# Plants not growing



## kbfisherman (Dec 4, 2013)

Hello All,
I am new here and to planted tanks. I have a 125 gallon aquarium I decided to try planted. I have read a lot but get differing info and get confused on what I should do. I have around 320 W T-5 lighting. Eco Complete mixed with play sand about 60% Eco 40% play sand. I use 50/50 city/RO water. Water comes out from city at 8.4 ph and hard. I am dosing PPS PRO daily as recommended. No pressurized C02....just doing the dry ferts. I keep my temp around 79-80. PH stays around 7.4.
I have hairgrass, wisteria, java moss, swords, sag, mono grass, anubia and a few other plants. Lights stay on about 7 hours a day. Getting algae on glass.
My plants are living but are not growing. Java moss is growing slowly. Amazons started to come back out after receiving and now are doing nothing. Had several anubias die. Wisteria not doing well. The rest looks as if I just put it in the tank. I do water 40% water changes around every two weeks.
Can anybody tell me what I am missing or anything to try?


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## Tugg (Jul 28, 2013)

1) Many of your plants are slow growers.
2) Being new, your plants are likely still transitioning. It's common for many species to die/melt a little and then rebound with healthy new growth.
3) Watts don't equal PAR. You could potentially have a lot of light, but not enough for the plants to use.
4) Your CO2 can be bottoming out. You could try dosing Seachem's Flourish Excel. This is a bioavailable liquid carbon source that many plants can use instead of CO2.
5)PPS-Pro keeps the ferts very lean. I would suspect you would see growth before your fert ran out, but it is a possibility.

By mono grass, did you mean Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon japonica). If so, just go ahead and toss it. This isn't a truelly aquatic plant.

Most hairgrasses require a lot of PAR and CO2.

The Amazon Swords (any sword for that matter) will do better with a root tab under them. They like to feed from their roots.

Anubias should not be planted deep. The rhizome needs to be exposed to the light. It's best tied to a rock, or better driftwood.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Good suggestions.

Do you have any photos of the plants that aren't doing well? Close up focused pictures would help out a lot.

Also, welcome to APC you'll find everything you need here to get the tank you want.


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## kbfisherman (Dec 4, 2013)

Thanks for the information. I did mean Mondo grass. It was sold at the LFS. I realize there is a transition time and a lot will die back and come back....which they have....they just don't seem to be doing much since. How do I find the PAR? I ordered some root tabs. I will use those as soon as they come in. I will start dosing excel. The anubias I had wasn't planted deep and just rotted away shortly after putting in the tank. As far as pictures...I can try and post some this weekend but besides the wisteria....the remaining plants look good....just arnt doing much. The lights are 6500K. The tank is 6ft by 18" if this helps anyone. Should I keep lights on longer? I wasn't sure since back of tank is already covered in algae. Plants have been in the tank for around 3 months.


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## dabrybry (Jun 27, 2010)

There is an instrument that measures PAR. Some LFS will have one and may let you bring your lights in to see how they do at different lengths. I don't think that is your issue though. You seem to have plenty of light and t5's have pretty decent penetration to lower depths. 

You might letting the tank stay more around 75 degrees or so. 80 is pretty warm and MIGHT be a small part of your algae problem. 

As far as your anubias goes, they don't like being planted in substrate. Most anubias do best with their roots exposed to the water. Try tying them on to a piece of driftwood or something if you have it. 

3 months to me sounds like right around the amount of time it would take for a tank to cycle all the way. 

Lastly, have you tested your water AFTER adding the RO? 8.5 is really basic and hard water also can be an inhibiting factor for plant growth. I'd aim to get the ph down to at least 7.0 and soften that water up with a softening pad or something. 

Hope some of this was helpful. Good luck!


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Still waiting on photos of the problem in your plants.


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## kbfisherman (Dec 4, 2013)

Zapins said:


> Still waiting on photos of the problem in your plants.


Sorry Zapins, Been very busy. Currently working on my fish room I am trying to start. My camera has been forgotten at my wifes parents and is a ways away. Ill post some when I can. For an update though....I started dosing excel and things seem to be doing a bit better. Also put in some root tabs. My Anubias that lived is currently on driftwood. What died was in the gravel....so I learned my lesson there. Duckweed that came in some of my plants has recently exploded with growth since dosing excel. The hornwort I had is also growing lie crazy and has to be cut back frequently. Witeria has started to grow although it seems a bit thinner than it should be. As far as my PH dabrybry; It stays around 7.4 after the mixing of RO. That is why I use the RO water because it comes out of tap hard and around 8.4-8.5. The 50/50 RO gets it to the 7.4 and softens it up. I will give it a bit more time with dosing excel and see how things go! Thanks everyone!


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