How in the world do you get them to look good

[Daveo]

i try and try again but no matter what I do it seems to me that I just can't get my planted tank lush and full of life. Most of the plants I put in the tank end up looking like krap(they are beutiful when i first buy them). Should I get some plant food. What should I do, Thanks 8)


Daveo

 

[clutterydrawer]

Fraid I 've gotta ask some questions first....what type of plants? how many watts is your light, and how big is your tank? what fish do you have? what substrate? how do the plants end up looking - do they go brown? and how quickly?

 

[Daveo]

Fraid I 've gotta ask some questions first....what type of plants? how many watts is your light, and how big is your tank? what fish do you have? what substrate? how do the plants end up looking - do they go brown? and how quickly?

well the tank is20 gals I have tiger barbs and tetras and plecos and I have reagular gravel and they end up brown not too fast but fast. 8)


Daveo

 

[clutterydrawer]

You need to tell me what type of plants tehy are, and how many watts your light is.

Some plants need more light than others. If you have low light in your tank, and are trying to grow high light plants, they won't survive unless you somehow upgrade your lighting system. It's important to choose plants which match the light you can give them.

however until you tell me what plants and what light I dunno if that's the problem

 

[Colin_BC]

Have a look at your light bulb(s) themself when they are turned off. The power (in Watts or W) is always written somewhere on the bulb. If your using regular gravel, do you use any fertilizers or plant food? How many of each fish do you have? If you only have a few fish, their could be insufficient waste for the plants to feed on and they could be starving. This again really depends on what sort of plants you have and your lighting.

Please give us a few more details. As I said, your light info can be found on your bulbs, and if your unsure of what plants you have (I don't know half my plants, but I have tons) you can try to identify their pictures from the thumbnails here at birstall.com or here at tropica.com.

Colin

 

[Daveo]

Crinum thaianum is the plant that I had It did allright but was never super green. thats all I know oh and the light is 15 w. 8)


Daveo

 

[Colin_BC]

OK, that helps lots. Your light is only 0.75 Watts Per Gallon, which won't do for most plants. It's not to say you can't grow anything, but you have to make sure you stick to plants that need minimal light. Seems to me Java moss is good, although not always the the nicest to look at. This link takes you to AquariumPlants.com's Low Light Plants. Have a look through here and fire away a few questions about particular plants. I know there isn't a heck of a lot that will do well under 0.75WPG, but there are some. I'm not the best to advise on low-light plants as I like to pack an entire solar system into my canopy.

As for your plant, Crinum thaianum, unfortunately it requires high light. You'd probably need at least 2-3WPG (40W-60W total) to do well with that plant. Here are the stats from Tropica.com

Crinum thaianum

Family Amaryllidaceae

Continent Asia

Region South-east Asia

Country of origin Thailand

Height: 60-200+ cm

Width: 20-25 cm

Light requirements: medium-very high

Temperature: 18-28 °C

Hardness tolerance: very soft-very hard

pH tolerance: 5,5-9

Growth: medium

Demands: easy



Colin

 

[clutterydrawer]

Fortunately I am absolutely the best person to advise on low light plants

I had the same problem when I started keeping fish, I just bought random plants then wondered why they died. I realised I only have 1 watt per gallon, went and found some low light plants, and they are all growing happily.

Here is a list of plants that are hardy and will tolerate low light conditions.

java moss
java fern
anubias
cryptocoryne wendtii (this is taking over my tank )
cryptocoryne willisii
ceratophyllum demersum (hornwort)
hygrophilla corymbosa "siamensis"