Plants Not Looking Too Good

[shaunb_2001]

Hi,
I recently added plants to my aquarium and some of these especially the swords are looking quite ill. The leaves are thinning, its as if they are disintegrating.

Im pretty new to this, What sort of regular maintainence do i need to carry out? I went back to the shop to ask and was given a bottle of Tetra 'Plantamin' which is to be added monthly. I feel like I should be doing more.

I have an undergravel filter set up will this have an effect on the plants roots at all?

Thanks for your time
Shaun

 

[Ste_J]

Hi,
I recently added plants to my aquarium and some of these especially the swords are looking quite ill. The leaves are thinning, its as if they are disintegrating.

Im pretty new to this, What sort of regular maintainence do i need to carry out? I went back to the shop to ask and was given a bottle of Tetra 'Plantamin' which is to be added monthly. I feel like I should be doing more.

I have an undergravel filter set up will this have an effect on the plants roots at all?

Thanks for your time
Shaun

Shaun I'm in no way any form of expert in this area but from reading the info that you have supplied I would say that the undergravel may not be helping the situation. It may also be a good idea to post what lighting you are using and size of tank etc.

 

[shaunb_2001]

my tank is 3ft x 1.5ft x 1ft, not completely sure on the size in gallons

unsure on the type of lighting, lights are on for 13 hours per day

 

[shrimply]

I had this problem and I emailed someone this is the reply I got.

"The problems that you have are probably not due to the plants but your set up. My reason for saying that is because you need to understand how different filtration systems work. Undergravel filters are in effect one giant biological filter and as such they digest anything organic, plant roots being organic get digested too. I would also think that you are producing phosphates at enormous rate, which would explain the demise of the Elodia and Wisteria etc. What you need to do is to rethink your tank set up and although it may seem drastic, I recommend that you remove your undergravel system and replace it with an internal power filter. Remove as much water as you can into a clean container, catch the fish, reset the tank and refill it with as much of the original water as possible. As a good way to make sure that your filter is colonised with bacteria, set it running in the aquarium for 2 weeks before the change over. After that you should be ready to plant and grow."

I then asked if I actually needed to remove the filter and this is the info I was given.

"Unfortunately, if you just turn off the undergravel filter, you will have toxic gases build up under the plates and release to the aquarium can be catastrophic. If you do decide to go for an internal power filter, then the type is entirely up to you. Remember that you generally get what you pay for but don't go the opposite way and have too much filtration. A good aquatic shop should advise you fairly, not try to get the most money from you. I use a Magic-jet filter on one shallow aquarium that I keep floating plants in and it seems fine. As long as you go for a filter to suit the capacity of your aquarium, you be alright."

Hope that helps.

 

[anvil63]

What is the wattage of your lights? If it is flourescent how many tubes?

Each tube would be 30 watts and 1 tube is not enough

Carl