Not Very Happy Right Now

[Meggie :)]

Hey everyone...so while I was cleaning my 10g tank today the string that held my wood (that still doesn't sink on its own after months of being in the tank) to the rock (that was holding it down) came loose and now the wood is floating in an ugly way...My hornwort uprooted from the back and is now floating leaving the spot where they were completely bare, my banana plant has lost all of its leaves (which MIGHT just be starting to grow back after weeks of being gone), my pygmy swords aren't doing anything, my java fern is half dying, my anubias have algae all over them, and overall the tank just looks horrible...

Here's some info on the tank:
Size: 10 US gallons
Age: Been running for about four years now
Stock: balloon mollies, 1 ghost shrimp, 1 cherry shrimp, 2 assassin snails
CO2: none
Light: T8 15 watts 5500K on for 7-8 hours a day
Ferts: Dose daily w/ pferts MICROS, POTASSIUM, NITROGEN, PHOSPHORUS

What am I doing wrong? There's algae all over the wood/rock/anubias...the plants are dying...I haven't been happy with the tank for weeks now but the wood becoming half undone from the rock just put me over the top...I really want this tank to be pretty, I just have no idea what to do.. Please, I am open to any suggestions, any criticism, any yelling at for anything I've done wrong Also, it is quite dirty back is some full places I can't get to so if needed I can empty/clean out the whole tank and do a total rescape if you guys think that's what i should do..

It's not letting me attach pictures from photobucket so if you just click on THIS LINK and scroll through some of the pix you will see how my tank looked before (picture #6) What it looks like now that it is all messed up(sorry for the cloudiness but they are pictures #1-5) And some pieces of wood that I currently have to work with..(Pictures #7-8)...

Thank you all for any help you can give me!
Meg

 

[ShinySideUp]

Hey everyone...so while I was cleaning my 10g tank today the string that held my wood (that still doesn't sink on its own after months of being in the tank) to the rock (that was holding it down) came loose and now the wood is floating in an ugly way...My hornwort uprooted from the back and is now floating leaving the spot where they were completely bare, my banana plant has lost all of its leaves (which MIGHT just be starting to grow back after weeks of being gone), my pygmy swords aren't doing anything, my java fern is half dying, my anubias have algae all over them, and overall the tank just looks horrible...

Here's some info on the tank:
Size: 10 US gallons
Age: Been running for about four years now
Stock: balloon mollies, 1 ghost shrimp, 1 cherry shrimp, 2 assassin snails
CO2: none
Light: T8 15 watts 5500K on for 7-8 hours a day
Ferts: Dose daily w/ pferts MICROS, POTASSIUM, NITROGEN, PHOSPHORUS

What am I doing wrong? There's algae all over the wood/rock/anubias...the plants are dying...I haven't been happy with the tank for weeks now but the wood becoming half undone from the rock just put me over the top...I really want this tank to be pretty, I just have no idea what to do.. Please, I am open to any suggestions, any criticism, any yelling at for anything I've done wrong Also, it is quite dirty back is some full places I can't get to so if needed I can empty/clean out the whole tank and do a total rescape if you guys think that's what i should do..

It's not letting me attach pictures from photobucket so if you just click on THIS LINK and scroll through some of the pix you will see how my tank looked before (picture #6) What it looks like now that it is all messed up(sorry for the cloudiness but they are pictures #1-5) And some pieces of wood that I currently have to work with..(Pictures #7-8)...

Thank you all for any help you can give me!
Meg

You're right, picture six showed a very nice tank and I agree it has all gone rather pear-shaped since then.

The long, thin plants (Cabomba Caroliniana I think) are notoriously difficult to get to stay in the ground so I'm not surprised they are floating away. They will root if planted securely and you go nowhere near them with anything that will disturb them but it takes a while. If your gravel is large your plants will have a harder time rooting securely, you just have to give them time and a good start.

Odd that the wood hasn't sunk, perhaps you can drill into a discrete part of the wood and put some screws in, brass ones would be best, just to weigh it down.

Back to the plants: You are using any fertilizer but I think you are using too much and promoting algae. I use Seachem Flourish and my plants grow like mad but I only dose once a week. You use a fertilizer but do you also use a carbon filter? If so you are wasting your time fertilizing as the carbon will take it out again - dump the carbon and never ever use it again unless removing medications.

 

[Meggie :)]

I have the sponge filter media...no carbon...I also have sand, which I forgot to mention...how often should I do fertilizers then?

 

[ShinySideUp]

I have the sponge filter media...no carbon...I also have sand, which I forgot to mention...how often should I do fertilizers then?

Pictures must be a little misleading as it doesn't look like sand, looks like black gravel. Sand is better for holding plants in but not all plants are happy with it, experimentation is the key here.

I personally dose my tank once a week. I have a 200 (actual) litre tank and give just under 5ml of Seachem Flourish. Very cost-effective; as the bottle says "250ml treats 100 US gallons for 4-6 months". I'll let you find the conversion rates online as I only do metric measurements now.

 

[Meggie :)]

Thank you!

So what do you suggest I do with the scape?

 

[gatorsean]

grow some easier plants that grow quickly. try some vallis, hygrophilia, and some crypts. also fertilizer tabs will help these plants thrive.

 

[Meggie :)]

Any change with the wood/rock?