# browning leaves



## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

i recently changed my substrate from tahitian moon sand to eco-complete and now the leaves on my Hemianthus micranthemoides is browning and not the lush green it use to be.

did not know wether this should be in the substrate area or here in the ferts.

the tank is a 20g tall
96w 6700k coralife on 4" legs 
photo period of 8hrs a day
dose per EI and per seachem but slightly modified

day1- 2ml flourish/2ml flourish iron/ 1.25ml phosphorus and 1.25ml nitrogen
day2- 1/32 tsp trace csm+b and 2ml iron
day3- 3.3ml potassium/2ml iron
day4- 1/32 tsp trace csm+b/2ml iron/2ml phosphorus and 2ml nitrogen
day5- 3.3ml potassium/2ml iron
day6- 2ml flourish and 2ml iron
day7- 50% water change

ph 7.2
pressurized co2
gh 10
kh 13
temp 78f
nitrates 10ppm or less
ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm

i have japonica that is growing nicely now which i had problems at first with the TMS but since the eco its doing better but the HM isnt doing so well at the base now.

what difenciency is it when the leaves brown? the new leaves that sprout out the top is nice and green but the stems seem leggy and brown. i figured that was from low light but i dont think im at low light. i also have downoi that is getting leggy along with some recently planted cabomba.

any help would be greatly appreciated... here are some pictures

before substrate... notice how the HM is growing low to the ground and green also the downoi is not seen cause it was swamped into the HM.









after the substrate change and newly planted cabomba nice and fluff looking....









hm leggy and browning...








cabomba








downoi tall nasty looking...

















thanks again for any help


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

anyone? anything?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

You really have a lot of light on that tank, and probably not much CO2, even though the pH/KH numbers indicate 25 ppm. Usually browning of the leaves would mean a shortage of fertilizers or light. In this case I am guessing that the Eco Complete substrate encourages some of the plants to grow more rapidly with all of that light, which runs the tank short of fertilizers. I don't know the right dosages for Seachem fertilizers, so I can't comment on that. Just for an experiment I would try doubling the dosage of phosphate and nitrate though. And, increase the CO2 bubble rate a bit.


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## bijoon (Nov 20, 2006)

*Help*

Im not an expert but it sounds like this is the same problem when I changed from normal gravel to ADA AS, the HM browned, but im seeing better growth now with more runners and new green leaves. Its been a couple weeks since the change in gravels. And about a week after the addition of C02. I also noticed browning whenever I would make a drastic move of the HM. If the leaves turn a brown/clearish color than it sounds like the same thing. My HM is recovering, yours is probly right behind it.


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

thanks for the replies....

the co2 was a lot higher and just lowered in the last couple of days because i decided to add some puffers to it. the ph before the fish(a day or two ago) but about a week after the eco change was 6.6 which gave me a co2 reading close to 90. 

i was thinking that the eco was boosting growth too since it grew fine with the lighting with inert substrate. 

thanks for the advice, i will try the doubling.


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