My plants are rotting

[acker16]

I have a 30 Ga. aquarium with to 20V lamps (Powerglow and Sera Plantgrow ...or something like that) and I added liquid fertiliser Flora...something I think it's by Tetra or Sera and still my plant are loosing leaves and other completely rotted away .
What should I do , what could cause it?
b.t.w. my fish arw quite peacefull so they shouldn't be tha cause of it all.
And another thing , how important are reflectors and how do I get one (cheap) , could I use Alluminum foil?

 

[red-devil0602]

you can use mylar as a reflector and you can get it on ebay

 

[acker16]

what exactly is mylar ? I've never shopped on Ebuy so are there other options and what of my first question?

 

[glolite]

I don't know what mylar is but on your plant question, do you prune your plants? I've found that by snipping off damaged leaves as they occur at the base of the stem, it encourages new growth. I don't fertilise my plants but rely on fish waste to do this as I've heard that too much plant fertiliser can encourage algae to grow. Reflectors aren't too expensive but there might be a thread on the DIY forum which describes how to make your own.
PS if you PM bloozoo2 he's got loads of mylar for sale.

 

[George Farmer]

Welcome to the Forum acker!

I have a 30 Ga. aquarium with to 20V lamps (Powerglow and Sera Plantgrow ...or something like that)

Do you mean 2 x 20W fluorescent tubes?

If so that is 1.3 WPG - regarded a low-light especially if you don't use reflectors.

What plants do you have? Unless they are low-light plants i.e. Anubias, Java fern, mosses and Crypts then I suspect your "rotting" is an consequence of too little light.

The tubes you mention actually sound like good plant tubes. I would definitely recommend buying or DIY some reflectors, this can increase your light intensity by almost double.

If you plants aren't growing then I would avoid fertiliser use. If and when your plants grow well then resume dosing. With your limited light and low CO2 levels (I assume) then their should be adequate nutrients in your tap water, fish food and fish waste. As glolite mentions, using fertilisers when not required can result in algae.

I recommend planting easy stem plants to start with along with some low-light plants as described.

 

[acker16]

Thanks ,I'm happy to be here at last I found people I don't bore to death with my aquarium stories
I just want to know if I can use aluminum foil as reflector ? ,because I don't have room for more tubes(lamps) and what is T5 ?
And on a different matter what do you do when tour plant get too high I just clip them and replant the upper half in the gravel again , but sometimes it looks funny.
I have anubias but I have like 5 more species I can't recognize ( I'll add photos in 2 days).
I really like those grass-like plant how can I accomodate them , what do they need?

 

[George Farmer]

Standard alu foil is no good really. You'd be better off painting your hood lid gloss white.

T5 is fluorescent lighting that is 5/8" diameter. T8 is 8/8" i.e. 1 inch. Many people use power compact (PC) T5 which gives you more wattage in a smaller bulb thus taking up less space.

You can take cuttings and re-plant, many of us do this.

Grass like plants - There are many different species. Most need good light (2 WPG or more), CO2 and nutrient-rich substrate to do well. Probably the easiest IME is Sagittaria species.

 

[houndour]

just curious? Does aluminium absorb light or something? How come its best to paint with white gloss?

 

[George Farmer]

Most reflectors are made from polished aluminium. With foil on the other hand, it is almost impossible to get the same reflectiveness, white gloss paint has better reflective qualities.

 

[houndour]

fair enough. even the shiny side of alu foil is no good? Sorry I'm being a pain I'm using mylar so I don't know why I'm asking.

 

[RYO]

Lol thats the point of the forum, questions arn't dumb if you dont know the answer.