My plants are dying.

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30galBarbs

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So, my planted 35G tank (150L) is going downhill the plants were fine about 3 months ago. My blue stricta leaves are now curling in at the tip new growth seems to be forming all twisted and with holes in the plant. Water parameters are.

Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate: 0/0/25> PH: 7.6

My fertiliser schedule
Flourish Monday and Thursday Full Lid
Flourish Iron every second day
Easy Life Potassium Once a week generally on a Wednesday
Easy life liquid C02 every day about 30ml
Water Changes bi weekly
Also recently added substrate fertiliser which was like $5 off ebay and are spaced in a 5cm grid

The tank also has an outburst of black beard algae which i`m targeting with the liquid CO2. Other plants include Java Fern.
Occupants... 3 Rummynose Tetra, 8 LF Blackwidow, 2 Red phantom, 1 Rainbow Shark Young, 3 bristlenose 2 female 1 male.

Please let me know if you know how to help Photo is attached.
IMG_3421.jpg
 
according to the pic you posted your plants dont look like they dying.
there is some algae, my plants also get algae(I have some ottocinclus catfish(very small) to assist with this, they eat the algae off my Anubias leaves)
you could prune the dead leaves or the ones with lots of algae.

My plants do well, I have a 120litre I only give half a cap Flourish liquid fertiliser 3 times a week. and I have them planted in gravel.
my Nitrate levels are consistantly high, and I have read that plants feed off the nitrate....

If I were you I would reduce the amount of plant fertilizers and additives and see if helps,....long ago I used to supplement with C02 and my plants also wilted and died(not sure if its the C02, but I have never used it since and things are looking much better with my plants)
I can see some new baby leaves at the bottom of your pic, and thats a good sign.
 
Easy life liquid C02 every day about 30ml
Is this Easy Life EasyCarbo? The website doesn't say what's in it, but most of these products contain a toxic chemical glutaraldehyde. If using to target algae, it should be applied to the plant directly not added to the water.

Glutaraldehyde is used to sterilise heat sensitive surgical equipment, in embalming fluid etc and it can kill some plants. I would stop using it. Java fern does not need CO2 and the blue stricta probably gets enough CO2 from the fish and organics decomposing in the substrate.




One little thing, in fish keeping gallons are always American gallons not Imperial gallons.
my planted 35G tank (150L)
So your 150 litre tank is actually 40 gallons not 35 ;)
 
Just snip off the affected leaves and it should trigger the plant to grow new ones
 
loks like some algae covering leaves, best to remove so it does not overgrow the leaf
 
according to the pic you posted your plants dont look like they dying.
there is some algae, my plants also get algae(I have some ottocinclus catfish(very small) to assist with this, they eat the algae off my Anubias leaves)
you could prune the dead leaves or the ones with lots of algae.

My plants do well, I have a 120litre I only give half a cap Flourish liquid fertiliser 3 times a week. and I have them planted in gravel.
my Nitrate levels are consistantly high, and I have read that plants feed off the nitrate....

If I were you I would reduce the amount of plant fertilizers and additives and see if helps,....long ago I used to supplement with C02 and my plants also wilted and died(not sure if its the C02, but I have never used it since and things are looking much better with my plants)
I can see some new baby leaves at the bottom of your pic, and thats a good sign.
Ok I’ll try reducing the fertilisers thanks for the reply :)
 
Is this Easy Life EasyCarbo? The website doesn't say what's in it, but most of these products contain a toxic chemical glutaraldehyde. If using to target algae, it should be applied to the plant directly not added to the water.

Glutaraldehyde is used to sterilise heat sensitive surgical equipment, in embalming fluid etc and it can kill some plants. I would stop using it. Java fern does not need CO2 and the blue stricta probably gets enough CO2 from the fish and organics decomposing in the substrate.




One little thing, in fish keeping gallons are always American gallons not Imperial gallons.

So your 150 litre tank is actually 40 gallons not 35 ;)
Ok so I have been sometimes getting a bit loose with the liquid co2 I also have a diy co kit is it worth setting that up
 
So, my planted 35G tank (150L) is going downhill the plants were fine about 3 months ago. My blue stricta leaves are now curling in at the tip new growth seems to be forming all twisted and with holes in the plant. Water parameters are.

Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate: 0/0/25> PH: 7.6

My fertiliser schedule
Flourish Monday and Thursday Full Lid
Flourish Iron every second day
Easy Life Potassium Once a week generally on a Wednesday
Easy life liquid C02 every day about 30ml
Water Changes bi weekly
Also recently added substrate fertiliser which was like $5 off ebay and are spaced in a 5cm grid

The tank also has an outburst of black beard algae which i`m targeting with the liquid CO2. Other plants include Java Fern.
Occupants... 3 Rummynose Tetra, 8 LF Blackwidow, 2 Red phantom, 1 Rainbow Shark Young, 3 bristlenose 2 female 1 male.

Please let me know if you know how to help Photo is attached.View attachment 135977
Is this java fern? If so I thought it was an epiphyte? Which in that case shouldn't be planted in the gravel ?
 
Ok so I have been sometimes getting a bit loose with the liquid co2 I also have a diy co kit is it worth setting that up
Unless the tank is heavily planted like a jungle with very strong lighting and few fish, CO2 is not necessary - neither liquid CO2 nor CO2 gas. The fish breathe out CO2 and bacteria in the substrate break down organic matter which makes CO2.
Java fern is a slow growing plant which does not need added CO2, not much fertiliser. It grows in low light conditions. I am not very familiar with blue stricta (Hygrophilla corymbosa 'stricta') but from what I can gather on-line, this does not need CO2 either.

Algae usually result form an imbalance between light and fertiliser. Get that right and the algae should stop growing.



Is this java fern? If so I thought it was an epiphyte? Which in that case shouldn't be planted in the gravel
The plant in the photo is blue stricta but the OP does mention having java fern as well - but not whether it is rooted in the substrate or growing on decor.
 
So, my planted 35G tank (150L) is going downhill the plants were fine about 3 months ago. My blue stricta leaves are now curling in at the tip new growth seems to be forming all twisted and with holes in the plant. Water parameters are.
Your disciption and pictures are generally a description of a calcium and Magnesium deficiency. If possible get a GH KH test kit and test your tap and tank water with it and post the results. Also how much water do you change out during your Biweekly water change? You are dosing a lot of various fertilizers. I think you should be doing a 50% water change once a week. You basic mistake is you assume your fertilizers contain everything your plants need. Only one flourish comprehensive has calcium and magnesium but only at trace levels that are way below what your plants need. Also flourish comprehensive should have all the iron and potassium your plants need. And I don't see anything that looks like a potassium or iron deficiency. You might benefit by using a GH booster but I wouldn't do that until we know what your GH and KH levels are.

Algae usually result form an imbalance between light and fertilizer. Get that right and the algae should stop growing.
Easy to say, but irrelevant in this case because he doesn't have all 14 of the nutrients plants need. Think of a car were light is the throttle and CO2 is the air for the engine. The gas tank has the nutrients. But in this case there are 14 gas tanks and the consumption rate for each tank is going to be different. In this case 2 of the 14 tanks are empty and 2 are overflowing. This isn't simply a light nutrient imbalance, it is a nutrient nutrient imbalance.
 
That's more or less what I was meaning - the fertiliser and light both have to be right; the right kind and amount of fertiliser, and the right kind and duration of light. The 'wrong' kind of fertiliser (which you explain much better than I can), or too much or too little of it and/or lights on too long or not enough, and the spectrum not appropriate to plant growth won't allow plants to flourish, or will allow algae to grow.
 

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