My Plants Are Struggling

[simonas]

My plants are struggling in my tank
the normal vallis has almost disappeared, the swords struggle the ozelot is a mess only the crypts and the giant vallis look decent the windelow isn;t too good either

what can I doto improve things, I add flourish and trace as required

 

[ian]

Thw Windelov needs a good trim mate, get all of those black leaves off. Ozelot IMO/E are not the easiest of plants, i have also struggled with these in the past. The swords don't look that bad? Just remind us what you're dosing Si?

 

[simonas]

cheers Ian will have a go at the windelow later

I;m just dosing the flourish trace and flourish excel (if thats what they are called) I just dose as per the instructions on the containers

 

[lljdma06]

I think you need to add more nutrients.

Yeah, you're not dosing macros and I think you're at the point where you should be.

 

[simonas]

I think you need to add more nutrients.

Yeah, you're not dosing macros and I think you're at the point where you should be.

is there anything particular you would recomend L?

 

[ian]

^^agreed...for a tank that size it might be an idea to dose the EI method...

http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/

Can be found here.

 

[PDSimon]

It looks like the ozelot just about has enough light so the extra nutrients should help it...Normally the healthier it is the more red the dots are but it will still grow big leaves without the perfect conditions!

 

[JoshuaA]

Just to add Simon, I find it very difficult to keep Vallis alive, I keep putting this down to the soft water we have here but I'm not too sure. I can get it to grow but it ALWAYS melts when it gets to a certain height but it fortunately grows fast enough to recover by the time it has melted and then my snail has a field day.

 

[PDSimon]

I agree with the vallis, its evil!

 

[JoshuaA]

I agree with the vallis, its evil!

Haha I meant the other Simon as he only lives a mile or so away, though I imagine our water is pretty similar too.

Edit: I have had Vallis succeed when I had added TPN+ and used Tropica substrate and used around 50% of the recommended dosage for Excel. I have tried other substrates and it just melts. With the TPN+ + Tropica substrate it only succeeded because it was able to out grow it's melting. I just don't think Vallis is built for living in the north west

 

[simonas]

its funny though cos in my snakehead tank I had vallis in there which stretched to about 3 and a half foot when pulled out straight with only a small t8 bulb in there

 

[lljdma06]

Vallis love Florida, where the water is liquid rock. My crypts even get crabby when I don't do frequent waterchanges. Something about the high mineral content that I think both crypts and Vallis may need. I'd love to look into this more, but I'm way too lazy to do anything other than observe.

 

[simonas]

^^agreed...for a tank that size it might be an idea to dose the EI method...

http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/

Can be found here.

cheersfor that I have just ordered the
Monopotassium Phosphate - 250g
Potassium Nitrate - 250g
Trace Elements - 250g

to make the two potions

I;ll see how I get on ha. would this replace my flourish and trace that I use so far?

 

[mark4785]

^^agreed...for a tank that size it might be an idea to dose the EI method...

http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/

Can be found here.

cheersfor that I have just ordered the
Monopotassium Phosphate - 250g
Potassium Nitrate - 250g
Trace Elements - 250g

to make the two potions

I;ll see how I get on ha. would this replace my flourish and trace that I use so far?

Seachem flourish seems to provide micro-nutrients which is another word for your 'trace elements' which you have ordered. If I remember correctly, Flourish contains a weak chelating agent named 'Gluconate' which is known to only conserve trace elements in hard water for a matter of minutes/hours. If you have hard water, you will need to stop relying on Flourish anyway as it's unfortunately useless in that kind of water. If your water is soft, you can still ditch Flourish since you have your '250g Trace elements' ordered which is the same thing which is contained in flourish, albeit possibly having a more suitable, longer-lasting, chelating agent.

The monopotassium phosphate and potassium nitrate form your macro-nutrients which is probably all you will need.

 

[JoshuaA]

Don't forget some nice little dosing bottles, makes measurements and dosage a lot easier. I think you can buy them from the same guy who sells the EI stuff in the UK.

Edit: There will probably be no side affects at all for dosing the Flourish, at least it will make you feel like you didn't waste your money on it. I dose Flourish and TPN+ even though the TPN+ is the full mix.