My plants aren't doing so hot...

[Jamie Drilling]

Only the hygrophila is showing symptoms so far--new growth is brown.
They are in an aquarium without fish at the moment, two relatively
small plants (approx 8" tall). They are still in the rock-wool packing
but will be moved to a flourite & vermiculite substrate within the next
few days.

55 gallon tank
160 watts full spectrum light
temp 80 F
Whisper filter with carbon
Tetra Flora Pride fertilizer
pH is ~7.3 (our tap water starts at 8.8!)

I don't know the kH or gH because I bought the wrong test kit :{ and it
only tests ammonia, nitrites/nitrates, pH.

I've checked at thekrib.com's nutrient deficiency chart but none of the
symptoms seem to match exactly what's happening with my plants.

Any ideas? (she asked hopefully)
Jamie

>cross-posted on *.plants & *.misc

[default]

Jamie Drilling wrote:
> Only the hygrophila is showing symptoms so far--new growth is brown.
> They are in an aquarium without fish at the moment, two relatively
> small plants (approx 8" tall). They are still in the rock-wool packing
> but will be moved to a flourite & vermiculite substrate within the next
> few days.
>
> 55 gallon tank
> 160 watts full spectrum light
> temp 80 F
> Whisper filter with carbon
> Tetra Flora Pride fertilizer
> pH is ~7.3 (our tap water starts at 8.8!)
>

> Any ideas? (she asked hopefully)
> Jamie
>

I can suggest two things:

One could be the carbon filter working against you and it it removing
some nutrients. I'm not familiar with your fert or how much you're
using so I'm only guessing.
Two could be not enough C02. With that much light, you'll surly
benefit from additional C02 eiter as a disolved gas or using Flourish
Excel.

hope this helps,
steve

[Jamie Drilling]

Yes, it should help - I'm not using CO2 yet and I will start right away
- I'll also take the carbon out of my filters.

I'm putting in the recommended dose of fertilizer for 55 gallons, 3 tbs
+ 1 tsp.

[Elaine T]

Jamie Drilling wrote:
> Only the hygrophila is showing symptoms so far--new growth is brown.
> They are in an aquarium without fish at the moment, two relatively
> small plants (approx 8" tall). They are still in the rock-wool packing
> but will be moved to a flourite & vermiculite substrate within the next
> few days.
>
> 55 gallon tank
> 160 watts full spectrum light
> temp 80 F
> Whisper filter with carbon
> Tetra Flora Pride fertilizer
> pH is ~7.3 (our tap water starts at 8.8!)
>
> I don't know the kH or gH because I bought the wrong test kit :{ and it
> only tests ammonia, nitrites/nitrates, pH.
>
> I've checked at thekrib.com's nutrient deficiency chart but none of the
> symptoms seem to match exactly what's happening with my plants.
>
> Any ideas? (she asked hopefully)
> Jamie
>
>
>>cross-posted on *.plants & *.misc
>
>
Out of curiosity, how did you get your tapwater pH down to 7.3 from 8.8?
Whatever chemical you used, you must have dumped in a lot. Some
plants don't handle excessively hard water and if you lowered pH but
didn't soften the water, this could be your problem.

Next, be sure of your plant ID. There are a lot of non-aquatic plants
sold as aquarium plants. These will go brown and die no matter what you
do. Cryptocoryne spp. also tend to "rot" when first planted. Many or
all of the leaves will turn to mush and die back to the roots. If there
is adequate fertilizer and the roots aren't disturbed, the plant will
usually start growing again.

With no fish, there probably isn't any nitrate or phosphate around for
the plants to use. Florapride only supplies potash and iron, assuming
fish will supply the nitrate and phosphate. Aquarium Products Plantabbs
work pretty well, so maybe you want to use those in the substrate until
you've added fish. Even afterwards, heavy feeders like swordplants and
Aponogetons apreciate fertilizer at their roots.

Eventually, when you add more plants, you're also going to need a trace
element fertilizer like Flourish, Tropica Master Grow, or Plantex from
www.gregwatson.com.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Jamie Drilling]

No idea why but the pH drops by itself after about 48 hours - I don't
have to do a thing. I'm trying to put as few chemicals in the water
as I can.

And I'm fairly sure these are hygrophila, because I had wanted to avoid
that plant after reading it's considered an invasive weed in most
areas--then saw some healthy, unlabeled plants at the local Petco so
bought them. Found out later by google image search exactly what they
were. They seem to make a good canary, though.

The leaves are slightly different on one but the second is definitely
hygrophila polysperma. I strongly suspect the first is hygrophila, but
I don't know exactly which type.

I'll try to find Plantabs, thank you!
Jamie

[Elaine T]

Jamie Drilling wrote:
> No idea why but the pH drops by itself after about 48 hours - I don't
> have to do a thing. I'm trying to put as few chemicals in the water
> as I can.

Hmm...It's probably that your tapwater has almost no CO2 in it from the
tap and some dissolves in your tank. That's a good thing.
>
> And I'm fairly sure these are hygrophila, because I had wanted to avoid
> that plant after reading it's considered an invasive weed in most
> areas--then saw some healthy, unlabeled plants at the local Petco so
> bought them. Found out later by google image search exactly what they
> were. They seem to make a good canary, though.
>
> The leaves are slightly different on one but the second is definitely
> hygrophila polysperma. I strongly suspect the first is hygrophila, but
> I don't know exactly which type.
>
> I'll try to find Plantabs, thank you!
> Jamie
>
Waitasec...what do you mean by brown? Do you meay brown, limp, and
unhealthy looking or reddish, bronzey brown on healthy foliage? Healthy
hygrophila turns reddish-brow in in bright light and low nitrogen.
People TRY to get that sort of color.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[FishFanatic]

Umm...I thought it was unhealthy but I'll double check when I get home.
I have a brown thumb and am hoping simply by copying what other people
have done to get successful plant tanks mine will be okay, too. The
brown thumb makes me suspect I am managing to kill an unkillable
plant.... ;)
Jamie