Planted Tank

[Gh0st]

i have recently began caring for fish and plants..i think ive finally realized how to care for fish but the plants have been a whole new learning process...ive spent much money tryin to perfect my tank to my likings and have overspent after of course reading a little on what i was doing wrong.....this is the problem..i have a 29gallon tank..i have a t-8 flourscent 20w lifeglo bulb..i have ecocomplete substrate as my base for the plants..i do not have any type of co-2..i have around 8 anacharis..copragrass and a few others i cant remember the name...plants were doing good for about 2weeks and now my anacharis' leaves are dying off and they are breaking apart everyday..some still look healthy but the others are slowly withering away..my copragrass hasnt grown a bit and from my understanding they spread across the bottom of the tank fast...whats odd is that i bought some cheap bulbs from petco and through in there and they are growning very fast..i keep my temp around 76-78bc of the fish i have in the tank...my question is do i need co-2 and havnt fully understood how to measure the watts per gallon when it comes to lighting yet...is the problem my light, substrate, or lack of co-2

 

[-SPB-]

If you go over to here, they may be able to help you a bit better, the planted tank section of the forums:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=10

 

[Amunet]

You have less than 1wpg, so you need low light plants if you don't plan on upgrading.
Is copragrass microsword? From what I know, it needs pretty good lighting.
I'm not sure about the anacharis. We had some but it ended up all dying on us. We had crappy lighting so that may have been why.
Are you using any kind of liquid fert? Such as flourish, or leaf zone or whatever you can get in your area?
If not, that may also be a problem.
Lack of CO2 could be a problem as well. There are many websites that explains how you can create a DIY yeast based CO2 system for your tank if you want to try your hand at it.
There is a planted section here in the forums, you could ask there, or just wait for one of the more knowledgeable plant folks to come along

 

[Goodygumdrops]

Hi,I have a 30 odd gallon tank with eco complete base and no co2.The one thing that does strike me is that your lighting level is less than 1 watt per gallon,which is at the very low end for growing aquatic plants.
Your plants just may not be suitable for that level of lighting.Also,two weeks isn't long,some plants will go through a 'melt' stage when newly planted then grow back with their submerged form of leaves (most plants are grown commercially emmersed,partly out of water).
I suspect your lighting though,my tank is only a few more gallons,bout 4,and has two 20w tubes.(Plants all growing great).

 

[waterdrop]

OK, I'm going to comment too (even though Amunet has more experience than me and the "planted guys" probably have years more experience than both of us! ) I agree that you are probably a little too far below 1 watt per gallon (t8) and you'd probably be better off around 1.5 watt/g or anywhere in between 1 and 2. And of course you have to realize that the "low-light" approach of all this means that mostly only "low-light "easy" plants" are going to work best (java ferns, java moss, anubias, swords.) But another huge thing is that it doesn't sound like you are "feeding" your plants and to do that you need to learn about carbon, macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients. That can all boil down to something as simple as some capfuls of liquid carbon each day and some alternating capfuls of various fertilizers (or a single one if you can find the right type.) But you've got to get there and that may take some dicussion here and/or some study. Your substrate is great and you should think of that as "backup" for your other fertilizers.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Gh0st]

You have less than 1wpg, so you need low light plants if you don't plan on upgrading.
Is copragrass microsword? From what I know, it needs pretty good lighting.
I'm not sure about the anacharis. We had some but it ended up all dying on us. We had crappy lighting so that may have been why.
Are you using any kind of liquid fert? Such as flourish, or leaf zone or whatever you can get in your area?
If not, that may also be a problem.
Lack of CO2 could be a problem as well. There are many websites that explains how you can create a DIY yeast based CO2 system for your tank if you want to try your hand at it.
There is a planted section here in the forums, you could ask there, or just wait for one of the more knowledgeable plant folks to come along

thanks for the info..the only kind of liquid fert i used was called flora pride..only used prob 3.5oz bottle the first 2weeks i put plants in there..i did come across how to make a diy co2 so i guess i will try that as well...if you have any ideas on where to get a cheap lighting fixture for 2_2 pin flourscent bulbs that would be great..my tank only came with single incandescent bulb and i have purchased a sunglo bulb and floraglo bulb thinkin that was the prob..i wanna try to use what i have and use both the bulbs i already have if possible..thanks again

Hi,I have a 30 odd gallon tank with eco complete base and no co2.The one thing that does strike me is that your lighting level is less than 1 watt per gallon,which is at the very low end for growing aquatic plants.
Your plants just may not be suitable for that level of lighting.Also,two weeks isn't long,some plants will go through a 'melt' stage when newly planted then grow back with their submerged form of leaves (most plants are grown commercially emmersed,partly out of water).
I suspect your lighting though,my tank is only a few more gallons,bout 4,and has two 20w tubes.(Plants all growing great).

thanks for the info

OK, I'm going to comment too (even though Amunet has more experience than me and the "planted guys" probably have years more experience than both of us! ) I agree that you are probably a little too far below 1 watt per gallon (t8) and you'd probably be better off around 1.5 watt/g or anywhere in between 1 and 2. And of course you have to realize that the "low-light" approach of all this means that mostly only "low-light "easy" plants" are going to work best (java ferns, java moss, anubias, swords.) But another huge thing is that it doesn't sound like you are "feeding" your plants and to do that you need to learn about carbon, macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients. That can all boil down to something as simple as some capfuls of liquid carbon each day and some alternating capfuls of various fertilizers (or a single one if you can find the right type.) But you've got to get there and that may take some dicussion here and/or some study. Your substrate is great and you should think of that as "backup" for your other fertilizers.

~~waterdrop~~

ive brushed up slightly on the nutrient aspects but i need to do more research..i guess im just impatient and need to see immediate results..thanks for the info

 

[waterdrop]

ive brushed up slightly on the nutrient aspects but i need to do more research..i guess im just impatient and need to see immediate results..thanks for the info

you can be forgiven for that, everyone gets excited to get going... of course sometimes its good to think about this hobby you've chosen: its all about slowing down, relaxing and observing a beautiful tank. That activity itself can be an inspiration for also then looking back at your activities related to starting up the tank itself and asking whether there's any real reason that has to be rushed? The world of business culture sometimes convinces us we need to do everything fast. Going slow and enjoying all the learning possible in the setup process can be quite a relaxing and entertaining thing in and of itself.

There's a great article pinned over at the top of the planted tank section that tells you all about EI, the Estimative Index method of getting nutrients in the water to feed your plants. That's the place to start for figuring out the best fertilizers for your plants. You could also compare the DIY CO2 method with the Liquid Carbon method of getting carbon, assuming you aren't going to worry about pressurized for now.

~~waterdrop~~