Thinking Of Quitting My Planted Tank

[Kombat]

I've been trying to run a planted tank now for about 10 months. It's a 29G tank, Flourite substrate, DIY CO2, Eheim cannister filter, 65W of light, and doing the EI dosing method. I was doing good for a while but with massive algae problems. I switched out my HOB filter for the canister filter to eliminate surface agitation to hold in the CO2 and that worked great. The algae has mostly disappeared.

The problem is, most of my plants are doing great. I just have never been able to get stem plants to go well. Even my Hygrophilia Polysperma, which I've read is a super easy plant, doesn't look good. It did great for a while, but suddenly it lost a lot of leaves and the stems have roots growing out of it like crazy so it just looks terrible. I am also getting tired of the constant maintenance for a tank that I just don't think looks good anymore.

So, before I convert my tank back to all fake stuff, I ask what is the secret to keeping stem plants healthy? What are some easy ones to grow?

Thanks,
Karl

 

[themissingelf]

I've never had a problem with stems. My MO for planting and maintaining them is:

1. Remove the leaves at the planted end of the stem and snip the ends before planting.
2. Plant each stem individually with a bit of "breathing" space.
3. Prune by removing the stem, cutting off the lower portion, and then re-plant the top (following above guidelines).
4. Never leave the lead strip on them.
5. Never leave the plants in the pots (any plant for that matter).
6. Avoid crushing the stems when planting.

If this more or less matches what you do, then tell us a bit more about your tank. Also, post a pic too if you can.