grumpysteve
Fish Fanatic
i set up my most recent tank a few months ago, at first the plants were doing really well. but recently they seem to be slowly deteriorating. i have straight vallis (about 200 individual plants) and 3 different bits of java fern. the vallis send out loads of runners but the leaves only get to around 20cm long then start to die off. the java ferns seem to get new leaves, but again the old ones start dying off. there's also a bit of staghorn algae on the older leaves of the ferns, and fuzz algae on the older vallis leaves. (which i think means the leaves are releasing nutrients, because they're not getting all the nutrients they need/enough CO2?)
i have a 240 litre tank (juwel rio240) with 2x54w T5 bulbs, no CO2 injection, reasonably good flow, hard water and have been using 'trace elements' type liquid ferts.
i'm not really after having loads of plants going crazy and looking beautiful, i just want my plants to grow better (i'd like the vallis to reach the water surface, at least)
i'm not in a situation where i can set up CO2 injection right now either, and i don't really want to spend a fortune on easycarbo and all the other bottled nutrients that are on the market. so i was thinking, would my plants do better if i was to diffuse my lighting, and do less water changes? if so, whats the easiest way to diffuse my lighting? i've had a few ideas but the hood of the tank makes things a bit awkward
essentially, i want a successful low tech tank, with enough plants so the tank doesn't look empty. what would be the best way to achieve this?
i have a 240 litre tank (juwel rio240) with 2x54w T5 bulbs, no CO2 injection, reasonably good flow, hard water and have been using 'trace elements' type liquid ferts.
i'm not really after having loads of plants going crazy and looking beautiful, i just want my plants to grow better (i'd like the vallis to reach the water surface, at least)
i'm not in a situation where i can set up CO2 injection right now either, and i don't really want to spend a fortune on easycarbo and all the other bottled nutrients that are on the market. so i was thinking, would my plants do better if i was to diffuse my lighting, and do less water changes? if so, whats the easiest way to diffuse my lighting? i've had a few ideas but the hood of the tank makes things a bit awkward
essentially, i want a successful low tech tank, with enough plants so the tank doesn't look empty. what would be the best way to achieve this?
