Pepsi Dave
Member
- Joined
- 1 Apr 2013
- Messages
- 33
Hello, based in Manchester and I'm a bit of a noob to planted aquariums and I'm in need of some advice/pointers to stop my plants from dying.... I don't think I'm doing too much wrong, but still as a noob I could be completely wrong, either than or I have been sold duff plants!
I bought a 35 Litre tank about 12 weeks ago and cycled it, ready for adding fish. The fish that have been added have done well, and survived..... The plants are a different story however!
when I bought the tank I also bought some Java Fern and some Java Moss. Both were attached to half a coconut shell and some bogwood. And I bought some Vallisneria (Gigantea) and an unidentified plant which I planted. The tank has a substrate approx 3-4cm thick if not more in place, and is a fine grade gravel.
The vallisneria and the other plants started to melt back (If my terminology is correct) almost within a couple of days, and then continued to melt away and eventually die over the next 8-9 weeks!
I replaced the Vallisneria with some Cabomba, and replaced the other plants like for like. The cabomba, whilst not thriving, doesnt appear to be flourishing either, but it has only been in the tank for 3 weeks, still the signs are promising! The other plant however, has almost completely died once again.
When I removed the first lot of plants I noticed that the roots were either very small, or apparently non existent. When I bought the second lot of plants, I made the assumption that the plants were cuttings because they had no roots, so when I planted these ones, I made sure there were some root tabs close by to where the plants were planted, I was hoping that this would encourage root growth.
Current equipment, 35 Litre Coldwater tank, external cycled filter, 15W 6700K lamp, no heater, fine grain gravel, root tabs, weekly dosing of ferts, and daily dosing of C02 from my aqua-gro disposable system. Light is on for exactly 10 hours a day.
Please can someone, after they have managed to decipher the above, offer any advice or pointers as to how I can keep my plants alive.
Thanks in advance
I bought a 35 Litre tank about 12 weeks ago and cycled it, ready for adding fish. The fish that have been added have done well, and survived..... The plants are a different story however!
when I bought the tank I also bought some Java Fern and some Java Moss. Both were attached to half a coconut shell and some bogwood. And I bought some Vallisneria (Gigantea) and an unidentified plant which I planted. The tank has a substrate approx 3-4cm thick if not more in place, and is a fine grade gravel.
The vallisneria and the other plants started to melt back (If my terminology is correct) almost within a couple of days, and then continued to melt away and eventually die over the next 8-9 weeks!
I replaced the Vallisneria with some Cabomba, and replaced the other plants like for like. The cabomba, whilst not thriving, doesnt appear to be flourishing either, but it has only been in the tank for 3 weeks, still the signs are promising! The other plant however, has almost completely died once again.
When I removed the first lot of plants I noticed that the roots were either very small, or apparently non existent. When I bought the second lot of plants, I made the assumption that the plants were cuttings because they had no roots, so when I planted these ones, I made sure there were some root tabs close by to where the plants were planted, I was hoping that this would encourage root growth.
Current equipment, 35 Litre Coldwater tank, external cycled filter, 15W 6700K lamp, no heater, fine grain gravel, root tabs, weekly dosing of ferts, and daily dosing of C02 from my aqua-gro disposable system. Light is on for exactly 10 hours a day.
Please can someone, after they have managed to decipher the above, offer any advice or pointers as to how I can keep my plants alive.
Thanks in advance