the high Ph level (basic) your water has now. That's how it lowers the PH for you.

 

[calfishguy]

My plants aren't getting better they seem to have holes in them now.

 

[Bearchumjs]

Have you gotten root tabs yet? The swords will love them. Just stick a tablet right beneath them in the sand. Clip off any damaged leaves as close to the base of the plant as you can. It helps the plants if you do that. They can stop using their energy to try to heal the damaged leaves and begin to grow new ones.

I use API root tabs and API CO2 booster.

As far as pH, try to lower the pH naturally and not with chemicals. You can get crazy pH swings when using the chemicals. I use a mixture of RO water and tap water. My tap water pH after 24 hours of gassing off is 8.3. The RO water is like 6.5 or so. After some experimenting with water in a gallon jug I found my 75% RO and 25% tap water mixture that puts my pH at 7.4. I have driftwood in my tank and that made no difference. I tried peat and that didnt work for me either.

Here's a pic showing you what my argentine swords look like. (Water wisteria and lemon Bacopa on the left, crypt and micro sword: front center, swords on the right as well as some Anubias and floating hornwort.)

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/members/57623-albums10477-picture45229.html