# Failing



## Kaws (Jan 23, 2010)

Hello, I'm in need of assistance my tank seems to be failing miserably.
On March 22, 2010 I set up a 29g El Natural tank. I used 1" of Miracle Gro Organic Soil and 1" of gravel.
Since then the tank has been slowly deteriorating. There are various algae growing around the tank and most if not all plants are 'melting' (I believe that's the term). Two days ago (3/30/10) I added a 1.89L bottle of DIY CO2, I'm hoping that'll help. I'm probably going to add two more bottles tomorrow.
It has about 2wpg, and the bulbs are 5000k I believe. The lights are on from 7am-12pm then from 4pm-9pm.

Earlier today I tested the water, these are the results:
pH-6.4
Ammonia-0 ppm
Nitrite-0 ppm
Nitrate-0 ppm
GH-3°/53.7ppm
KH-1°/17.9ppm

Plants:
Dwarf Sagittaria
Anubias
Java Fern
Taiwan Moss (Even the moss is turning brown, and moss is supposedly one of the easiest plants to grow)
Various Stems

Fauna:
3 Nerite Snails


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## haulmark400 (Feb 21, 2009)

For any of us to help we need to know more about "Light". What kind of light is over the tank? How long is it on? Is the light 6500k or higher?


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## Kaws (Jan 23, 2010)

Sorry I forgot about that. It has about 2wpg, and the bulbs are 5000k I believe.
They're on from 7am-12pm then from 4pm-9pm.


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## lake_tuna (Mar 18, 2010)

I have a similar problem on a 2.5g. I figured there was too much nutrient in the potting soil (Scotts Premium) I got, so I redid the tank with regular top soil. It's been three days, and there is no algae, but the water is really brown/yellow.


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## Rtifs (Nov 6, 2009)

> It has about 2wpg, and the bulbs are 5000k I believe. The lights are on from 7am-12pm then from 4pm-9pm.


I've never done CO2, but I don't think a siesta is necessary when CO2 is being injected.

Plants melt, and sometimes there is no explanation why some plants don't like certain tanks. I put 3 madagascar laces in my tank from two different suppliers. The one purchased locally is going gang-busters, the other two died immediately. I would advise trying many different plants and see which ones do best.

I also believe that you need more fast growing plants. Especially the floating kind. I had algae problems until my frogbit and duckweed got established. The tank is looking better now than it has in months.


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## dachewitt (Feb 28, 2010)

I second the frogbit and duckweed. I started my tank on 3/17/10 with 3 small frogbit plants (sold as one), and now have over 20 lilypads (I planted mine). The duckweed came with some locally purchased watersprite and both are growing rapidly. I do have a strange stringy algae on the watersprite (not what I call hair algae that comes off easily-this is stuck), but I'm hoping it will disappear as the tank settles. I also got pond and ramshorn snails with my local purchase that have rapidly multiplied but are keeping all other algaes at bay. 

You may also need more fauna- all your water readings are zero, and I would think you would want trace nitrates to see that your tank is cycled and that there is food for the plants.
Good luck-
Debbie


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## Kaws (Jan 23, 2010)

Wouldn't floating plants block the light for other plants?
Should I add two Siamese Algae Eaters?


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## Big_Fish (Mar 10, 2010)

Personally I dont think the SAE's will do as well as the nerite snails... 

one question though... you mentioned the type of soil... did you lay the soil out to dry for a couple days? 

Check the 'What is El Natural?' sticky at the top of this subforum.

and good luck!


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## Kaws (Jan 23, 2010)

Big_Fish said:


> Personally I dont think the SAE's will do as well as the nerite snails...
> 
> one question though... you mentioned the type of soil... did you lay the soil out to dry for a couple days?
> 
> ...


Yes, I let it dry out for a couple weeks actually.


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## haulmark400 (Feb 21, 2009)

I would try bulbs with a higher K rating. I use nothing less than 6500K over my aquariums. Unless someone else has experience with lower K rated bulbs resulting in good growth.


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## queijoman (Jun 23, 2008)

Kaws said:


> Hello, I'm in need of assistance my tank seems to be failing miserably.
> On March 22, 2010 I set up a 29g El Natural tank. I used 1" of Miracle Gro Organic Soil and 1" of gravel.
> Since then the tank has been slowly deteriorating. There are various algae growing around the tank and most if not all plants are 'melting' (I believe that's the term). Two days ago (3/30/10) I added a 1.89L bottle of DIY CO2, I'm hoping that'll help. I'm probably going to add two more bottles tomorrow.
> It has about 2wpg, and the bulbs are 5000k I believe. The lights are on from 7am-12pm then from 4pm-9pm.


Your tank has not been up for very long, if you have plants that are melting already then they are probably not very hardy. Try restocking their place with more hardy plants. In my experience I have been unable to care for about 1/3 of the species that I have tried. Some species I have been able to leave in a dixie cup for a month and they're still alive.

I am not the most knowledgeable, but I think that you may have too much light I think that the C02 should help. I have 55w on my 29 and I had serious algae problems until I began dosing excel lightly and covered the entire top w/ water lettuce. Having the floating plants is good because you want to block some light from the plants underneath. Plenty gets through so I don't think that you have to worry too much about over blocking. When things start growing well and algae is under control then you can begin to thin the floaters if desired.


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## dachewitt (Feb 28, 2010)

The fast growers will take up extra nutrients to limit the algae, but trim them as needed to keep 1/2 -2/3 of the surface clear.

The plants that you had melt could have been grown emersed, and need to put out submersed leaves. Have you seen any signs of new growth?


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## Rtifs (Nov 6, 2009)

> Wouldn't floating plants block the light for other plants?


Yes. However many of the plants you listed are slow growing low-light plants anyway.

Most of my plants put on a huge growth spurt to get closer to the surface/light source once the light levels were blocked by pea soup water, and later the floaters.

About every couple weeks I remove significant amounts of duckweed from my tank. I just use a regular aquarium net to scoop it out. I remove the frogbit by hand as necessary. The duckweed especially will replace itself very quickly. All those nutrients could have stayed in the water and fed algae.

Prior to the floating plants my tank was worse than pea soup. At its worst it looked like it was filled with green fog. There was literally only a few inches of visibility. The fish loved it of course, since they felt hidden. I credit the frogbit and duckweed with clearing it out in just 2 weeks after covering the surface.


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