What to expect .

[popeye]

Hi guys

Had a scan through so feel free to point me in the right direction but was wondering what should be expected of newly planted plants within aquarium due to the fact of establishing roots and the likely different parameters of the suppliers.

Thanks

 

[Bhu]

Like you say it depends on the parameters but also what plants. Some are fast growing some very slow. Things to expect though and to look out for as warning signs are brown cyano algae, hair/ thread algae, BBA (black beard algae) and GSA(green spot algae) also the water can cloud milky white or green from bacteria or algae blooms.

Be on the look out for tell tale signs that plants are not happy, holes in leaves, melting leaves or whole plant melting away. Also parts floating round the tank, some maybe just due to being up rooted so will need to be re planted. Others due to melt.

Else just sit back and watch them grow into lush beautiful vegetation

 

[ceg4048]

Nothing.

Follow the basic procedures of plant husbandry; frequent large water changes, keep the lighting low, dose the proper nutrient levels and pay close attention to CO2/flow/distribution. Aquatic plants are aquatic because of their ability to interact with the water column via their leaves which must undergo metamorphosis. Different parameters by suppliers is irrelevant.

Cheers,

 

[Bhu]

Nothing

ha ha ha that's good!

 

[popeye]

Ok thanks how long does it take for plants to develop a decent root structure once placed in a tank?

So some of my newly planted plants (friday) are starting to show holes.
Should I up my level of fert from the manufacturers stated instructions. (NEUTRO T)

Lighting 36" from plants which is about right for low tech according to the chart you have up on another thread for two T5's.

 

[Bhu]

It depends on your substrate and plant type. Some have a huge root system like the Echinodorus belheri, others take their feed mostly from the water column such as cabomba. Also adding root tabs can accelerate root growth.

 

[ceg4048]

Ok thanks how long does it take for plants to develop a decent root structure once placed in a tank?

As Bhu mentions, this is not the determining factor for the success of aquatic plants and it differs for each plant type. Crypts or Swords, if well fed may develop strong roots within a month. Mosses will take almost forever. Other plants will be somewhere in between. As i said, it's the leaves that have more work to do because leaves make food and Oxygen, so leaf development subsidizes root development. Therefore you need to worry about leaves and not roots. Leaf development is an absolute requirement. Roots are sometimes optional.

So some of my newly planted plants (friday) are starting to show holes.

That usually means poor CO2/excessive light.

Lighting 36" from plants which is about right for low tech according to the chart you have up on another thread for two T5's.

If you're not enriching the tank with CO2 or liquid carbon then it's a almost inevitable that there will be leaf die back, but generally the plants recover slowly. I don't recall showing any charts for low tech. All charts I reference are for fuel injected tanks. This does not mean that the lower end cannot be applied to non-enriched tanks, but that is not their focus. Also, tank startup is a completely different story which requires even lower lighting levels in order to keep the plants from melting away.

Cheers,