need some help/ok alot of help

[john480]

i started a planted tank and i though i had it down pat.guess not
54 gal corner tank
ehiem 2226
jbj 2 ft 130watt campact at 65 k
jbj co2 reg with The PGP Power Reactor CO2 system controled by milwakee sm122
a mix of Seachem Flourite and Seachem Onyx Sand
add 200dollars of plant
filter run 7/24
light 12hour
co2-12hour
power head at night to clear the tank of all gasses
ph in the mornig is 7.7 before the co2 turns on
i drop it to 7.5ph with a kh 7
any input can help ?? ???

[Don_Lee]

Hi John,

What kind of problems are you experiencing? You have some nice equipment there..........

Don

[john480]

my plant arent doing good they have brown spots on the leaves not growing new growth and some look skeltonized you see the structure but no green leaf
oh i have a substrute 40watt heater also and the tank is about 78 degrees

[ronrca]

Are you adding ferts of any kind?

Id also check to see if your adding enough C02. You may be slightly under. ;)
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

[suisoman2]

With that kind of energy input you need to fertilise.
Probably both macro and micro nutrients.
For more details refer to the various links indicated in this section.
I guess you have a Potassium deficiency top start with because of the brown spots.

[Don_Lee]

I agree with everyone else, you definitely need some fertilization in the water column. I have always liked Seachem products, they have a nice structured way of doing fertilization.

Don

[john480]

the quick replay doesnt work.
i use kent proplant
kent freshwater plant
should i add something else

[Wahter]

What type of plants did you get? (be as specific as you can on this)

Can you post a photo of your tank?

[Ax]

Yes, please list your plants.(not all like high temp)

Any algae in tha tank? Snails?
Also what is your ammonia levels.

for now add pit-moss pallet under the plant it'll give a little boost to them, but monitor your water parameters closely.

[john480]

8 Dwarf Lily Bulbs
6 Anubias Nana
14-MicroSword Grass 2x2"portions
8 Water Onions
4 Large Ozelot Sword
2 Xlg. Rangeri Swords
3 Didplis Diandra
6 Rotala Indica
8 Java Ferns
35 Tall Subulata
12 Jungle Vals
24 Corkscrew Vals
Fertilizer
no algae
7 algae eaters
ammonia level 0
tons of snail that im trying to get rid of

[sn8k]

OK - You should never turn off the CO2 at night - that is why you are having PH swings. Just let the Milwakee sm122 do it's job at keeping a steady Ph - adding CO2 at night doesn't help the plants, but it certainly will cause some pH swings and harm both the plants & the fish. Read this web page (http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/night.html) and you'll better understand why you need to leave the CO2 on at night-time.

As far as adding ferts & chemicals to the tank - I think you would be well advised if you do a little reading here (http://forum.simplydiscus.com//showthread.php?t=24469) (Tips on growing plants and avoiding algae). It has a lot of great info and should get you squared away on what you need to do to keep the plants healthy. I know you said you didn't have any algae issues - but once you start fertilizing, if you don't keep things in sync, you will. Anywayz, it's a great read, well worth your time to go through.

Snails... get a few Botias (loaches). I threw in 3 Zebra Botias in my tank as soon as I saw the first snail... and I haven't seen one since :D

[Don_Lee]

I would also remind everyone that the Aquatic Plant Digest list is full of experts and are very quick to answer questions. You can join by going to actwin.com.
I think it would help to have measurements of as many nutrients as possible, ie iron/potassium etc. I tend to think you are missing Nitrogen, but I am really no expert on these types of things and would advise you check out the APD list. Often iron is low as well.

Good Luck, and we will help as much as we can!

[Ax]

Most plants in this list will tolerate high temp, may not grow as fast. Snail will eat anything and everything and new growth, is taken out first. If you have lack of phosphates in your tank – and have snail infestation it’ll do it. Just from personal experience. I am not giving a 100% diagnose. Snails are good in moderation (Loaches are great idea, I have 4 Clown loaches for my 70Gl).

[stygian7]

How long has the tank been set up. I've had similar experiences after receiving new plants; as long as the roots are strong, they have pulled through and grown up big and beautiful.
Someone said earlier, but they are right, if you have the Milwaukee controller, no sense in turning it off. If your worried about wasting CO2, don't. I've had a 20# tank running for over a year now on a 150 gallon tank with no noticable change in tank pressure.
-Kevin