My plants die

[StevenF]

Note: The bottle of Flourish says "Use 1 capful (5ml) for each 250L (60Gals) once or twice a week. For smaller doses, please note that each cap thread is approx 1ml" So how much do i use for my tank size 19L? Also is the Nutrafin Aqua+ better to use in my case, over the Betta+ Conditioner?

5ml divided by 250L =0.02ml per liter or. I often change about 2 gallons of water or 7.6L. Lets round that up to 8L. The dose for 8L is 0.16ml (That is a very small syringe). For convenience I dilute it down.

So I found a small pill bottle that could hold 40ml of water. I decided I wanted to dose 1ml for each Liter of water. So the container should hold 40 doses. 40 times 0.02 equals 0.8ml. This means you need a 1ML syringe which are readily available on line. The reset of the pill bottle will be water. 40ml minus 0.8ml means you need about 39ml of water. I have a larger syringe available so measuring that was no problem. Or you could use a metric to english conversion software to figure out the teaspoon or tablespoons of water need. So if I do the usual 8L water change I dose the tank with 8ml of fertilizer. The flourish bottle went back into the freezer to prevent spoilage. So now you can change the size of the pill bottle and the size of the dose you want to add to the tank to whatever you like. Just change the numbers in this paragraph to match your preference.

Always dose for the water you add . Don't dose for the size of the tank.

For the water conditioner I tested my water for chlorine. The fish store will have these tests. Never saw chlorine in my tap water after several tests. I then reduced the dose of conditioner and had no problems. After a couple of water changes reduced the dose again. Again had no problems. So I eventually stopped using conditioner. I haven't used water conditioner for years.

 

[omega59]

Still not sure how much Flourish to add. I did a water change this morning and the new plant had die off i added one thread line of dechlorinate to the tap water instead of a full cap.
Tomorrow I will be add-in Flourish to the tank. Is one thread on the cap ok?

 

[Byron]

Still not sure how much Flourish to add. I did a water change this morning and the new plant had die off i added one thread line of dechlorinate to the tap water instead of a full cap.
Tomorrow I will be add-in Flourish to the tank. Is one thread on the cap ok?

From what you posted previously, one thread would be 1 ml. This is sufficient for roughly 10 gallons. You have 5 gallons, so half this is one dose, approximately.

I bought a smaller dropper holding 5 ml with the ml divided into tenths, at a local grocery store. Works very well when you need small amounts.

 

[omega59]

Yes, i wasn't able to find the time to search for a dropper. But my new plants leafs are turning black and the stems clear, it is slowly dying much like the other.

 

[Byron]

Yes, i wasn't able to find the time to search for a dropper. But my new plants leafs are turning black and the stems clear, it is slowly dying much like the other.

It takes time (one or more weeks) to see improvements after making changes to light or fertilizers, etc. Keep in mind that the plant dying now is the end result of whatever has been the problem for a few weeks. Can you post a photo of this plant now?

 

[omega59]

I added the Flourish today mixed with some water. Here is the pic... i just realized i used tap water and not tank water... what to do now...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0_K1FZY2wgBd0F6ODRjSFctWm8/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[Byron]

I added the Flourish today mixed with some water. Here is the pic... i just realized i used tap water and not tank water... what to do now...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0_K1FZY2wgBd0F6ODRjSFctWm8/view?usp=drivesdk

Tap water in so small an amount (I assume) will not hurt anything. Chlorine dissipates readily.

From that photo, I have seen similar due to either nutrient imbalance or insufficient light. I mentioned previously that I know nothing about this light, and it seems in the photo to be adequate, but maybe not.

 

[omega59]

The info I found out the light is. 7500k high, (35 white LE Ds) 460nm blue LEDs. And the filter does 53gph.

 

[Byron]

The info I found out the light is. 7500k high, (35 white LE Ds) 460nm blue LEDs. And the filter does 53gph.

There is a lack of red in this light. The "blue" LEDs obviously are blue light, so that leaves the "white" LEDs which are 7500K. I'll explain.

The K number is degrees Kelvin, which is the colour temperature of light (nothing to do with heat as in air or water temperature). Mid-day sunlight is somewhere within the range 5500K-6000K. The lower the K number, the more red and less blue in the light and this is termed "warm" light. The higher the K number, the more blue and less red, and we call this "cool" light.

Aquatic plants grow by photosynthesis, and photosynthesis in all plants is driven by light. The light has to be a c ertain intensity to drive photosynthesis, but it also has to have red and blue in the colour wavelengths, and red is the more important of the two. Adding green light to the red and b;lue does improve plant response (I won't bog this down with the "why"). So this means that the best light for aquarium pl;ants will be high in the red, blue and green wavelengths.

A Kelvin between 5000K and 7000K generally provides this type of light. Some manufacturers refer to these bulbs/tubes as "daylight" or "daylight delux" or similar. It is the closest thing to mid-day sun, and not surprisingly plants respond well.

So, part of the issue here is the light. I'll take this one step further. Different plant species have differing requirements when it comes to light intensity, and their rate of growth is a rough guide. The faster a plant grows, the stronger light it requires, and more nutrients to provide the "food." The slower a plant grows, the less light and fewer nutrients. Aquarium plants are no different than garden plants or any plant in this respect. Shade plants grow slower, and usually have darker green leaves, than sun plants.

Stem plants, like the Wisteria and Pennywort you have, are faster growing plants, so they need more light and nutrients than would say moss or ferns. So the lack of red in the white light is even more important.

You could see if you can alter the LEDs (some fixtures I believe can), or change the fixture. Or you can try slower growing plants, like Java Fern, Anubias, Java Moss.

Byron.

 

[omega59]

Ahh maybe that would explain why in the past my Anabis grew fine while everything else died.

 

[omega59]

Hi just want to say plant is going dead.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0_K1FZY2wgBZDgzOG9DM0liOVk/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[Byron]

Hi just want to say plant is going dead.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0_K1FZY2wgBZDgzOG9DM0liOVk/view?usp=drivesdk

I can't offer much, as I believe I probably suggested the factors previously.

 

[omega59]

Will those plants die too or will I waste money.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Its possible your plants may die but thats part of learning about what works in your tank.

No one becomes an instant planted tank gardener, we all have had to learn one way or another about what works in our tanks. And unfortunately a number of plants do die during this learning process.

What wortks in one tank may very well not work in another, every tank water column is different, just like fingerprint and dna. You could set up two tanks side by side with the same make and model of tank, heaters, filters, lights and substrate etc etc and I'll bet you your bottom dollar both these water parameters in each tank will differ. By that I mean in calcium, phosphate, nitrate etc etc which all have an effect in some way, mostly minor but these minor difference can make the difference in what plants may or may not thrive in your tank.

Byron, Steven F and myself and others have given advice in what our experiences have taught us and what works for us but as mentioned earlier may not work for you but you can try bits and pieces to see if it works or not. So taking things one step at a time seems the be the best method, will not be a overnights success but slowly but surely you will get there.

I have lost a lot of plants during my time as a keeper, both in high tech and low tech set ups with varying degrees of success. I tend not to think of it as a waste of money if a number of plants die, I look at its as one more thing not to get next time or perhaps adjust my light time or adjust fertiliser dosages, process of elimination really. I have now decided just to stay with low tech as this gives me the most success and only buy th etypes of plants that I know should do fairly well in my hard water, like crypts, vals, balansae etc

Not a cheap hobby this one, I know but when it works, nothing feels like that

 

[omega59]

I understand, atm i've not bought any new plants and these are slowly almost gone. It's too bad bc i really liked these. I'm just waiting for another plant sale at my LFS and i will do my research of course to make sure they are low-light-plants and not demanding. I may just buy the suggested Anubias nana.

Another note is there is a neon-green algae growing on my rocks, and some burgundy, the substrate is not effected, but some minute specks on the glass as well. there is a window but it is not directly facing it where sun can get in.