Rotala Wallichii

[Rlon35]

So, Mr. Amano advises to plant stem plants in threes. That is what I have done, yet I notice that, in the new tank, this species of plant is not doing as well as it had previously. I am going to prune them from the bottom tomorrow and replant them. When I kept them a few years ago, I planted them in one large bush, and they really took off despite less tech than I now have....could this plant be an exception in that it could do well if planted in large bunches? I just am not getting the results I want in the tank with this particular plant.

55 g; with a Fluval 305 and a powerhead; running 130 watts of power compact lighting; pressurized CO2; dosing flourish products and waiting for dry ferts to arrive, so as I can make the switch to EI.

Fish - Blue Rams, Cardinals, Botia Striata, SAEs, Albino Bishinose Plecos, Amno Shrimp, Assassin Snails, and MTSs.

Plants - Amzon Sword, Crypts, Apotogetons, Riccia, Dwarf Sag, Dwarf Hairgrass, Anubias, Java Fern, Java Moss, and Onions.

Water - 84f; PH 6.5; Low to Medium hardness; Low Nitrates; no evidence of significant Ammonia or Nitrites.

 

[FishStrings]

If your plants aren't doing so well ask a plant expert what type of lighting to use. Plants that grow well in high light will not grow well in low light spectrum. You're better off to be cautious and use a supplement or aquarium plant substrate mix if you're looking for guarantees.

 

[lljdma06]

IMO, you have too much lighting and are not able to strike the right balance between lighting, CO2, a ferts. May I ask your photo period?

 

[Rlon35]

IMO, you have too much lighting and are not able to strike the right balance between lighting, CO2, a ferts. May I ask your photo period?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sure you can ask that. I have used a 12 hour photo period for as long as I can remember (I would love to do an hour and a half siesta, but my timer is not built that way). I recently moved, and instead of using RO water with equilibrium, I now use only tap and have been dosing ferts rather heavily (I am limited by the size of this apartment in many respects). I see signifcantly more algae and ther problems than I had in my tank before moving, but I never dosed as signficantly and consistently as I have lately. The CO2 levels in the tank have been fine, even with moving the indicator to various positions in the tank. The bulbs are rather old, so I don't know if 130 watts is a good representation of their current capacity. I am awaiting my dry ferts order, but the guy in the States I have ordered from is a little looney if you ask me (I hope I get this order filled ). With the ferts, I have been adding TPN or Flourish for traces 3X a week. I only typically use Floruish over TPN when I see no signs of algae. On the opposite days, I dose Flourish Nitrogen, Flourish Phosphorus, and Leaf Zone (Iron and Potassium), with a rest day on the 6th day. I also add Calcium once a week (for inverts) and occasionally sopt does Excel with a syringe for my Anubias.

FYI, I had several plants melt down as of late. I added Windelov on driftwood from a planted tank I am maintaining at my parent's house, and a did a bleach dip on it. I thought I may have killed the Ferns, as it was gradually darkening and fading, spreading throughout it, however, there was java moss attached to the wood and it has survived. Java moss usually dies before other plants if it is bleached, so I think there is a problem in the tank itself. Anyway, to add to this impression, I have noticed some holes and melting in my other plants, including my amazon sword, my crypts (this melt loooked normal to me at the time), some of my larger anubias, and certain aponogetons). I have to admit...I haven't had problems with plants in the last year plus, but I am at a bit of a loss lately. Furthermore, I can't add the discus I want until I stabilize the plant situation.

 

[lljdma06]

Your photo period is way too long for the amount of light that you have. Most here, do not go past 8 hours total, with no siesta, and for new tanks, depending on the plantmass, lighting level, CO2 injection, and fert regimen, beginning tanks tend to have between 4-6 hours to start off. So, yes, you definitely do not have a balance. My tank is at around 7 hours now, and that is with .77WPG, much lower light than yours.

You're asking your plants to consume for a long time during the day. If this were my tank, I'd reduce the photo period. Down to probably 4-6 hours.