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Why cant i keep HC Cuba??

southwestsurfer

Seedling
Joined
28 Mar 2009
Messages
3
Good Evening,
This is my first post so a big hello to everyone. My first attempt at a planted tank is going quite well. Except I cannot grow Cuba.
I have a 40ltr tank with 3WPG. I have a regular subtrate but use plant tabs. I have pressurised Co2 and dose weekly with Tropica plant nutrition +.
I always put the cuba in and after a few days it turns brown and dies. My latest attempt went in on Sunday and is already turning brown.
What am I doing wrong?
Great site by the way :D
 
We both have the same problem, I can't grow HC in my tank either lol and everything looks right but its not apparently :( I think with mine it must be the local water, I have tried everything also! High CO2, high dosing, high light, low light lol
 
I have a fluval U2 and Interpet PF1 filters. How would I go about increasing flow? This plant is the reason I went planted, I hope I get it sorted! :?
 
That means in your 40ltr tank you're getting (what's rated) about 400lph + 135lph = 535lph.
Is that 40ltrs in total or with the substrate, decor and filters in.

In a smaller tank, it's easier to make sure that flow is good as the filter output will cover a higher percentage of the tank.

Can you see the HC moving in the water or air/co2 bubbles going passed/through it?

If you're dosing co2 and ferts well for your light levels, then flow could be the issue.

There is a bit of die off with HC when it's settling in and will take a few weeks to settle, but if you're sure it's not that.

Have you considered an external filter?
 
External isnt really viable at the moment, its always in the back of my mind though.
I cant see any CO2 bubbles passing through the cuba. Hmmm looks like I may have to concentrate on flow then. Would a small power head help?
 
southwestsurfer said:
I have a 40ltr tank with 3WPG. I have a regular subtrate but use plant tabs. I have pressurised Co2 and dose weekly with Tropica plant nutrition +. ..
So I guess this means 30 watts over a 10G tank right? Is that T5? If so that's an awful lot of light and could easily be a major causal factor. No drop checker and only dosing TPN+ once a week sounds like a recipe for disaster. I suppose it's not surprising that HC doesn't cooperate. AS well as the flow issues addressed, try increasing the CO2, lowering the light and study CO2 Measurement Using A Drop Checker for starters...

Cheers,
 
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