Beginners Plant Question

[Lizzie71]

When I bought my new tank (my first one ever) I also bought three plants to put in it. Two are tall ones with long strands, the third is small with frilly strands and is much shorter.

The two tall plants at the back of the tank are already starting to go brown (it's only been 1 week) and the little one got uprooted when I did a water change (I've replanted it but not sure if it will be OK).

I have been having the lights on about 8-10 hours a day, and the first fish only went in yesterday.

Any suggestions how to keep the plants alive? Or should I switch to plastic

 

[Underwurlde]

Copy & paste time. Sorry.


Signs of Deficiencies in Plants
Mineral deficiencies are very similar as the minerals play many roles that make the symptoms quite similar.

There are 17 essential nutrients a plant needs. These elements are:
90% of the bulk of the plant is made up form Carbon ©, Hydrogen (H) & Oxygen (O).
Primary macro-nutrients: NPK aka: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) & Potassium (K).
Secondary macro-nutrients: Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg) & Sodium (S).
Other elements: Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Boron (B.), Nickel (Ni) Molybdenum (Mo) & Chlorine (Cl).


Magnesium, nitrogen, phosphate, potassium for example are mobile nutrients and calcium, iron are immobile. Mobile nutrients can be moved within the plant (from old leaves to new) to avoid a shortage while a deficiency in immobile nutrients has an instant effect on the plant.

Symptoms Cause
Old leaves turn yellowish / red & die off. Nitrogen deficiency
Old leaves turn yellowish / red
----------
Leaf loss and small dead areas Phosphate deficiency
Black / brown leaves, plants die Excess phosphates
Yellow spots on old leaves and yellowish margins on younger leaves. Pinholes appear which slowly enlarge. Potassium deficiency
Yellowish edges on young leaves with deformations. Twisted & short roots. Calcium deficiency
Yellow spots on old leaves while veins stay green. Distorted leaf growth. (Similar to Iron deficiency) Magnesium deficiency
Young leaves turn yellow & die off Sulphur deficiency
Yellowing of new leaves starting from the tip then become transparent. Leaves can become brittle. Iron deficiency
Yellow spots between the veins, margins and tips Zinc deficiency
Plant stays small slow or no growth. Distorted leaf growth. Possible white deposits on leaves (calcium) CO2 deficiency
Fish gasp for air on surface Excess CO2
Sluggish fish no plant growth Oxygen deficiency
Plants stop growing / black roots Substrate problem
New leaves have dead shoot tips & side shoots. Delicate stems. (Similar to Calcium deficiency) Boron deficiency
Dead leaf tips on new leaves Copper
Dead yellowish tissue between new leaf veins Manganese
Yellow spots between old leaf nerves, Brown edges. Inhibited flowering. Molybdenum
Stunted growth. Old leaves darken. Stunted root growth. Phosphorus

 

[Lizzie71]

That's fascinating stuff, but how do I fix it? I think I have nitrogen deficiency, but I'm not sure.

 

[Underwurlde]

OK, planted people will mention NPK. This is Nitrite, Phosphate & Potassium.

The others needed are Micro nutrients and trace elements. If you live in a hardwater area, trace may not be needed.

So, to your question: search out companies such as SeaChem and Tropica. I would try something like seachem flourish tabs.

Andy

PS, do you really want plants. If you're seroius and you don't want algae, IMO you'll need a lot more plants in there....