Why are my plants dying??

[amanda_]

I'm new to live plants. I have had flourite substrate mixed with some sand and a Nutrafin natural plant carbon dioxide system for a little over 2 weeks now and a coralife and Glo lighting system but my plants (including the hardy ones) are dying. I have a PH of 7.6. Is that too high? My lighting systems are placed on top of a glass lid. Is the glass preventing enough light from reaching the plants?

[Drumachine09]

How many gallons is the tank?

How many watts of lighting?

What fertilizers are you doseing?

What fish are in the tank?

[amanda_]

55 gallons, each bulb is 24 watts, I use Nutrafin Plant Gro fertilizer, my cheltaed iron level is currently 0.25 and I have 3 angelfish, 3 powder blue gouramis, 4 cherry barbs, 5 black neon tetras, 2 platies, 5 guppies and a small pleco.

[troy]

What kinds of plants do you Have?

[amanda_]

I have a few types of hygrophilia and anubias, a sword plant, bella palms and what is left of a purple waffle plant.

[dev]

How long is your light on per day?

What is your nitrate level?

Are you, or have you been using any chemicals to remove algea?

Since your bulbs are 24w I'm guessing you are using T5 tubes (thinner and more effective than standard T8 tubes). Two 24w T5 bulbs equals to about 72 standard watts (T8), and is usually on the low side for a 55 gallon, depending on how tall it is - or rather the water depth.

[Lady Hobbs]

Easy. You have 48 watts of light on a 55 gallon tank. You should have at least 3 watts per gallon and don't even have one. I have 40 watts on my 20 gallon and my swords have about had it. Not enough light.

[amanda_]

The light is on for about 9-12 hours per day, the bulbs are T5s and I have 4 of them, I have never used an algae removing chemical, my tank is not very tall, and I'm not sure what my nitrate level is (I finished my nitrate test kit a while ago and haven't had a chance to replace it yet).

[zackish]

Lady Hobbs is exactly right. You are going to need some more lighting or just switch over to decorations and fake plants.

[amanda_]

Hmm I thought 4 bulbs would be enough. Can I switch to more powerful bulbs? If not, how many more should I add and should I use another Coralife system or Glo system?

[sergo]

nutrient defficiency. explain what they look like as they die off. what happens to the leaves? how do they change color (top to bottom?)? any spots or holes in the leaves? are new leaves dieing off? there are lots of things it could be.

[Algenco]

4 bulbs at 24 watts each is 96 watts. I have 80 watts T 12 on a 55 and my plants are doing great. The barbs will be rough on plants, what is the purple waffle plant? Are you sure it an aquatic plant or possibly a bog plant?

btw; I have Amazon swords
Giant leaf Hygo
marsilia
Ludwigia (2 types)
Jungle Val
anubius nana
hygro difformis
dwarf sags
java moss (2 types)
lots of Java moss

[Lady Hobbs]

I am not understanding the total wattage, I guess. Sorry.

The total wattage on your 55 gallon tank is 96 watts of T-5 lights? Is this correct?

If so, you could easily double that amount. The deeper the tanks the more light is needed and also if you have plants you want to bring out any colors.....especially the reds.

The glass hoods are nice but they get dirty very fast and block off light, I think. If you have none that are jumpers, you might want to try the open style tank so no light is blocked. Adding a single strip, 48 inches, of 100 watt T-5 should work nicely for you. Along with the ferts, of course.

[Algenco]

T-5's output with good reflectors is 50% higher than a T-12 of the same wattage.

96 watts should be enough to grow most anything.
You most likely need more CO2, I run 2, 1gal diy bottles on my 55 and dose Excel 3x wk.

The bella palm is not an aquatic plant, [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Check all future plant purchases , plantgeek is a very good source of info.

Can you post a pic of the plants with problems?

Hobbs, your light should be adequate for the sword, I believe it is something else causing problems.

[Lady Hobbs]

From what I've been reading, swords like high light output. They aren't getting it with this 28 watt T-5 and the additional little 15 watt hood light.

One thing nice about these skinny lights is you can add another easily enough.

Other than that, I've lost my swords twice now. I give them Plant Tabbs as they are only in gravel but they are pretty sick and with transparent leaves.

[Algenco]

Ok, I hope this pic works

55 gal
80 watts 6500k T-12 shop light 10 hrs per day
Pool sand grade 20 substrate
Root tabs
flourish comprehensive 3x wk (5 ml)
Flourish Excel 3x wk @ 15 ml (higher dosage to spot treat staghorn algae)
chelated iron 1x wk (started 2 wks ago)

The sword on the left was sent to me by Chrona , late April or early May, it has more than doubled in size. Both swords and the hygro were just trimmed heavily
Diy CO2 (2, 1 gal jugs using wine yeast)
Heavy fish load

[dev]

I agree with Algenco on the lighting. If you have 4 x 24w of T5 lighting that equals to 144 watts. It is not great, but it is adequate and should allow for plants that can settle for medium to medium high light. I am assuming that you have good reflectors.

For comparison my fairly tall 50 gallon has 2 x 24w T5 and 2 x 18w T8 adding up to "only" 108 watts.

On the other hand I'm unfamiliar with the spectrum of the bulbs you are using. There could be a problem there.

Lady Hobbs: The modern T5 tubes are thinner and more effective than the normal T8 tubes that are used in most watts/gallon comparisons. A 24 watt T5 tube easily equals a 36 watt T8 tube.

[Spyder]

Amanda, does your light fixture have two bulbs in it? One white and one red? If yes, then they are colormax bulbs and the white is 6700k which is great for the plants, the red bulb is the colormax which does nothing for plant growth and you can't count that wattage toward your plant growth.

Your pH is 7.6 and you are adding CO2, what is your KH? Determining the amount of CO2 added will help pinpoint your problem. I would guess your CO2 level is two low. Do you have a canister filter or a HOB filter and what kind?

[dev]

Amanda, does your light fixture have two bulbs in it? One white and one red? If yes, then they are colormax bulbs and the white is 6700k which is great for the plants, the red bulb is the colormax which does nothing for plant growth and you can't count that wattage toward your plant growth.

The only Colormax I find is listed as full-spectrum 6500 kelvin. Is this a brand or a specific tube? Perhaps the red tube is named something else? Do you have a link to the spectrum of this red bulb?

Light in the red spectrum is considered very good for photosynthesis, but it has the disadvantage that it doesn't go very far in water.

There are two main views on light spectrums in aquariums. Krause's theory is that the spectrum matters a lot, and the bulbs should contain much red light. Dupla's theory is that spectrum doesnt matter at all, only intensity.

Built on Dupla's thoughts, some think that blue light is better since it goes further in water than other colours.

[Spyder]

This is the light I am asking about
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[dev]

This is the light I am asking about
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Ah yes. While this is a full spectrum light, there's some strange spikes on blue and green. I'm uncertain how plants will react to this. Well spotted, Spyder.

Still, I think the right place to start looking is at the nutritions. Plants like anubias don't require a lot of light, and them starting to do bad after just a couple of weeks tells me that there are not enough macro elements in the tank. Lack of trace elements often take a little longer to be visible (mostly when new leaves form).

The glass between the ligts and the water will affect what light reaches the plants. I'm not sure to what extent, but I would try to avoid it.

From what has been said so far, I would:

* Make sure there is not too much agitation on the water surface, or even an air stone letting the CO2 escape.
* Make sure the carbonate hardness is at least 1-2 dKH to provide an extra source of carbon
* Check the nitrate level. If it is below 5 or even 10 ppm, nitrates should be added (Unless there is an airstone in the tank, I'm guessing this to be the main issue)
* Use a liquid fertilizer to ensure there are enough trace elements available in the water. Plants like hygrophilia don't care much about about the fertilizer in the substrate.
* Ensure the total hardness is at least 1-2 dGH. The plants like to have access to a little magnesium.