Plants Not Thriving? Light or fert or what?

[Garbagegoat]

This is now a five month old, 10 gal freshwater tank. It was setup with "watersprite" and a couple other plants after cycle and then four guppies were added.
One guppy passed in the first week but the rest seem good all these months afterward.

At first I was having some big algae issues with hairy growths on the plants but that has abated to just moderate green/brown cloudy water. several of the plants have died and been removed and the two potted plants left seem to be slowly shrinking. I have never had to trim the plants back from overgrowth. I just don't know why they are not thriving.

Contributing questions:
Light - Unfortunately the only spot in my house for the aquarium is next to a big window. It does not get direct light, but almost. In the quest to reduce algae I have been putting a screen up over the tank during "off" hours (cardboard). The LED lamp is set for a 10 hour cycle from noon to ten at night.

Fertilizers - At first I was dosing a general plant fertilizer, but I scaled back, thinking it was promoting too much algae. That and the first guppy died after the first does cycle so I have been cautious.

Substrate - The plants have all been placed in terracotta pots using organic garden soil capped by pebbles. (huge mistake because of all the floating debris).

Water changes - about 40% every week. The chemistry always tests good except I ma continuously trying to lower my PH to closer to 7 for the guppies. Our tap water is of course 8.5 or the like. I have placed a bag of peat moss in the HOB filter as I hear that lowers PH. I treat the water with lower PH before water change.

I know this is such a small guppy tank but I just want to find out how to make the plants more lush and happy.
Before and after pics attached.

Thanks for the help.

 

[seangee]

Guppies are fine with a ph of 8.5. Don't waste time or money tring to change it. Its always best to use what is in your tap.
For the pots - well that's easy enough to change. Most people just use play sand (make sure you rinse it well before use). Your garden soil has a lot of nutrients - over time these will leach out and it won't do any good anyway.
From the pic your tank does seem very bright. I would cover the side closest to the window and the back with black card permanently. Your tank will also look better for it. You could try adding a few floating plants such as amazon frogbit, the guppies will appreciate getting out from the bright light.
Changes you make do take some time to show their effects on plants. So I suggest you do just that and wait 3-4 weeks to see what the effect is. If you change too many things at once you won't know which one fixed the problem (or made it worse).

 

[GaryE]

I've learned that many plants are as sensitive to hard and soft water as most fish are. There are plants that were great in my harder pre-move water that I can't grow in my very soft current house water. So you may have to do some experimenting as you go.

 

[Garbagegoat]

From the pic your tank does seem very bright. I would cover the side closest to the window and the back with black card permanently. Your tank will also look better for it. You could try adding a few floating plants such as amazon frogbit, the guppies will appreciate getting out from the bright light.

The problem is that the big window is forward and to the left so the main place where light comes in is from the front glass. Also I did black the back with film. I think the floating light blockers is a good idea, I will check them out. Hopefully that will cut down on the green water as well. Halfway through the week it starts to bother me,

 

[Colin_T]

I'm assuming the picture on the right is when you first got the plants and the one on the left is now?
The now picture looks milky cloudy, which is usually caused by uneaten food and a filter that is not working properly.
How often and how do you clean the filter?

As mentioned, don't bother adjusting the pH for guppies, they are fine in water with a high pH.

The outer leaves on the sword plant are terrestrial leaves that are dying due to the plnt being underwater. However, new leaves should be growing from the center of the plant. If the new leaves are also dying then there's a problem. It could be from too much fertiliser if there was terrestrial garden plant fertiliser in the potting mix. If the temperature changes suddenly that can damage plants. If there are sudden fluctuations in water chemistry (pH, GH, KH), that can also damage plants.

I prefer to have aquarium plants in gravel (with or without some red clay) and use a liquid aquarium plant fertiliser.

The water sprite plant does best when allowed to float on the surface. You can let baby plants come off the mother plant and let them float or lift the main plant out of the pot and just let it float. When it has reproduced you can plant the babies.

 

[Garbagegoat]

I'm assuming the picture on the right is when you first got the plants and the one on the left is now?
The now picture looks milky cloudy, which is usually caused by uneaten food and a filter that is not working properly.
How often and how do you clean the filter?

Yes, the left picture is current state. I usually remove the HOB filter column weekly and squeeze out the sponge mechanical filter in the change water. Just the bio bag and the peat moss with the sponge filter.
The cloudiness shouldn't be uneaten food. We feed sparsely twice a day and fast on water-change days. I think the cloudiness is some algae green/brown going on.
Maybe it is fert in the potting soil. I definitely won't do that again (perlite floaties and barkdust still clogs my siphon)

No big temp or chemistry shifts during the lifespan of the tank.

 

[Colin_T]

If you have a liquid aquarium plant fertiliser, try using that once or twice a week at half strength. Do a big (80-90%) water change each week before the second dose to remove any unused fertiliser and prevent any chance of overdosing the tank. See how it goes over a couple of weeks.

Your tank isn't a big issue for 4 male guppies. If you had females and they bred, then it would fill up quickly but 4 males aren't an issue as long as you do regular water changes and gravel cleaning.

 

[Garbagegoat]

Your tank isn't a big issue for 4 male guppies. If you had females and they bred, then it would fill up quickly but 4 males aren't an issue as long as you do regular water changes and gravel cleaning.

Yes, I have heard about spiraling guppy populations, so I went with all males. Our family calls them "the guppy bros", or maybe that is just me. They are quite active fish trying to hit on each other.
I will try with the fertilizer although doing a water change that deep with the fish in there seems tricky.

 

[Colin_T]

If you do water changes regularly and the new water has the same chemistry (pH, GH & KH) and a similar temperature, and is free of chlorine/ chloramine, then you can change 90% every day and the fish will be fine.

Because you have been adjusting the pH (lowering it to 7.0), start with 40-50% water changes with water that hasn't had the pH changed. Do that for a few weeks then increase it to 60% for a few weeks, then 70% for a few weeks, then see how it goes. Try to do a minimum 75% water change before fertilising if you add fertiliser regularly.

 

[seangee]

although doing a water change that deep with the fish in there seems tricky.

My water change - those are floating plants sitting on the substrate. Its a very much bigger tank but there are 50+ fish in there. I do that every week.

 

[Garbagegoat]

Update, a bit more than a month later:

I reduced the light a couple levels on the LED lamp and it really seemed to help get rid of the green-water algae. That plus the reduced daylight of autumn. It was still going for a ten hour setting but I was using shades on the aquarium to block out sunlight for from the windows and uncovering it during the light period. The water cleared up pretty nicely.
However, I started to have a real problem with encroaching blue-green algae or cyanobacteria. It stuck to the lower glass and the substrate sand. It was easy to scrape off the glass but harder to rake out of the sand. It started as a lighter blue-green and then I reduced light by another notch and now it is dark green this week. Do I need to reduce the light period?
The water parameters have always been perfect with 50% water-changes every week.

Also, one of my three guppies looks like it is dying on the bottom of the tank. Rapid breathing and listless at the top for a few days and then to the bottom for the last two. No visible signs of anything but loss of color. Thinking of euthanizing but it is very depressing.

Photos of blue-green algae attached. Left is two weeks ago, right side is today with lower light levels.

 

[Colin_T]

Blue green algae (Cyanobacter bacteria) loves nutrients, low oxygen levels, red light and slow moving water.

Having good light and plant fertiliser with only a couple of small plants in the tank can cause it.

-------------------

What is the temperature/ colour spectrum of your light?
You want light to have a temperature around 6500K (K is for Kelvin). The light will appear white and they are often sold as cool white globes.

If the Kelvin rating is 4000K or less, there is too much red light and not enough blue. Increase blue light can help in that case.

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Increasing water movement around the bottom of the tank can help but at this stage I would say it's most likely caused by nutrients from the plant fertiliser and having 3 little plants in the tank.

If you can't get rid of it with big water changes, gravel cleans and reducing fertiliser, then you can buy a substance to kill it. It's called "
Ultralife Blue Green Slime Stain Remover" and is from Amazon (see link below).

Server Busy

 

[Garbagegoat]

Blue green algae (Cyanobacter bacteria) loves nutrients, low oxygen levels, red light and slow moving water.

Having good light and plant fertiliser with only a couple of small plants in the tank can cause it.

-------------------

What is the temperature/ colour spectrum of your light?
You want light to have a temperature around 6500K (K is for Kelvin). The light will appear white and they are often sold as cool white globes.

If the Kelvin rating is 4000K or less, there is too much red light and not enough blue. Increase blue light can help in that case.

-------------------

Increasing water movement around the bottom of the tank can help but at this stage I would say it's most likely caused by nutrients from the plant fertiliser and having 3 little plants in the tank.

If you can't get rid of it with big water changes, gravel cleans and reducing fertiliser, then you can buy a substance to kill it. It's called "
Ultralife Blue Green Slime Stain Remover" and is from Amazon (see link below).

Server Busy

Thanks for this advice. Very helpful.
My HOB filter has an adjustable flow and I have had it on "low" because I did not want to disturb things in the 10 Gal tank but it could probably go higher.
The LED lamp is a cheap chinese Hyger lamp with color cycling and level adjustment. I have been leaving it on the "white" neutral setting. I will go check the brochure.

This makes me think that more plants and perhaps top cover floating bits might help. The plants have never done well so I was never really sure if it was lack of light. I will try to rake up the bacteria and do a double water change this week and then add in some plants. I have been very cautious but I don't think new plants would hurt if I monitor the ammonia.

 

[Colin_T]

The following link has basic info on aquarium plants and lists some good plants to try. Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma and water sprite are 3 of my favorites. Make sure any plants you get are true aquatic plants and try to get rid of the blue green algae first otherwise it will spread onto the new plants.

Aquarium Plants 1.01

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