WHY?????????

[Pointy_kitty]

my plants are dying!
i give them food once every two months they are still dying
i have 2 long viney plants with a million tiny circle leaves in my 20gallon
i'm not sure the name of them
what do you need to know to help me fix them?

the light is 15watts
i have a airstone bar (i don't know if that effects the plants)

please help me

 

[drobbins27]

Well the airstone bar will increase oxygenization, which will decrease your levels of CO2, therefore giving your plants less nutrients/food. Also, a lot ppl think atleast 1 watt /gallon is the bare limit for most aquatic plants.

Remmeber, Im no expert, you may want to wait for betteranswers

 

[Pointy_kitty]

thanx anyways

 

[Magnus]

Pointy_kitty,
It sounds like your plants are dying because your lighting is too low. I'm not sure what size your tank is, but I can almost guarantee that lighting is the problem here. Until you add more light, or go for low light plants I suggest you try hardscaping for now. Even with low light plants, I would still strive for 2WPG.
FYI, increase of oxygen doesn't decrease CO2.

 

[Silly me]

Well the airstone bar will increase oxygenization, which will decrease your levels of CO2

NO NO NO NO

CO2 can never replace O2 or visa versa..
There is 80% more CO2 in the air that( up to 350ppm) O2 and CO2 disolve easier than O2, but you water might only contain 1-3 ppm. an Airstone will increase water movement and might increase O2 and CO2 levels, CO2 levels might climb upto 3-5ppm but in a planted tank 25-35ppm might be needed, but 2 long viney plants in a 20G tank might not be able to consume more that you alreadsy have in you water

It all comes down to light and food..
If there is the right amount of light and food in the tank the plant will grow, might be slow but might grow well, but to increace the growth you'll need to supplement the water with the needed element CO2, Iron, NO3 what ever might be needed.

When you plant can consume the light and food faster that there is iron on the water the plant will stop growing any faster that it can obtain iron, same with CO2, the plant will stop growing faster that obtain CO2, or ANY trace element,

I think you might need to look at you lights?

 

[stanley]

The airsone is a no no if you want to be serious about keeping plants.How big is y
our tank 2wpg is the min requirment to grow a good range of plants healthely,also feeding once every 2 months is not enough.

 

[Pointy_kitty]

The airsone is a no no if you want to be serious about keeping plants.How big is y
our tank 2wpg is the min requirment to grow a good range of plants healthely,also feeding once every 2 months is not enough.

the dosage of the food is 4 capfuls every 2 months
i think you guys are right about the wattage of the light,
but now i am just confused about the airstone.... if i get a better light, will the airstone still be bad?
the tank is 20gallons

 

[Lateral Line]

Airstones are rarely necessary, (only very overstocked tanks), and usually trouble in a planted tank. Your plants are not doing well because you have insufficient light. No amount of plant food will make up for that.

Think of it like this, there is a huge table loaded with food in front of you, but the room contains no oxygen, you won't starve, but will you survive?

 

[Pointy_kitty]

Airstones are rarely necessary, (only very overstocked tanks), and usually trouble in a planted tank. Your plants are not doing well because you have insufficient light. No amount of plant food will make up for that.

Think of it like this, there is a huge table loaded with food in front of you, but the room contains no oxygen, you won't starve, but will you survive?

o.........k
are you angry with me?
i will go out and get a new light then,
i didn't know what wattage was required and the plants have been good for months so i never really thought about it
it was just recently that they started to thin out, shed and slime up
i wasn't trying to make up for it with plant food
i just knew that they needed it
i wasn't overfeeding them....
am i in trouble?

 

[Pointy_kitty]

so whats the minimum wattage i need for a 20gallon?

 

[Loupe]

If you're doing 2WPG you will need a minimum of 40watts.

 

[Pointy_kitty]

If you're doing 2WPG you will need a minimum of 40watts.

WOW!
thats a big difference!
i wonder how much this is gunna cost me!

 

[stanley]

Go for bulbs that fall into the 5000-6500k range,these try to represent midday sun.Also think about mix and matching,a plant bulb(usually 3500k) with a sunglo.orsomthing else.

 

[Lateral Line]

I've stopped using fancy spectral tubes, just full spectrum 5500K - 6500K lamps.

>>> am i in trouble?

Nah!

 

[Pointy_kitty]

Go for bulbs that fall into the 5000-6500k range,these try to represent midday sun.Also think about mix and matching,a plant bulb(usually 3500k) with a sunglo.orsomthing else.

sooooo.....
i need another light.........


hahaha
just kidding i'm not that daft