How Often Should I Change Water? Plant Troubles

[thezodiac]

unfortunately i got a bit lapse with my water changes and beacuse of which my plants have begun yellowing and disintegrating a bit

over the past few days i've done 2 30% water changes


what im wondering is ,how often should i do water changes currently?

and how long will it take for them to "get back to normal" ?


pics

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I'm not exactly "green fingered" (I lost ~99% of my med-high tech plants 18 months ago through too long a light period and not enough carbon/ferts), but plants should not require intensive water changes to keep them healthy, my Anubias nursery 620T has not had a water change for ~3 weeks (but will be getting something today incidentally).

What lighting does the tank have and how long a photoperiod do the plants get daily?

What fertiliser regime do you have?

Any root tabs or long term fertiliser mixed in with the substrate?

Any carbon dioxide or another carbon source like Easycarbo added?

In my plant nursery (basically keeping the plants ticking over until I can finally do my long term planned fish juggle, it has taken ages for this curent batch of 36 Lionhead Cichlid youngsters to reach a decent sellable size), I add ~2ml of Easycarbo daily; ~2.5ml of Seachem Flourish once or sometimes twice weekly; my two Echinodorus rose each have a Seachem Flourish tab by their root system; the tank gets direct early morning sunlight until ~1200 daily.

Your Anubias (coffeeflia perhaps?) and Windelov Fern look healthy, but the taller thin leaved plant does not look quite so good.

 

[thezodiac]

yeah im not expert on plants eitehr
where i got that from was "yellowing leaves - high nitrate content from lack of water changes Make a series of moderate water changes."

(Source Link )


t8 bulb (the kind thats supposed to support plant growth)

ive never used fertalizer or co2.

 

[minnnt]

It's usually a lack of nitrogen. Dosing an all around plant fertiliser like TNC complete or TPN+ will help no end. Is the plant in the first picture out of the substrate or planted in it?

 

[thezodiac]

It's usually a lack of nitrogen. Dosing an all around plant fertiliser like TNC complete or TPN+ will help no end. Is the plant in the first picture out of the substrate or planted in it?

its actually floating, with its roots slightly buried.

but not its "body" i forget the term, nodules ?0

do you mean i need fertilizer and co2 injection?



also youve responded to a bunch of my post, can you send me a link to your tank?

 

[SO19Firearms]

yeah im not expert on plants eitehr
where i got that from was "yellowing leaves - high nitrate content from lack of water changes Make a series of moderate water changes."

(Source Link )


t8 bulb (the kind thats supposed to support plant growth)

ive never used fertalizer or co2.

Now ignore anything you read on that site about lighting, ferts, algae or CO[sub]2[/sub]

 

[thezodiac]

yeah im not expert on plants eitehr
where i got that from was "yellowing leaves - high nitrate content from lack of water changes Make a series of moderate water changes."

(Source Link )


t8 bulb (the kind thats supposed to support plant growth)

ive never used fertalizer or co2.

Now ignore anything you read on that site about lighting, ferts, algae or CO[sub]2[/sub]

do you have a good resources to recommend?

 

[minnnt]

It's usually a lack of nitrogen. Dosing an all around plant fertiliser like TNC complete or TPN+ will help no end. Is the plant in the first picture out of the substrate or planted in it?

its actually floating, with its roots slightly buried.

but not its "body" i forget the term, nodules ?0

do you mean i need fertilizer and co2 injection?



also youve responded to a bunch of my post, can you send me a link to your tank?

Tie it to some wood or a rock in your tank. It appreciates water flow across it's rhizome and roots.

Dosing a complete fertiliser will encourage healthy plant growth. Anubias is very slow growing so it tends to attract algae on it's leaves. Co2 injection would be a great addition if you are wanting to go into the planted side of fish keeping. It's not essential though if you choose your plants wisely.

Here is a link to my tanks

yeah im not expert on plants eitehr
where i got that from was "yellowing leaves - high nitrate content from lack of water changes Make a series of moderate water changes."

(Source Link )


t8 bulb (the kind thats supposed to support plant growth)

ive never used fertalizer or co2.

Now ignore anything you read on that site about lighting, ferts, algae or CO[sub]2[/sub]

yeah im not expert on plants eitehr
where i got that from was "yellowing leaves - high nitrate content from lack of water changes Make a series of moderate water changes."

(Source Link )


t8 bulb (the kind thats supposed to support plant growth)

ive never used fertalizer or co2.

Now ignore anything you read on that site about lighting, ferts, algae or CO[sub]2[/sub]

do you have a good resources to recommend?

Here is a great source of information. There are also a few specialist sites and forums dedicated to plants.

If your T8 bulb is over a year old then replace it as it stops promoting healthy growth in plants.

 

[thezodiac]

also from what ive read i should probably turn off my airstone (which may also be decreasing co2 a bit)

 

[minnnt]

It will gas off any co2 that has built up over night pretty quickly, yes.

Why not try the 'siesta' approach to it and have a photo period of 3-4 hours in a morning and then another photo period of 3-4 hours in the evening? In theory there should be a build up of co2 in the morning and then again in the evening that the plants can make use of.

 

[thezodiac]

It will gas off any co2 that has built up over night pretty quickly, yes.

do you think that with turning off my air stone, changing water more frequently and changing my bulb to a new t8 should i be good?

how long do you think it would take for the plants to look healthy again ? (generally speaking)


if these dont work, what would you recommend next ? either fertilizer or co2 or both?

thanks again for all of your help !

 

[minnnt]

It will certainly help.

Dosing a general fertiliser will also help and keep the lighting to a maximum 8hrs a day. The lighting is the main driver for plants. The stronger it is and the longer it is on for makes the plants crave more nutrients. That is when deficiencies appear such as holes in the leaves, yellowing, melting etc.

Co2 will be the main boost, but that can come later with the plants you have.

 

[thezodiac]

It will certainly help.

Dosing a general fertiliser will also help and keep the lighting to a maximum 8hrs a day. The lighting is the main driver for plants. The stronger it is and the longer it is on for makes the plants crave more nutrients. That is when deficiencies appear such as holes in the leaves, yellowing, melting etc.

Co2 will be the main boost, but that can come later with the plants you have.

do you know any good all around fertilizer? (like any good brands or certain ones that are supposed to be good)

would something like this be a good idea:
http/www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754007

i know im asking a ton of question but i'd like to make sure i do this properly

 

[minnnt]

Search for tpn or tnc lite. They're very popular. If you go for co2 then you want tpn+ and tnc complete.