More about my new setup

[chris]

Ok, so I figure my tank is still cycling and I won't freak out about
the pH or the nitrite levels just yet. The fish seem happy and active,
so I'm not super worried. Now the question I have is about the plants
I have in there. I have about six Vallisneria in there that seem to be
having a lot of die-back. What could be causing this? I prune them
basically every week with a large set of pruning and removing of dead
leaves about a week after I put them in. I have also been dosing the
tank with an iron supplement but not overdoing it as not to stress the
fish. So, I guess another question is, if this is normal transfer
shock or something, how long does it generally take for plants to
stabalize and start growing instead of dying.

Chris

[Steve]

chris wrote:
> Ok, so I figure my tank is still cycling and I won't freak out about
> the pH or the nitrite levels just yet. The fish seem happy and active,
> so I'm not super worried. Now the question I have is about the plants
> I have in there. I have about six Vallisneria in there that seem to be
> having a lot of die-back. What could be causing this? I prune them
> basically every week with a large set of pruning and removing of dead
> leaves about a week after I put them in. I have also been dosing the
> tank with an iron supplement but not overdoing it as not to stress the
> fish. So, I guess another question is, if this is normal transfer
> shock or something, how long does it generally take for plants to
> stabalize and start growing instead of dying.
>
> Chris
>
Hi Chris,
I don't remember if you mentioned your lighting in earlier posts. To
successfully grow plants, you need 1.5 to 2 watss of fluorescent light
per gallon, and about 10-12 hours of lighting per day. I've found that
light is the most important thing for plants. Indirect daylight can also
be very helpful in growing plants, but because it's harder to control,
algae may be an issue.

You also need enough substrate, at least an inch or 1.5 inches thick. It
doesn't need to be anything special, but commercial plant substrates
such as eco-complete and flourite are excellent.

The final thing you need are easy-to-grow, lower-light plants.
Vallisneria are excellent, and so are java moss, water sprite, rotala
(bunch plant), anubias, hornwort, Cryptocornae... These work for me.

Special fertilizers, CO2, etc, are not strictly necessary in my opinion.

Now regarding your question :) . Don't trim vallisneria, but let them
grow! The leaves wil spread along the surface of your tank, but that's
ok. If you have "giant" or "jungle" Val in a smaller tank, that could
eventually be a problem but, even so, let them grow!

Some die-back of Vals is quite normal, in my opinion. Just remove the
completely dead bits from the aquarium when doing regular maintenance,
but let the healthy plants and plant parts grow.

From your earlier posts it sounds like you've made a good start in the
hobby. I wish you much enjoyment from your aquarium.

Steve

[chris]

1.5 to 2 watts?!?! Oh boy.. well it may be severely underlit then. Is
this an ideal number or a minimum? I mean, I bought a Hagen kit with a
Marine (I think) brand hood that came with a 20W AquaGlow bulb. I mean
are we talking having to replace the ballast or hood completely in
order to keep plants alive? The light is on twelve hours per day on a
timer and the substrate is about 3/4-1" at the front to 3 or 4" in the
back of the tank.

Hopefully these things will survive, as aquatic gardening was one of
the real attractions of becoming an aquarist.

Chris

[Steve]

chris wrote:
> 1.5 to 2 watts?!?! Oh boy.. well it may be severely underlit then. Is
> this an ideal number or a minimum? I mean, I bought a Hagen kit with a
> Marine (I think) brand hood that came with a 20W AquaGlow bulb. I mean
> are we talking having to replace the ballast or hood completely in
> order to keep plants alive? The light is on twelve hours per day on a
> timer and the substrate is about 3/4-1" at the front to 3 or 4" in the
> back of the tank.
>
> Hopefully these things will survive, as aquatic gardening was one of
> the real attractions of becoming an aquarist.
>
> Chris
>
Chris,
1.5 to 2 watts of FLUORESCENT light is regarded as "adequate", and I
find it's a very good amount. However, I don't use CO2 or a lot of
fertilizers, and people who do that, may use quite a lot more light than
I do. There's a rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants group where you can ask
questions, but be warned. Those folks are very serious about plants :)
and they tend to favour high-tech solutions.

Your first post says 33 gallons, so you've about 0.6 watts per gallon. I
hope that's fluorescent lighting; if it's incadescent there's no hope of
growing plants other than Java moss unless you have daylight, too.

I find that my aquariums that get some daylight, tend to have good plant
growth. In the distant past I had a tall 30 gallon aquarium with two
inadequate incadescent bulbs totalling 50 watts, in which the Elodia and
Vallisneria did quite well. This aquarium got lots of daylight,
including a couple of hours of direct sun each day!

So, if your aquarium gets some daylight, you may be able to successfully
grow a variety of plants after all. For you next smallish aquarium, you
might consider a canopy with two or more fluorescent tubes. You can also
build your own lighting box using fixtures from the hardware store, and
for larger aquariums homemade solutions may be preferable. My 90-gallon
plant aquarium has a home-made wooden hood with three fluorescent
fixtures totalling five 48" tubes, and 200 watts. It seems to be just
about right for the easy, lower-light plants that I am able to grow.

Best of luck with your aquarium, and plastic plants look ok too :) .
Also, Java moss, Anubias and possibly some Crypts can grow with very
little light indeed.
Steve

[Steve]

chris wrote:
I have about six Vallisneria in there that seem to be
> having a lot of die-back.

Please be sure that you've planted the Vals correctly. They have a
horizontal stem that looks like a rhyzome, which joins leaf clusters.
The roots should be buried, not the stem/ rhyzome. If you have
individual plants (leaf clusters) only, then bury only the roots, but
leave the green parts of the plant - the "crown" and up - above the
gravel. Thanks.
Steve