Plants Looking Bad After Substrate Change

[jaycat]

Hi everyone,

I have a 75l 30" aquarium amazon biotope, with a few amazon swords, and 6 mini amazons. Two weeks ago a performed a substrate change gravel to sand. Since then my tall swords are losing colour in their leaves and dying. The mini ones don't look to good either.

I have tetra soil under them, and feed liquid fertilizer once a week too, lights on 11 hours day, no CO2, although I do have the ladder to set up if you think it would help. Can have algae probs too, there's abit of hair algae growing around sand under glass.

Stats:

gh more than 16 eg. off my scale!
kh 15
ph 7.6
amonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 20

Lighting with reflector as well. I found if I have too much light the algae takes over.

Ideas please, do I re start CO2?

18 small fish at moment in there. Tetras, corys and Otto.

Thanks guys

Jackie

 

[jaycat]

Any green fingered experts out there?

Thanks

 

[jaycat]

Anyone....

I'm at a loss

Thanks..

 

[aaronnorth]

What wattage are your lights?

Up to yet, i'm baffled too!

 

[jaycat]

Hi,

One light 18w daylite, with reflecter

 

[aaronnorth]

I dont have a clue!

How long have you had them.

What liquid fert do you dose?

 

[jaycat]

only had bulbs for 4 months, and I use Nutrifin plant gro fertiliser once a week.

 

[saintly]

im confused about your ph and kh,

your readings sugest you have 11ppm which is good.

why im confused is that you dont have co2 running is that posible?

 

[SuperColey1]

I wouldn't use the ph/Kh to judge CO2 ppm. It is very rarely even close!!!

The confusion I have is with a non CO2 tank with low light getting a lot of algae. There is obviously something missing r.e. a defficiency. If you want to run CO2 then 1 nutrafin will be enough as they are made for tanks up to 70Ltr (5Ltrs is neither here nor there) but CO2 IMO shouldn't be necessary and would mean higher dosing of ferts and more chance of unstable CO2.

You shouldn't really need to add CO2 with 1WPG and minimal ferts. Just a little top up. Are you following the bottle instructions? or deciding your own dosage.

As for the plants change:
How long was the previous substrate in there?
How long were the plants in this substrate before the change?
Did you seed the new substrate when you changed it?
How much Tetra is there (inches) below the sand and how deep is the sand (inches)

What water change frequency are you using. The trick with a non CO2 tank is minimal water changes (asuming a reasonably heavily planted tank) in that once a month etc because every water change raises the CO2ppm and therefore not doing water changes keeps the ppm stable. Wether injecting CO2 or not consistent levels are just as important.

A picture would help as the saying is true...A picture is as good as a thousand words.

My hunch would be that that the plant is not getting enough fert because it is too big for the footprint of your tank. A 3 month old Amazon Sword will fill a 75Ltr and the rootmass would virtually take up the whole footprint!!! When I ran a 125Ltr 1.1WPG tank I had 3 at first and they were too big so I chose the best one and chucked the other 2. This one took up 50% of the tank so I also ditched that. The roots were 2ft long in places and like a horses tail when I removed it.

Andy

 

[jaycat]

Please don't ask me I have no idea where plants are concerned, that's why I was aking for the expert points of view.

Jackie

 

[jaycat]

Andy
just popping out to see another tank, I'll answer all your questions as soon as I get back, as I need time to write.

PLEASE check back on my post later, many thanks, Jackie

 

[aaronnorth]

Change your fertiliser, nutrafin plant gro is rubbish, i cahnged to tropica plant nutrition+ and notices masses of growth, i dose 2ml daily on my 60l.

 

[jaycat]

Hi guys,

Ok, I dose two capfuls per week as the instructions on the bottle, although I'm at the end of the bottle so Aaron I will change it.

Substrate was in for 5 months, therefore plants were in for 5 months also.
Really sorry but I have no idea what you mean by' seed the substrate.'

The tetra is in tights under the sand, about an inch all along the back of the tank, and the same along the front of the tank. The sand is again about an inch deep.

I change the water once a week roughly 10%-15%.

What's your advice?

Thanks for coming back, and your time in helping.

I have some photos on photobucket but can't seem to transfer them, if you know the easy way please let me know!

 

[jaycat]

Sucess!!

There you go...they were lovley and green before I changed everything.

 

[aaronnorth]

Definatley some sort of defficiency, take a look in my sig.