Vallis Not Doing Too Well.

[Thedoctor]

Hello,
 
First of all, I apologise, I'm sure you guys are bored of posts like this - But I'd like answers specifically tailored to my tank.
 
So, I put Vallis into my tank a 3-4 weeks ago. It was lush green and now it's a lighter green with yellow/brown leaves melting off almost daily. There were 30 strands...but it certainly doesn't look that way now.
 
I can't see any/much growth in the present leaves, but I can see growth in the roots with new ones seemingly sprouting off.
 
The plants are planted in playsand.
The light varys dependant on whether i'm in or away. So this fluctuates from maybe 4-6 hours to 12 hours a day. The lights are phillips 39W spanning the 4ft tank.
I don't have Co2 - To be honest, I don't understand it and don't have the money to set it up.
No ferts are put in.
 
I'm assuming I'm going to be told I need to regulate the light (which I'll just say now is not producing any form of algae bar the norm of the green blotch on the glass which itself is minimum) as well as add c02 and ferts.
 
Basically - I'm looking for someone to spell it out to me - EXACTLY what do I need and how do I do it?
 
Thank you too all who give me advice.
 
Thanks.
 
Images 

 
 
Ps - I'm very sorry for the title. I realise there I missed an o out and it annoys me TOO. 

 

[DrRob]

It's spelt right now.
 
Looks like it's planted a little deep to be honest, it likes to have it's crown showing.
 
To be honest vallis is one of the old workhorses of the planted world. I've been growing it on and off for nearly 30 years. It generally responds very well to low tech set ups but does get picky if you run it high tech as it starts to need more nutrients. Personally I suspect that it's a user of calcium in a way that a lot of others aren't as it tends to do badly when growing otherwise well in very soft water.
 
Other than that, it does tend to melt back a bit when it's first planted, so you may just be seeing some normal melt back.

 

[Lunar Jetman]

Hello,
 
First of all, I apologise, I'm sure you guys are bored of posts like this - But I'd like answers specifically tailored to my tank.

 
Don't apologise! There are always people here happy to help if they can.

 

So, I put Vallis into my tank a 3-4 weeks ago. It was lush green and now it's a lighter green with yellow/brown leaves melting off almost daily. There were 30 strands...but it certainly doesn't look that way now.
 
I can't see any/much growth in the present leaves, but I can see growth in the roots with new ones seemingly sprouting off.

 
Melting can sometimes happen with new plants when you first get them, however with the right treatment they will flourish. It's goo to see that you've got roots sprouting because at least the plant isn't dead. Vallis also don't like being planted too deep in the substrate. The crown will rot if it is.
 

The light varys dependant on whether i'm in or away. So this fluctuates from maybe 4-6 hours to 12 hours a day. The lights are phillips 39W spanning the 4ft tank.
I don't have Co2 - To be honest, I don't understand it and don't have the money to set it up.
No ferts are put in

 
The root of your problem lies here. Fluctuating and too much light and no ferts. Plants are like any other living thing, they need nutrients to survive. Vallis doesn't necessarily need CO2 but could do with some sort of ferts otherwise you're starving it.
 

I'm assuming I'm going to be told I need to regulate the light (which I'll just say now is not producing any form of algae bar the norm of the green blotch on the glass which itself is minimum) as well as add c02 and ferts.

 
Nail on head. And you've answered your own question! Although you don't need to dive into CO2 just yet.
 

Basically - I'm looking for someone to spell it out to me - EXACTLY what do I need and how do I do it?

 
The flippant answer would be to read your own post back and do what you say you need to but being helpful you need to:

1). Get a timer for your light so it's on for the same time every day. This will help the plants and be less stressful for the fish. Say 6-7 hours a day.
2). Get some plant food. There are plenty of decent ferts you can get. I use dry salts from http/www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk but there are plenty of other places that do the same or liquid food. The Nutrient company is also another place to consider, http/www.thenutrientcompany.com/portfolio/tnc-complete-aquarium-plant-food/
3). Consider CO2, but not essential in low light aquariums.

One word of warning, don't bother with any of these carbon supplements. Vallis is known to melt if treated with this and will likely die off.

Good luck!

It's spelt right now.
 
Looks like it's planted a little deep to be honest, it likes to have it's crown showing.
 
To be honest vallis is one of the old workhorses of the planted world. I've been growing it on and off for nearly 30 years. It generally responds very well to low tech set ups but does get picky if you run it high tech as it starts to need more nutrients. Personally I suspect that it's a user of calcium in a way that a lot of others aren't as it tends to do badly when growing otherwise well in very soft water.
 
Other than that, it does tend to melt back a bit when it's first planted, so you may just be seeing some normal melt back.

 
Just to add to this, I've grown it successfully where I have quite hard water. However other members of this board have reported struggling with it and they have soft water.

 

[Thedoctor]

Awesome answer Lunar! Thank you very much.
 
Yeah, I expected as much - But it's nice to get reassurance from a group of people that 'just know'. aha.
 
Clicking on that link - I'm assuming, based on your calcium comment, that I should get the Calcium nitrate salts?
 
Do they come with instructions? How would I use them? How many should I buy/how long will they last?
 
I'm a complete noob when it comes to plants.