Java Fern - sunburn?

[brendonjw]

Hi All,

I have just finished setting up my new tank, it is a Juwel 240 with the factory Day and Nature light bulbs.

I have moved all my plants across for the old tank which was a tall one. I have just noticed some black spots on one of my Java ferns. I detached it from its existing wood to put onto this piece.

The lighting is deffinitly brighter in here than the old tank, its on the same schedule (about 9 hours) i've changed from a tall to a wide one, could it be that, or do i need to up the liquid ferts for a few weeks until the tank gets a bit more established? Or could it just be the shock of all these things happening within a few days that its now starting to stress. Its been in the new tank for about 5 days.

(I moved the filter, plants and some substrate across for the BB, fish stock is slightly lower and it is a bigger tank.) Ignore the plant on the bottom left as it arrived half dead like that.

 

[Back in the fold]

I had a thing happen with Java Fern last year. I moved a tank in my fish room to a spot I never had one in before and in May and June it got direct morning sun for about an hour a day. The Java Fern turned brown and died in three weeks. Nothing else changed but that. I chalked it up to a low light plant getting too much of a good thing all at once.

 

[brendonjw]

I had a thing happen with Java Fern last year. I moved a tank in my fish room to a spot I never had one in before and in May and June it got direct morning sun for about an hour a day. The Java Fern turned brown and died in three weeks. Nothing else changed but that. I chalked it up to a low light plant getting too much of a good thing all at once.

Hmm thanks, i might try some electrical tape over the LED's above it.

 

[Back in the fold]

Hmm thanks, i might try some electrical tape over the LED's above it.

Maybe some floating plants.

 

[brendonjw]

Maybe some floating plants.

The filter is pushing the water wysteria i have floating to the other end of the tank, we don't get any good floating plants in my country, only duckweed which i'm not putting in lol

I'll try moving some ambulia closer to it to get pushed over and give it some shelter. I'll keep a eye on the other java ferns in there as i'm still thinking the lights might be a bit bright for the fish too.

 

[StevenF]

Outside on a clean day at noon there is about 20,000 lumens of light.Indoors light leaves are typically 500 lumens or less. MY aquarium light ca put out 3000 lumens but I typically run at half that. So in nature light levels are typically much brighter than you see in aquariums. And yet sun damage is not typically seen.

I had a thing happen with Java Fern last year. I moved a tank in my fish room to a spot I never had one in before and in May and June it got direct morning sun for about an hour a day. The Java Fern turned brown and died in three weeks.

Other than light and water and CO2 plants need 14 nutrients to grow. if there is a shortage of one plants cannot grow and will eventually die. Sometimes a nutrient deficiency can cause black, brown, or yellow spots on leaves. In bright light in an aquarium plants use up neutrients much faster than in a low light tank. So moving a tank to a new spot that gets sun light or moving a plant to a new unestablished tan can trigger a nutrient deficiency, plant damage or cause the plant to die.

 

[Byron]

Areas of transparency in the fronds--which is what the dark blotches appear to be--means the plant is receiving too much light. This plant does very well under subdued and diffused light, such as a canopy of floating plants. The plant grows slowly, and older fronds that become tattered and blackened may be removed. Being a slow-growing plant, this means less light and less nutrient requirements. For years my JF grew very well with a good cover of substantial floating plants (Water Sprite, Water Lettuce).

 

[brendonjw]

I've put some electrical tap over the parts of the led directly above it, i might put a bit more to try and help reduce the light for it.