# Plants dying



## pjabra (May 4, 2009)

I have a 55g tank setup with 4 T5 28W bulbs (1 is 10K actinic blue, 1 is 10K white and 2 are 6700K white all are only abouyt 1month old) and i have about 3 inches of FLourite gravel and i have Java Fern and Amazon Swords and i am finding that my Amazon swords are showing yellow leaves and the tips on some of the leaves are going white and eventually yellow ..

I am dosing with the following per week:
1/2 teaspoon of Seachem Equilibrium
1/4 teaspoon of Pottassium Nitrate
1/16 teaspoon of Monopotassium phosphate

also i am running 2 filters -- 1 404 fluval without charcol and another 2228 Ehiem with i small bag of charcoal, but charcoal is a month old and i am not putting anymore charcoal in there.

could somone explain why or what i am doing wrong?


----------



## liljmn (Dec 3, 2007)

The actinic blue aren't used by plants. The other three bulbs (3 x 24watts) might be enough for the lower light plants, but maybe not enough for the swords.


----------



## pjabra (May 4, 2009)

I use the 10k actinic blue for effect really -- it makes my Black Phantom tetras look nicer than they already naturally are...but i could add another 10K white -- in fact maybe i will tonight ..thanks -- i hope that fixes things ..???


----------



## GlassCat594 (Mar 20, 2009)

any CO2?


----------



## pjabra (May 4, 2009)

no i don't have a co2 injection


----------



## GlassCat594 (Mar 20, 2009)

I would suspect that you have enough light for a NON-co2 tank. 
Are the plants new? If they are it could be that they are adjusting to you tank.

As for your fert regimen.... (?)
You can read up on the low-tech low light section of the forum for more info.


----------



## pjabra (May 4, 2009)

yes the plants are new -- they are only 3 weeks old


----------



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Swords love iron and I see you're not dosing any micros so that could be your biggest problem. Then again you're not injecting any sort of CO2 either so that's another issue. Look into those and go from there.


----------



## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

pjabra said:


> I have a 55g tank setup with 4 T5 28W bulbs (1 is 10K actinic blue, 1 is 10K white and 2 are 6700K white all are only abouyt 1month old) and i have about 3 inches of FLourite gravel and i have Java Fern and Amazon Swords and i am finding that *my Amazon swords are showing yellow leaves and the tips on some of the leaves are going white and eventually yellow ..*
> I am dosing with the following per week:
> 1/2 teaspoon of Seachem Equilibrium
> 1/4 teaspoon of Pottassium Nitrate
> ...


Could be a calcium deficiency. Dose a little bit of calcium sulphate and epsom salts and see what happens. Also, not dosing micros could be an issue as suggested by Speedie408. Yellowing of leaves could signal a iron deficiency. You could use Seachem Fluorish Comprehensive and to dose micros. It is pretty comprehensive. Try dosing alternative day(s) to macros.
If that fails, I would have to agree with the others that you have a c02 issue. Try dosing Seachem Excel to provide the plants with a source of carbon if you cannot afford pressurized c02. The plants may also still be acclimitizing as the water parameters they were raised in may be much different than your water parameters, so they may be going through a sort of "transplant shock." You could also insert some root tabs where the swords are planted to promote root growth and give the swords a jump start to more quickly overcome "transplant shock."


----------



## pjabra (May 4, 2009)

thanks -- you guys are amazing --- i really mean it  

i will try all you guys have mention in a methodical state -- first i will try dosing with micros Seachem Fluorish Comprehensive and see if the lps has a good iron suppliment i can purchase...


----------



## Ghostie (Mar 28, 2009)

T5 lights are very efficient, the old watts per gallon isn't really a good measure of how much light you should have. I bet your plants need Co2.


----------



## pjabra (May 4, 2009)

can i dose with Seachem Excel to provide the plants with a source of carbon if i cannot afford pressurized c02? as Homer Simpson stated   (that sounds soo funny


----------



## GlassCat594 (Mar 20, 2009)

Yes, Excel is used by many as a primary source of Carbon. But It can get very expensive.
You can buy a 2 liter On-line and that is cheaper. 

Have you read into DIY Co2?


----------



## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

pjabra said:


> can i dose with Seachem Excel to provide the plants with a source of carbon if i cannot afford pressurized c02? as Homer Simpson stated   (that sounds soo funny


Doh!!!







That is funny. You're right, short term pressurized co2 may cost more than Seachem Excel, long term pressurized co2 will be cheaper. Also, pressurized c02 long term will save you more money and trouble than DIY c02 for your size tank.


----------



## pjabra (May 4, 2009)

something to look at -- maybe i will look at pressurized co2 cost and i was thinking of going to MOPS(mail order Pet supplies) they have all this stuff for alot cheaper than big als -- 

Thanks homer   and everyone else you guys are nothing short of amazing --- I love this hobby --


----------



## JimmyYahoo (Aug 14, 2005)

Excel+K=Lowtech Win!

Sounds like you may need to increase your K.


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

JimmyYahoo said:


> Excel+K=Lowtech Win!
> 
> Sounds like you may need to increase your K.


I second that!! For plants tend to need a lot of potassium. Also if you have low kh adding baking soda would help. Generally  1 tsp per 13 gallons raises KH approx. 4 deg dH without major affect on pH. It sounds like the plants are  struggling to acclimate to water that is different from where they came from. 

Could you post some pictures?


----------



## JimmyYahoo (Aug 14, 2005)

I was able to grow a great amount of healthy plants in a tank using pure, unbuffered RO water. The substrate was Flourite sand. I really had no issues except a K and a snail deficiency. Shrimp and fish appeared healthy and everything thrived. 

Your mileage may vary...

Stop chasing the calcium monster and just make sure you have a good amount of K and carbon, two things that dont come naturally through feeding and maintenance.

You also have ALOT of light for a lowtech tank. Two of those bulbs would be sufficient to grow the plants you mentioned. 

Last bit of advice... listen to Homer. Although i disagree with his diagnosis regarding the calcium his tanks speak for themselves and they are swell.


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Sources of carbon are yeast mixture using diy system, natural charcoal and jungle co2 fiz tabs. 

For diy co2 look here, here and here. 

Natural charcoal is a source of iron can carbon. It can be found at Ace Hardware store. Cost is $9. You can crush it up and put it in the substrate or put it in a bag, petsmart etc, and put it behind the filter. If you put it in the substrate you have to crush it. To do that you need to let it soak in water for at least 24 hrs then wrap it up in towel or thick plastic and hit it with a hammer etc.

Jungle fiz tabs I have seen in EBay and Petco.

 1.8wpg of T5 equals 2.34wpg of T12. The wpg rule is based on T12 bulbs. You have 4- 28 watt bulbs. This is 112 watts, 112/55 is aprox. 2 and 2.34 x 2 is 4.76 wpg. With this amount of light Co2 needs to be injected. The lower the light the less Co2 needed. *
*


----------



## pjabra (May 4, 2009)

thanks guys -- that is alot of advice -- i have to try one per 2 weeks to see what is the exact diffeciecy -- i did a full water test all is perfect -- so i went and got flourish root tablets for my amazons and they are coming back slowly --- i see 4 new shoots already


----------



## pjabra (May 4, 2009)

I think i got excited too quickly -- the amazons are all but dead...I used Flourish root tablets, flourish excel, flourish comprehinsive, 1/2 teaspoon of Seachem Equilibrium
1/4 teaspoon of Pottassium Nitrate, 1/16 teaspoon of Monopotassium phosphate...also i have bought new lights 4 T5 Flourescents - full specttum, 1 6700K and 2 10K -- all four are 28W therefore i have 2watts per gallon..i have tried all but my swords look exactly like the picture below -- i am at a loss???? Please help help.....


----------



## bigpow (May 24, 2004)

Is it just me or your substrate is really thin?
AFAIK, swords have root system even bigger than the actual plant (like an iceberg).
Root tabs could help, I suppose... but I once grow a sword inside a glass jar and suffice to say, I had to break the jar to get the plant out.


----------



## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

You have plenty of ferts in your water. You should have done fine with just the root tabs as swords are heavy root feeders. Maybe they will come up from the roots. Are the roots still firm, not slimy? If so they may come out of it. 

Perhaps there was something that they went through before you got them. Sometimes there is just no way to figure out what went wrong. Sounds like you did everything right. Flourite is a great source of iron also.


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Have you checked your gh and kh. If very low sodium bicarbonate, baking soda will help.


----------



## pjabra (May 4, 2009)

Thanks Guys -- actually i have flourite the picture is of another tanks not mine -- i just used for iilustration purposes of what my sword look like ..

I will wait and see and hope for the best maybe the LFS where i purchased my swords, was selling some sort of hybrid crappy swords -- becasue at this rate i am pulling my hair out thinking what needs doing....


----------



## pjabra (May 4, 2009)

and yes the roots are still firm, not slimy -- does that mean there is still hope?


----------



## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

If the root is still firm not slimy the leaves may grow back. Keep an eye on it because you don't want rotten plant matter in your tank. You still have a chance!


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Well what has happened?

Are you dosing with Excel? Is your water soft or hard? With soft water I have found the Excel is a must.


----------



## jjp2 (May 24, 2008)

How long have you had your plants which are dying? If you have gotten them recently, the swords might have been grown emersed. Those leaves will die off, the plant will adjust and shoot up new leaves. As for Java Fern, it will need time to adjust too. 

If you've had them for a while and they had been doing well until just recently, its a fert or CO2 issue.


----------

