# Need some help! Aquarium plants dying.



## Clare12345 (Dec 20, 2008)

How many gallons is your tank? We would need to know that too.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

What KIND of fertilizer? No co2? Full tank shot?


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## Fei.Long (Feb 24, 2010)

I'm not sure whether my fertilizer is any good, or whether it helps or not, could you reccomend me a good plant fertiizler which i could use.


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## Fei.Long (Feb 24, 2010)

over_stocked said:


> What KIND of fertilizer? No co2? Full tank shot?


Bio Green plant fertilizer is what i use. 

No co2 injection as yet.

Here is the full tank shot.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

The only "Bio Green" I found reference to is a terrestrial fertilizer. These fertilizers supply nitrogen from ammonia and urea, neither of which you really want in an aquarium; and especially not with fish.

If what I've found is correct, you need to switch to a fertilizer made specifically for aquariums.

Aquarium gravel is inert and doesn't hang on to nutrients well, so your primary method of fertilization will be providing fertilizers in the water.

You can buy liquid fertilizers (easy, but costly in the long run), or mix your own from dry powders and chemicals (cheap in the long run, but a bit more learning curve).

Then a small amount of slow-release solid aquatic root fertilizer will help with the heavy root-feeders like your sword plant, despite the gravel not being an optimal substrate.

Let us know which method(s) you're interested in pursuing and we can give more specific advice. There might even be someone familiar with what's available local to you in Australia.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

That tall grass-like plant on the left looks like a terrestrial plant, dracaena perhaps, so it won't survive (if I am right.) Can you buy potassium nitrate and mono potassium phosphate in Australia? If you can, those are the best macro fertilizers to use. If not, there are other nitrate compounds and phosphate compounds you could try.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

This is a low-tech/low light tank, so CO2 injection is not needed.
You might want to get plants that will live in your tank. Try to find anubias, and java fern.
It looks like you have some already. You sword will survive for a while but not for too long. You might want to upgrade the light to 100w (t8 bulb) or 70W (t5ho bulb).


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## Fei.Long (Feb 24, 2010)

Thanks for you reply guys.

I couldn't find my fertiziler on the internet so i'll just retype what it says on the packaging. 

Bio-Green is a plant fertilizer containing iron and other trace elements to feed and fertizlize your aquarium plants.

Directions: Each week add 5ml per 20 litres of aquarium water, or for the best results, test the aquarium water with an iron (Fe) test kit and bring the iron level to 0.5mgl, 250ml will treat 1,000 litres.

Since i cannot find the fertiziler i'm using on the internet, is this information sufficient? Is this fertilizer suitable for my plants inside my aquarium? The person at my local aquarium reccomened me to use this because i have little to know idea about planted aquariums.

Lastly what other advice would you give me, stick with what i am doing or switch to low light or low co2 plants.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Fei.Long said:


> Bio-Green is a plant fertilizer containing iron and other trace elements to feed and fertizlize your aquarium plants.


Ok, it's actually an aquatic fertilizer - good!

That description suggests it doesn't supply macro nutrients. The macro nutrients that plants need are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). And they need lots more of those than iron or other trace nutrients.

Some of that is provided by fish waste, but usually not enough.

Other than the possibly terrestrial plant that Hoppy spotted, the yellowing could be a symptom of several possible nutrient deficiencies, nitrogen and potassium among them. I use this as my diagnostic checklist.

Potassium is probably the most deficient in your tank.



Fei.Long said:


> Directions: Each week add 5ml per 20 litres of aquarium water, or for the best results, test the aquarium water with an iron (Fe) test kit and bring the iron level to 0.5mgl, 250ml will treat 1,000 litres.


0.5mgl is a bit high, most people aim for 0.1-0.2mgl; but I don't think it's high enough to cause problems. It's probably safe to assume the Bio-Green is providing plenty of other micro (aka trace) nutrients too.

You just need to supplement with the macros (NPK) too.



Fei.Long said:


> Lastly what other advice would you give me, stick with what i am doing or switch to low light or low co2 plants.


Plants matched to your tank are always easier. Low-light, fast-growing plants are your best bet. But that doesn't mean you have to throw out what you've got; solve the nutrient issues and you may find success with them too.

There's really no such thing as a "low CO2" plant. Light is the main variable. As light goes up, plants need more CO2 and other nutrients. If they don't get what they need, the plants will suffer and the algae will thrive!

In a low-light tank, CO2 from the air and fish can be enough to avoid problems; although the plants will still grow faster if you provide extra CO2.


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## mustafa shashaah (Jan 5, 2013)

*Hello every body*

please help me, it seems that i have the same problem, go to my photo album, ( no.3 ) see last 2 pics and help me find a solution.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/album.php?u=59705


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Mustafa - I am going to reply to your other post.


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## mustafa shashaah (Jan 5, 2013)

Wasserpest said:


> Mustafa - I am going to reply to your other post.


ok, dear
then i will see it there, thanks


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## uBrandon (Dec 15, 2012)

I think the second one looks good. Maybe the plant is just changing its leaves, because the smaller leaves look nice and green, how long have they been in that tank?


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Good looking tank, by the way.
I would remove the spiky plant in the left right corner - it cannot live completely under water and will slowly die, affecting other plants and fish in the tank.

Otherwise, do follow DarkCobra's advise on using NPK fertilizer and leave everything else as is. Adding more plants of the right type (anacharis, pennywort, anubias, water sprite, water wisteria, red tiger lotus, and so on) will make your fish happier and the tank healthier.


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## oliver123456 (Apr 26, 2017)

look at https://aquarium-kauf.com !


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