whats going on? confused

[bettaboy691]

i had a planted tank with gravel substrate, then i changed to sand. i removed the plants and roots carfully and placed them in water for the time being.after all finished, i replanted the plants, with the roots firmly covered in sand. now, a week and a bit later, the plant leaves are starting to die, going a yellowish browny color. the plants i have are Vallisneria spiralis and amazon swords. my java moss and jave fern are doing well. they get 12 hours of light a day.also often i see bits of leaves that have broken off and are floating around. i have never used anything extra like CO2 tablets or plant food etc.whats happening?
please help, chers

[Chrona]

When you change to a new substrate, there won't be nutrients in it usable by the plants for a while. When you are taking the old gravel out, that brown-silt-like stuff you see at the bottom is mulm, and ideally, you would put the old mulm into the new substrate. I wouldn't worry about it though, whats done is done and there isn't much you can do about it. You can try adding some fert sticks and liquid fertilizer if you want. Are you adding trace elements btw? How many plants and what size tank? If the plants are using up all of the trace elements in the water between water changes, that could be another cause of yellowing, and it means you should get a trace supplement.

The java fern and the java moss are fine because they draw nutrients from the water, but the sword is a heavy root feeder, so it'll suffer until your sand settles in.

[*Sarah*]

Good luck with the plants.

[Lady Hobbs]

You might have to plant the plants in plant plugs or even in Laterite clay balls. They are receiving nothing beneficial from sand alone.

[minabird]

Sand is not the best substrate for most plants. Sand is usually too fine, and as the sand compacts, it crushes the roots. There are some plants that do grow in sand; can't think of any off the top of my head. You may want to get those type of plants , as well as floating plants like hornwort. If you want to keep vals and swords, you may want to try mixing in fluorite into the sand so it doesn't compact as much.

[jman]

You might have to plant the plants in plant plugs or even in Laterite clay balls. They are receiving nothing beneficial from sand alone.

sand is also compact as well which makes it a strain on the roots mainly because we all let the sand in first. Even when you use plant nutrient blocks(fertilizer) the plants will not be able to reach the nutrients.

Just a Tip...

[bettaboy691]

what are plant plugs or laterite clay balls? ive never used any added extras for the plants. they survived when i first set up the tank, cycling process and all.ive heard mixed reviews about plants and sand, some say grow well, others say grow badly.i needed sand for the kuhliis ive got and the cories. the tank is 20 gallon, i have 5 pygmy cories and 3 black kuhliis,i have 1 medium amazon sward and 1 small (offspring from the large), but thats going well. also 1 Vallisneria spiralis. the java moss and fern are attached to bogwood and decor.i also have another plant, im not sure what it is, it came with a fish in the bag, i planted it in the gravel a while ago, transfered it to the sand, and its looking well. it has simalarities to java fern, can the fern grow planted? its already grow big and ive had to cut and replant several times.and some floating plants on the surface (duh).what sand plants are thay what would be easy to keep. i have strong lighting. do you recomend and plant food or whatever, any brand names or recomandations, i live in the UK. i'll have a look at the weekend, i might have to buy some more plant then anyway,lol
cheers for the help