Reoccurring crypt melt

[Smells Fishy]

That would be nigh on impossible to prove I would say mate. There's infinite variables to take into account and no exact way eliminating them. I think allelopathy does without doubt occur in an aquarium in so far as they are all competing for the same light, co2 and nutrients. We're not even sure at this point whether certain plants here don't like LC or other parameters are at play. I'll guarantee as soon as you say a certain plant doesn't like LC someone else will pop up and say mine thrive on it. Even just in this post I haven't has any issue with any crypt other than Balansae so already there is conflicting results. Scale that up with all the plants and conditions possible and it's a minefield.

Yeah I know. Your right, it was just a thought worth considering.

 

[Conort2]

Just a thought check your tank temperature - I keep mine at higher temps. for discus with crypts but in summer with the warmer weather they melted but came back ok from the roots. Also ensure you aren't dosing liquid CO2 above the recommended level as I had a few Crypt leaves melt a little when I overdosed slightly (no other plants were affected).

Tank runs at 22 degrees for the minnows and sewellia in the tank so no worries there.

Magnesium arrives tomorrow so I'll start dosing asap. Am i likely to see results pretty quickly if this is magnesium related?

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

Tank runs at 22 degrees for the minnows and sewellia in the tank so no worries there.

Magnesium arrives tomorrow so I'll start dosing asap. Am i likely to see results pretty quickly if this is magnesium related?

Magnesium is a mobile nutrient, I think how it works is it transfers magnesium from old leaves to new leaves if there's a shortage and the old leaves show the deficiency. Not 100% sure if the old leaves will recover though, sometimes it's best to let them go and concentrate on new growth though. Cutting them off allows the plant to focus on new growth instead of wasting energy on damaged leaves.

Nothing happens very fast in tanks, you need to leave things a couple of weeks. To really see improvements all round but I think magnesium is one of the things where you can see improvements quite quick.

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[Conort2]

Magnesium is a mobile nutrient, I think how it works is it transfers magnesium from old leaves to new leaves if there's a shortage and the old leaves show the deficiency. Not 100% sure if the old leaves will recover though, sometimes it's best to let them go and concentrate on new growth though. Cutting them off allows the plant to focus on new growth instead of wasting energy on damaged leaves.

Nothing happens very fast in tanks, you need to leave things a couple of weeks. To really see improvements all round but I think magnesium is one of the things where you can see improvements quite quick.

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Just realised I am dosing using aquarium plant foods ei starter kit mix which has magnesium sulphate in it, what an idiot!

Looks like i will have to give reducing the liquid carbon a try and see if that reduces the frequency of melt. Why did I decide to have a tank full of crypts lol.

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

Just realised I am dosing using aquarium plant foods ei starter kit mix which has magnesium sulphate in it, what an idiot!

Looks like i will have to give reducing the liquid carbon a try and see if that reduces the frequency of melt. Why did I decide to have a tank full of crypts lol.

You can do a lot worse than a plant full of crypts mate. Great plants with varying leaf types that will look after themselves. I have them in a no gas or LC tank and they are bouncing. I don't push them too much with lighting though. From what I gather most of them modern Hinterfield light are quite bright. Why don't you try the lamp on the lowest setting for a while see if that makes a difference. You can always turn it up.

From what I gather crypts are a species of plant that are quite good at extracting carbonate from water if needs be so could tick over quite nicely under low lighting without any additional carbon.

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[Conort2]

I have got a decent mix of species so should look good if I can get them to stop melting. I will knock the light down a 'level', looking at the PAR data for chihiros rgb on this site and it looks like that pretty much halves the intensity. I'll also lower the liquid CO2 down to the recommended levels for my tank and see how I go.

 

[a1Matt]

Do you dose liquid carbon Matt?

Nope. I've tried it in the past and pressurised co2, but I'm low tech now.

I think Clive is right on the nail when he says melt is a co2 problem, as a decent dose of gas does fix melt.

It's still possible to get stable plants without it, just more of a challenge.

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

I have got a decent mix of species so should look good if I can get them to stop melting. I will knock the light down a 'level', looking at the PAR data for chihiros rgb on this site and it looks like that pretty much halves the intensity. I'll also lower the liquid CO2 down to the recommended levels for my tank and see how I go.

Based on what Clives saying mate do one or the other If you're going to turn the the light down keep the LC at its current level otherwise you're robbing Peter to pay Paul if you get my drift.

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[Conort2]

Based on what Clives saying mate do one or the other If you're going to turn the the light down keep the LC at its current level otherwise you're robbing Peter to pay Paul if you get my drift.

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I'll reduce the lights for now then and see how I go.

Thanks for all the help everyone, wasn't expecting so many responses for my first post.

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

I'll reduce the lights for now then and see how I go.

Thanks for all the help everyone, wasn't expecting so many responses for my first post.

You're welcome, keep us informed how you're getting on. It's always good to see what worked and what didn't.

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[AverageWhiteBloke]

I'm on my first intentional no co2 or LC and the crypts so far have been the strongest plants. Slow going but very little issues.

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