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Help! My plants are dying, not growing

H

HaplessAquatic

Seedling
Joined
2 Feb 2014
Messages
3
This is my set-up...
90 litre tank, TMC Aqualight 500 LED to supplement the bulb that came with the hood, external filter with activated carbon removed, 500gram JBL brand injected CO2 with inline UP Atomiser dispersing the bubbles through a spray bar. Pressure of CO2 is 1.9 Bar to work the atomiser and pH monitored using a drop checker inside the tank. Substrate is 10 litres of Colombo Flora Base, EI dosing alternate 6 days a week. Light is on 8.5 hours a day, CO2 started and stopped one hour before lights on/off.
The problem is the plants are dying. Leaves are falling off daily or dissolving over time, or leaves are getting holed or are crinkling before falling off.
I received a mixed box of plants from an online aquatics specialist website (all stem plants some red leaved, some green leaved) and they arrived in exceptional condition. 3 weeks later and most of the leaves have fallen off or look in the process of doing so. I also have some Hemianthus callitrichoides (as a carpet plant) and a large moss ball which also are not looking in the best of condition compared to how they arrived in the post.
What I am doing wrong! It's so annoying! Please help someone!
http://i.imgur.com/YqynOoi.jpg - Plants now - 3 weeks on
http://i.imgur.com/Xteu6nv.jpg - Plants day they were planted
Please note that I had to move the tank hence the re-arrangement. But the plants were already shedding badly before this move
Many thanks in advance guys.
 
HaplessAquatic said:
Leaves are falling off daily or dissolving over time, or leaves are getting holed or are crinkling before falling off.
Click to expand...
This ALWAYS means poor CO2, often caused by either insufficient injection rate, poor flow, poor distribution, too much light or any combination of these. You do not need to measure any parameter. The parameter at fault is poor CO2.

Cheers,
 
As CEG says, CO2 issues for the amount of light, especially with the Aqualight 500 and the length of time it is on. As well as improving your CO2 seriously reduce your light and length of time it is on. Maybe just run with the bulb only, for a few weeks, until things are sorted (CO2 mainly) and settle down. With lower light you will have much greater tolerance to CO2 issues, whilst you get CO2 right.

When I first planted my tank 50W T8 over 180litre, I half covered the tubes with the reflectors (to reduce light) and had them on only for 4hours a day. No plant issues, no algae, all very sedate. When settled down (and CO2 delivery perfected ;)) slowly moved to full reflectors and 10hours a day.
 
Hey Guys,
Thanks for the advise. So it appears that I may have both CO2 and light issues.
The light that came with the hood came with the tank that was second hand from Gumtree. The tube light that came with it is not a special light for growing aquatic plants but just for illuminating the tank. I don't know how old it is or how efficient it will be as a light for growing plants.
What is the issue with the Aquarlight? Is it too bright for the tank?
So, based on the age of the old tube light do you still recommend that I use it still as suggested above?
I will certainly apply your advise about reducing the photoperiod to 4 hours a day.
The questions now are... how do I get the CO2 right? And how long should it be on with a 4 hour photoperiod?
When I first started injected CO2 I used a ceramic disk glass discusser that I put under the spray bar. But, I was never able to get the drop checker to go green despite upping the amount supplied. Until I purchased this inline UP Atomiser. At first it was a disaster as it caused a pressure overload and it killed all my fish. Very upsetting. Now all I have left are the plants which continue to die.
Now, I can get the drop checker to go pale green but you say that I still may not have enough CO2? From what I can see from the CO2 bubbles in the water it appears that they reach everywhere in the tank and the spraybar seems efficient at sending the bubbles to the substrate and then circulating them.
I really would like to get this right before I ever induced fish into the tank again. I can't take another mass die off again.
Thanks in advance
 
Don't plants go through some sort adjustment period after being moved to a new aquarium? I'm not preaching this as the answer by the way, just curious :).
 
I read this from websites as well but, the way my plants are dying off probably can't be accredited to this. I literally have to remove leaves from the surface on a daily basis
 
HaplessAquatic said:
Now, I can get the drop checker to go pale green but you say that I still may not have enough CO2? From what I can see from the CO2 bubbles in the water it appears that they reach everywhere in the tank and the spraybar seems efficient at sending the bubbles to the substrate and then circulating them.
Click to expand...
You cannot determine the effectiveness of your gas dissolution simply by looking at bubbles. The bubbles do not tell you the whole story. Review and follow the advice provided in Melting Marsilea hirsuta & Staurogyne repens? | UK Aquatic Plant Society regarding the pH profile measurements and that will give you a better idea.

Provide the readings as well as your KH value and we can go from there.

Cheers,
 
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