What is my tank LACKING? Definitely NOT holey, yellow, brown or melting plants!

[Atom]

So my Ebi has been running for over a year now. It experienced healthy growth for a long time, but for the last 4 months ALL PLANTS have been decaying in this tank! I can't figure out if I'm missing one crucial ingredient or many!

- I dose excel, iron, flourish and recently started potassium. No CO2. I dose 2 to 3 times a week or sometimes once weekly after a water change if I forget.

- Weekly 20% - 30% water change.

- I run 2X 13W Ebi Lights for 6 to 10 hours. I guess I don't have a very consistent photoperiod.

- No carbon.

- Shrimp and white clouds at the moment. One point a guppy and chili rasboras with shrimp.


These are victims:

I can keep Java fern and Windelov alive in a bowl, but not in this tank! It turns brown and starts to break apart rapidly. I transfered these healthy java ferns into this tank from a bowl it's been living in for months and it died within a few days. CAUSE?


Frogbit used to exploded in my tank, but now it has stopped. The edges turn yellow and waste away. Occassional spots. CAUSE?


Anubias leaves grow slowly, holes and yellowing edges. I've had this plant for almost a year. CAUSE?


I also have Bacopa and rosaelia reineckii in the tank. The tops are fine and continue to grow, but the bottoms go bare and leaves turn yellow. The reineckii has weak stems. I experimented with Vals in this tank too and they melted within 2 days. Started dosing potassium because I thought it would help, but plants continue to die.The only plants that aren't affected are the marimo balls, duckweed and ALGAE

So I beg you experts to HELP me figure this out! Maybe I'm not dosing enough or too many plants?

[Momobobo]

I have been undergoing similar symptoms as you are. I use to be able to grow rotala macrandra fine but after a trimming the bottom leaves kept dieing out, though the tops grew very red and healthy. I had to toss them :\ I am sure a plant guru can help you out

For the leaves at the bottom dying out, the quick guide I saw says it is a nitrogen deficiency.

[jobber604]

Looks to me that you have good lighting but not enough fertilizers which is limiting the growth of the leaves this resulting in melting pinholes, symptoms you are describing.

I would recommend reading the links that Shawn has recommended to the OP of the following the thread.

plants getting worse after fertilizing?

plants getting worse after fertilizing?

The frogbits absorb a lot of the nutrients from the water column which takes away from the Java fern. You may want to consider keeping fewer frogbits or dosing more fertilizers. However, dosing more fertilizer may adversely affect the shrimps.

See what other people may recommend, however, I would start off first by obtaining information from the other thread so the wheel is not being reinvented.

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[neven]

I see lack of nitrates and phosphates. Phosphates i can tell by the green spot algae on the leaves of non slow growers. When plants melt like that its normally one of two things, lack of light or lack of nitrates. My guess will be nitrates since the sclerosis on some of the leaves, rather than all just being brown. What could have happened is since you dont dose both nitrates or phosphates, you could have exhausted the substrate from those nutrients. If you do not wish to dose those in fear of your shrimpies you can root tab the substrate. keep in mind you cant do this in areas that you uproot often

[Atom]

Thank you for the responses for far. I will read those links, jobber604.

Neven, the leaves on the java fern turns completely brown eventually not just small patches. I don't dose nitrogen or phosphates. Should I replace the substrate or add more? I guess i have been using the same fluval stratum for over a year now. I had no idea they could be exhausted.

[Arcteryx]

Good thread, and so helpful to see the pictures too so I could see exactly what you were talking about. Good luck and hope you get this fixed up (you have a lot of the same plants I do, and in the same tank too - but I only run x1 light)

[neven]

i really do think you ran into a substrate issue. Substrates like yours can last a long time if you dose the water column with all the nutrients (any of the systems work really).

Now sure you can replace the substrate, but that means removing the livestock and rescaping everything. Spiking the susbtrate with fert tabs, or home made ferts can work just as well. A common method not often mentioned on the forum is mudsicles. People make ice cubes (1/2 full in the tray) out of mixes including mud, potters clay, and/or osmocote.

Since its a pain to find a slow release omsocote here, you can just use this:
Miracle-Gro | Miracle-Gro® Shake 'n Feed™ Slow Release Plant Food 19-6-12 for Containers | Home Depot Canada

im sure the micro nutrients in your substrate are still fine, so you likely can just use osmocote and skip the clay and soil.

[Atom]

I was planning on doing a rescape anyway. Perhaps I can add new substrate to the existing one? I have some Ada Amazonia leftover. Could I mix the different substrates?

I haven't had time to read everything in the links yet, but if I were to purchase a bottle fix I should supplement with nitrogen and or phosphate or macros? I might look into root tabs for the rosaelia and bacopa. Any brand recommendations? I assume root tabs don't work on java, anubias and frogbit since their roots don't reach the substrate.

I have thinned out some of the frogbit so they don't hog the nutrients. Should I remove the duckweed too??

[liquid_krystale]

I'll be watching this thread with interest, since I'm experiencing similar symptoms with my tank. I had my java fern growing great with only 1 antique 20 watt aqua-glo T8 in my 15 gallon, gravel substrate, no ferts or Co2 of any kind.

However, once I put it into my new tank with metricide dosing, ADA aqua soil, ferts (just started dosing last week, so we'll hopefully see a difference) it showed the exact same brown spots and dying leaves that I saw in your posted pic. My other plants are not doing well either and I'm scrambling to find ways to save them. Anubias haven't come out with new leaves since I intro'd them, about 3+ weeks ago, and sword has rotten holes peppering the leaves. My egeria melts away, and I had to put it in my 15 gallon (now with 24 watt sun blaster) where it actually grows. I suspect that my one 24 watt sun blaster T5 is not sufficient for the 33 gallon, as well as ferts are limiting growth.

Anyways...I'll report back if I see any change and I'll be watching this and other plant help threads as well.

[TomC]

Have you checked the ph and hardness?