# Java fern question



## gardentoad (Sep 17, 2005)

How long should it take Java fern to attach?
I have several pieces of driftwood with java fern attached that was given to me. When I moved it to the tank I set up about 3 months ago several pieces came off. I stuck it in between some pieces of petrified wood (rock). It hasn't attached at all.


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## DaFishMan (Dec 4, 2005)

Not long at all, a month tops. Something is obviously wrong here and a little more info about your tank may help... If it's not attaching, it's not sending roots, very unusual for java fern, being one of the simplest plants to grow. 

Do you have other plants in the tank and are they doing well ?
If not, you have the wrong type of light, need more info on that.

Tie you tie the java to the wood ?


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

If the main plant is attached well, maybe the pieces that fell off where plantletts. I've had this happen when moving Java ferns around.

The pieces that you stuck between the rocks, _do they have roots that are starting to form?_


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## gardentoad (Sep 17, 2005)

It is pieces with brown stem attached. I don't see any growth, but I try not to disturb it. I just stuck it in crevises in the rock, I didn't tie it. Can the roots be in the dark??
have 3 high output bulbs on it and a glass cover on the tank. The pieces that are not attaching are about 10 inches from the surface close to the overflow. The light bulbs are not new, I got them with the tank, used. I have some cutting plants growing pretty good, anachris(I know I probably spelled that wrong), and another cutting plant I don't know the name. It has small elongated pinkish green leaves about 3/4 inch long comming rigt off the main stem, no branching. I have 4 crypts that are doing good that I bought potted and 2 out of 6 crypts I bought as dried stems have sprouted.
I planted 11 miniture peace lilies to fill in until I can get it ready for all aquatic plants. I also just added java moss tied to a fake branch a couple weeks ago.
The water is warm, upper 70's in the day because of the lights, no heater. 

The java fern did well in a 55 gallon tempory holding tank for a couple months until we built the stand with less light, but it was cooler. The driftwood that most of the java fern is attached to is getting somewhat crumbly so I don't bother it if I can help it.

I don't have co2 yet,but I'm pretty sure that there's a tank under our christmas tree . I had been trying to use a couple 3 liter DIY yeast/ sugar for co2 but they leaked and didn't work well except when I shook the bottle.


200 gallons water
1500 gph pump
DIY bio filter
4 corydora catfish
6 assorted small tetras
4 otocinclus
2 black mollies
2 medium sized snails 
a few small snails in gravel

Ph 9.0
total hardness 8 ppm
ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

I used a tooth brush to clean alge off the petrified wood a couple days ago so that may be why the Ph and hardness is high. I'm on well water that is running through a softner. I did the last water change the week before Thanksgiving so I need to do one.


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

Wow! You need to lower your ph to about 6.5-7. 9 is a bit high!


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## gardentoad (Sep 17, 2005)

So the Ph being high is causing the java fern to not root.
I will take it all off the rocks then and attach it to just wood.
I hate to mess with the ph before I set up the co2 since it lowers it so I'll work on that after Christmas.

Thanks


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## titan97 (Feb 14, 2005)

I, too, had a problem with Java fern not "rooting". I found that the brown stem wouldn't send out roots, but once the plant started to grow, the green rhizome did send out roots. Just give it some more time until the greeen comes in, and see if that does the trick.

-Dustin


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## Faruk Gençöz (Nov 4, 2005)

gardentoad said:


> Ph 9.0
> total hardness 8 ppm
> 
> I'm on well water that is running through a softner.


I wouldn't expect pH of 9.0 in a water that has 8ppm GH. This unusual match might be the result of softening process which probably relases too much sodium to your water. It would be beneficial to look at the electrical conductivity of the water to be able to guess the level of sodium.


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## gardentoad (Sep 17, 2005)

How do I check the electrical conductivity?

I checked the hardness of my tap water and it was at 20 ppm. 
The ph was lower too, at 8.2.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

When your water goes through a water softener, calcium bicarbonate and magnesium bicarbonate go in, and sodium bicarbonate comes out. The calcium and magnesium ions have been replaced by sodium ions. Sodium bicarbonate is quite alkaline. It raises your KH (alkalinity), but not your GH (Ca & Mg content) Your plants need Ca and Mg. It would be better to use your water before it went through the softener. Whichever water you have, you can lower the pH with CO2. If you are using softened water, you may have to add Ca and Mg for your plants.


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## gardentoad (Sep 17, 2005)

Come spring I can avoid the water softner. Right now the only spigots I have that don't go through it are the outside hose ones and it's too cold out to use them. I don't want to bypass it in the house because that bypasses the sediment filter so we have black dirt in our water for weeks. It really clogs the inline water heater.Just too much of a mess.

Would it shock the fish to use the water with the softner through the winter and outside water the rest of the year? I'd still have to add some water from ithe softned water to warm it.


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