# What could be wrong? plants not well.



## CCBettas (Nov 6, 2006)

epicfish said:


> Carl,
> 
> How much lighting do you have over your tank? Make a new thread and we can help you there with your plants. Don't want to hijack this one! =)


So I have a 10 gal tank. And I hoped to have it as my planted community tank. 
At first I only had a 5 gal with java Moss and a couple of crappy plants that I got from lps. They did very well. Decided I wanted to have a real planted tank so I bought a 10 gal to start with. And I grabbed some gravel from the 5 gal and put it in with the other gravel. Let it cycle for a week and a half. Don't have a test kit thing so I really don't know about any of that. I can go the the lps and have them test it for me but I don't understand it really anyway. Was just told to cycle a tank even though I didn't know anything about it. And so I got a biowheel filter(use spongefilter in my spawning tanks) and let it in there for a week. And then I ordered some plants from Aquadise on Aquabid. Most of them arrived in good condition, only Ammania Gracillis was mush. and the rest were fine. I planted some in 5 gal and left other floating in fry tanks. When the plans were growing nicely, I planted them in the gravel of the 10 gal. Plants were : Rotala Rotundifolia, Lemnifolia Sessilfolia, Pearl Grass and one stem of something else. Pearl Grass turned to mush first. I assumed the temp of the tank was nto at right temp to grow that plant and left it at that. The other plants were growing like weeds. So I just continued on as I had which was these specifics:
50 watts of lighting(not sure what kind of bulb)
75 degrees water temp
water change once per week
FloraPride liquid ferts 0-0-3 and add 1 tsp every water change. I actually forgot about adding more ferts for a few weeks and remember a couple of weeks ago and started putting it in tank again. Maybe this is the problem?
Fish I have in the tank are: 2 danios, 3 white clouds, 1 cory, and one pleco.
Is this considered overstocked?

And so as of a week ago, I moved the one stem of whatever plant it is into one of my fry tanks when I noticed it was starting to turn brown at the base. And the Lemnifolia almost all turned to mush and I am left with 3 stems of that and 2 of which are mush at the bases. Rotatala is also startng to turn brown at the base. I don't know what could be going on. I had this tank planted for 1.5 months I think. What do you think could be the problem?

Carl Archie


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

I'm guessing if you have a 10 gallon with 50 watts, they're incandescent bulbs. There aren't many stock hoods that are 50 watt fluorescent.  (Actually, there are none that are 50 watts of fluorescent for a 10 gallon!)

Turn the hood upside down and look at the bulbs. Are they incandescent (get really really hot), or are they fluorescent? That's your first problem. If they are in fact incandescent, go to Wal-Mart and get some spiral compact fluorescent bulbs. The brand is "Lights of America", about 23 or 25watts I believe. The color temperature on these bulbs is 6500K (or 6700K?), which is good enough for plants.

After we get this fixed, we'll move on to CO2 and fertilizers, but your lighting is first.

Also, what's your budget for a planted tank? It'll give us a lot more insight on what we can suggest to you. =)


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Let me also suggest to you some reading:
DFW Aquatic Plant Club Articles-- Beginner Basics: Introduction
Rex's Guide to Planted Tanks
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...m-plants/14684-new-tank-set-up-parts-1-a.html

Some other points to consider - 
--your bio wheel filter is not a good one for planted tanks because you're outgassing any CO2 you may have in the tank. You want the CO2 for the plants.
--if the flora pride is all you're using, you're not adding sufficient nutrients for the plants to grow. In those references you'll see what I mean by needed nutrients. Your plants probably grew well because of their nutrient stores. Once those ran out, they started to decline in health.
--plecos can get very large, and I wouldn't put one in a ten gal. tank.
--forget about the advice the store gave you - a planted (heavily planted) tank won't go through a typical 'cycle' because the plants will gobble up whatever ammonia is produced before it can build up and do any harm.
--what epicfish said about the lighting is correct. If incandescent, you want to replace those.

HTH.


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## CCBettas (Nov 6, 2006)

hi,
Thanks for the linkns. I will read them 
Light bulbs are incandescent. Do you need a special hood for the flourescent lightbulbs? I will get some of those lightbulbs next time I go to walmart if they have them. They have them at the lps but are only 15 watts. 
---what will be a good filter to use then if not the biowheel?
---I will trade the pleco for something different once he gets too large. He is ugly anyway. And will get some smaller type algae eaters.
---advise was given for a plain betta tank, not planted tank on cycling. I don't think the plant was planted to heavily. 10 stems of Rotala, 15 stems of Lemnifolia S., and 3X3inch of pearl grass. Would that be considered heavily planted?
Thanks for the help. I find planted tanks alot more difficult than bettas.lol.


Carl Archie


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

CCBettas said:


> hi,
> Thanks for the linkns. I will read them
> Light bulbs are incandescent. Do you need a special hood for the flourescent lightbulbs? I will get some of those lightbulbs next time I go to walmart if they have them. They have them at the lps but are only 15 watts.
> ---what will be a good filter to use then if not the biowheel?
> ...


---First, what's your budget? If you want to have a serious planted tank, you should go with a new fixture. If you're not sure, go with some daylight bulbs from Wal-Mart. They will screw right into your existing hood if you have incandescent bulbs. I have a few extra ones here I could sell you, if you want.
---Again, what's your budget? If you have money to spend, get a canister filter. A 2213 will do nicely. I do have a used one for sale if you ever want to try it.
---I'd trade the pleco in now, when it's still small. Easier for the LFS to accept it back that way. =P Get some Otos or cory cats. =) They're cute.
---No, that's not too heavily planted. Double that and it might be getting there. 
---Yes, planted tanks require much more work in the beginning, but as you get into the swing of things, everything goes smoother...not smoothly, just a little smoother.


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## $eaba$$ (Dec 6, 2006)

**

How much are you selling that eheim canister for?


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

$eaba$$ said:


> How much are you selling that eheim canister for?


PM sent. Don't want to hijack Carl's thread.


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## Sammie7 (Oct 3, 2006)

CCBettas said:


> hi,
> Thanks for the linkns. I will read them
> Light bulbs are incandescent. Do you need a special hood for the flourescent lightbulbs? I will get some of those lightbulbs next time I go to walmart if they have them. *They have them at the lps but are only 15 watts.*
> ---what will be a good filter to use then if not the biowheel?
> ...


I have two 10 watt fluorescents on my 10 gallon and my rotala, java fern, water sprite, java moss, anubias nana, vallisneria, and pennywort are doing great, mind I have a Hagen CO2 system as well. If you put higher lighting on your tank be prepared to spend more money on fertilizers. Most people would say my set up is low light but my plants are doing great in it, so don't feel pressured in to buying things that you don't need. If you have a high light tank you going to need micro and macro fertilizers as well as CO2 supplementation. The higher the light the more the plants are going to burn off the nutrients in the water. You also might have to battle with algae, once the plants start getting weak. If this is too much for you, since you are just starting with planted tanks, you might get overwhelmed with all the details you need to know. Also those 20 watt and over bulbs are probably not going to fit in your hood anyway, they didn't in mine.
If you want to go the high light route you should probably check out Aquarium Plants, Aquatic Plants, Planted Aquariums, and Aquarium Plant Fertilizer and get some diy CO2 running.


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## CCBettas (Nov 6, 2006)

Thanks for the help.
as of now I don't have too big of a budget, but I will probably buy things you suggested. For now I will buy the compact flourescent lights. I was going to get some 25 watts but I decided to get 2X15 watt because I would ideally like to have a Dutch Style "look" to the tank. I also like the wa the Hagen C02 Ladders look so I think I will get one of those when I can with a canister thingy. Sound good so far?
And now for the ferts. What do I use? My lps actually doesn't carry much for planted tanks. I usually have to travel or order online but I will do my best to get things done.
Thanks again,

Carl Archie


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## CCBettas (Nov 6, 2006)

Again, thanks for the help. But since I have to basically start over anyway, I have been doing alot of research. And one thing that I really like is the El Natural tanks.  They seem relatively simple compared to what I was trying to achieve. I can also combine El Natural with Dutch Style look that I like and go from there. I am going to get a 20 gal(maybe 25 or 15) long this weekend and get some supplies and new plants. I will let you know how it turns out. I think it will be pretty cool.


Carl Archie


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