bogusmove
Fish Fanatic
Hi all, I'd like to ask for your advice/experience if I may regarding plant heath/progress.
I've had fish years, but it's been a long time since I've had a planted tank very seriously. I have one now though, about 2 months old, and it has been doing very well, until just recently, and I was wondering if anyone might hazard a guess at the most likely source of my problems. Unfortunately I don't have iron or phosphate test kits. I'll get some if you guys say I simply absolutely need them, but I'm puzzled by my early success and now sudden weakness. I've never made additives for plant growth so all the nutrient supply is from fish waste and water changes of about 25% a week.
I have alot of Cabomba caroliniana, which grew like crazy initially, until it hit the top of the tank and I pruned and redistributed it.
Since I discarded the lead bound foam wraps, and cut it in half so it wasn't sticking out of the water and moved it around, growth seems to have stopped, and the roots have taken on an increasingly grown shade, instead of the previous white. At the same time, other plants whose growth was not spectacular, have shot up, as though suddenly they have nutrients available which perhaps the Cabomba caroliniana was taking before?
I also have a fair amount of Egeria Densa or Elodea Densa, not sure which. I trimmed this at the same time, and it doesn't seemed to have ever quite recovered either, although some of it has generated offshoots, it just doesn't seem to have the same vitality as before... and brown furry algae seems to be a bit inclined to want to have a go at coating parts of it now where it isn't really flourishing... although the strong new shoots aren't affected.
This tank is 126L with 40W of light for about 11 hours a day. No serious algae problems. Small gravel substrate, about 80% stocked based on current size of fish and 1"/gallon rule. Some of the fish will have a go at plants, but there are enough plants this shouldn't be a serious problem, and it wasn't an issue at all in the first 6 weeks at all...
Thanks!
I've had fish years, but it's been a long time since I've had a planted tank very seriously. I have one now though, about 2 months old, and it has been doing very well, until just recently, and I was wondering if anyone might hazard a guess at the most likely source of my problems. Unfortunately I don't have iron or phosphate test kits. I'll get some if you guys say I simply absolutely need them, but I'm puzzled by my early success and now sudden weakness. I've never made additives for plant growth so all the nutrient supply is from fish waste and water changes of about 25% a week.
I have alot of Cabomba caroliniana, which grew like crazy initially, until it hit the top of the tank and I pruned and redistributed it.
Since I discarded the lead bound foam wraps, and cut it in half so it wasn't sticking out of the water and moved it around, growth seems to have stopped, and the roots have taken on an increasingly grown shade, instead of the previous white. At the same time, other plants whose growth was not spectacular, have shot up, as though suddenly they have nutrients available which perhaps the Cabomba caroliniana was taking before?
I also have a fair amount of Egeria Densa or Elodea Densa, not sure which. I trimmed this at the same time, and it doesn't seemed to have ever quite recovered either, although some of it has generated offshoots, it just doesn't seem to have the same vitality as before... and brown furry algae seems to be a bit inclined to want to have a go at coating parts of it now where it isn't really flourishing... although the strong new shoots aren't affected.
This tank is 126L with 40W of light for about 11 hours a day. No serious algae problems. Small gravel substrate, about 80% stocked based on current size of fish and 1"/gallon rule. Some of the fish will have a go at plants, but there are enough plants this shouldn't be a serious problem, and it wasn't an issue at all in the first 6 weeks at all...
Thanks!
