what am i doing wrong

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depending if the water coming out of the tap is reasonably suitable
What do you mean by this?
 
yes we very often get quite high levels of chemicals added to our water as the management is very flawed to say the least. it tastes ghastly and leaves a soapy feel in ones mouth. when it is like this i dont do water changes. i just monitor things very closely. if it gets out of hand i do use bottled water. fortunately it will only be like this for 5 or so days
 
it just occurred to me that it could be my substrate. i have a mix of pretty course gravel and pool-filter sand. could it be that the roots are not taking or there is no nutrients in this substrate and therefor the plants are not getting the required nutrients and dying.
 
it just occurred to me that it could be my substrate. i have a mix of pretty course gravel and pool-filter sand. could it be that the roots are not taking or there is no nutrients in this substrate and therefor the plants are not getting the required nutrients and dying.

Not likely the problem. First, any substrate becomes nutrient-rich after a few months due to the accumulation of organics. This is the primary source of natural CO2 for plants. Using one of the so-called enriched plant substrate materials is not necessary, though it might help initially, but given the often detrimental side effects I don't advise using these. Plain sand or plain fine gravel is sufficient as a plant substrate.

However, secondly, too coarse a gravel can inhibit some plants. The commonly called "pea gravel" with grains roughly the size of a green pea, about in the 4 to 6 mm size range, is as large as you ever want for a substrate. And some plants will find this difficult.

Nutrient uptake in aquatic plants is via the roots and the leaves, and has to come from the water. Fertilizers are dissolved in the water which circulates through the substrate and the plant takes them up via roots or leaves. If the substrate clogs, this will slow or cease, and the plant likely die.
 
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so i eventually got around to the lfs and i purchased some plants(as well as 4 peppered cories. i know 4 is to small a group but its all they had, i will be back on Friday to get 3 more.) the ones i purchased i made sure that they had lots of new root growth and healthy looking leaves.

so i got them all planted (out of the pots) and most i had to anchor down with a rubber-band to some tank decor and small rocks. but for the life of me i cant recall the names of the plants. the person who helped me has a overall general knowledge of all things pet and i have seen him telling a customer that they should not put a betta in anything smaller than 2.5 gal. also he gives fairly good advise on stocking and planting. all the advise he has given me is actually usable and very good(i checked it on the forum) anyway long story short he gave me the most healthy plants he could find in the store.

now i just have to see how things turn out.
 
If you could post a photo of the planted tank we might be able to ID the plant species.

Are you using any type of plant fertilizer?
 
i will have to take a look. i will tell you when i know
 
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please excuse the algae i am busy working on it
 
If you cannot get information on the GH order a GH test kit. API sells one that is often used.

One very important question. What fertilizers are you using?
 
it would be water that i take out of the tap and keep for when the fluctuations happen. so essentially tap water.

im currently not using ferts but i will go to the lfs today. what brand is best.
 

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