# What is my low tech tank missing ?



## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

For starters, I would want to see pH, nitrate, GH and KH. I wonder if the light it too strong... You could try taking off the 10000 K and seeing how that looks. IMO, you should be fertilizing the tank - read the bottle or read about Estimated Index (EI). And good luck with this! There is a lot of stuff to read here.


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## BBradbury (Nov 8, 2010)

*Your Plants*

Hello aqua...

Aquarium plants take time to get used to a new environment. They'll look good for a time and then die back or look poorly. Some don't recover from being moved to a new tank, others will grow new leaves that are used to the water conditions in your tank. Time will tell. What you can do is keep the water clean with large, 50 percent, weekly water changes to maintain healthy mineral levels. Don't let the tank water stay in the tank too long. Constant filtration soon sterilizes the water. Keep the water clean.

If you have plants that go into the bottom material, then use root tabs, floating plants benefit from a liquid fertilizer.

Review the lighting requirements of your plants, to make sure you're providing the right level. 

Above all, give the plants time to adjust to their new surroundings.

B


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## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

How long has the tank been set up


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## Jvidi (Dec 9, 2014)

You state that this is your first planted tank. When placing new plants in a tank you will always see partial or full death of old leaves. This acclimation process is just how the plant adjusts to the water. It will grow new leaves to better fit this new environment. No worries. Also you may have too much light for a low-tech. You may need co2 additives and a constant fertilizer schedule. Just trial and error until you find a balance. Good luck. Ask any questions you have.


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## Aquaticz (Dec 26, 2009)

opinion 
to much light
use root tabs for swords
plant way more
you need ferts - hydro combrosa is a potassium hog 

you might also consider using floaters with that light


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## aquariumhobbyist007 (Mar 9, 2015)

Thanks for all the responses. it helps me start lookin in the right direction. I tested my water when i first setup the tank, it read pH = 8.0 Nitrite = 0ppm Nitrate = 40ppm. I dose flourish, flourish phosphate, and flourish potassium once a week, using directions on the bottle. I don't have a filter setup. I was going to set one up, but even the slowest water flow power filter kept pushing the stem plants, making the water very rough. So i will add a power filter only when im ready to add fish or i know the plants have fully rooted in the flourite.


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

The tank needs a filter or a circulation pump for gaseous exchange with the atmosphere, and circulation in general. In a low tech tank that is where the available co2 comes from. Either that or very frequent water changes, like 20% every couple of days.

The swords need root tabs.


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## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

Didn't see nitrates mentioned. You most certainly need that.


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## aquariumhobbyist007 (Mar 9, 2015)

Just an update, I since added a Fluval AquaClear 50 PowerFilter to the tank. This filter seems to be the only one that offers a manual dial for flow rate of water. So i set it up with the lowest setting, which is about 66 gph. still seems a bit turbulent but better than nothing. 

I also lost all of my corymbosas stem plants in the tank. I guess the new water environment was not suitable for them. last time i will be purchasing this type of plant.  I also seem to have lost my reincki red stem plant. Its still planted, but doesn't seem alive, barely any red on it anymore.

I placed some root tabs near the swords. Those seem to be doing fine, and my dwarf sagittaria foreground plants are doing good. my Golden Lloydiella and Cardamine lyrata also seem to be holding up.

Im planning to fill a few more dwarf sag in the front for a more denser look and plan on starting my nitrogen cycle to add some live creatures in there.


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

Just a little information about Root Tabs - I was told to put Root Tabs directly under the plant, and reasonably deep in the substrate. Heavy root feeders will have a lot of roots. Swords like Root Tabs.

BTW, I think the Root Tabs have the same composition as Flourish Comprehensive, but that's for the water column, for plants that take up through the leaves.


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## Steve001 (Feb 26, 2011)

aquariumhobbyist007 said:


> Hello. As this is my first post on this forum, I want to say im glad to be on such a popular forum. I need help! I am just starting out in the planted aquarium hobby and decided to start on a low tech tank for my starter setup. I have a 36 gallon bow front, flourite substrate (about 3" depth), (2) 24 Watt T-5 HO lamps 6700K and 10000K. I have listed the plant species below. My Plants are showing signs of slow death and their colors are turning very pale brown or dark brown as in the case of my Amazon swords. Everyday I have to pull a leaf off of the Hygrophila corymbosa because it cant hold itself and bends over. but every plant turns pale on its leaves, including the reineckii. I even put Potassium, phosphate, and flourish into the water on day 2. This is very frustrating. I dont know what im doing wrong. :icon_frow
> 
> My live aquaria plants are :
> 
> ...



Bump:


aquariumhobbyist007 said:


> Hello. As this is my first post on this forum, I want to say im glad to be on such a popular forum. I need help! I am just starting out in the planted aquarium hobby and decided to start on a low tech tank for my starter setup. I have a 36 gallon bow front, flourite substrate (about 3" depth), (2) 24 Watt T-5 HO lamps 6700K and 10000K. I have listed the plant species below. My Plants are showing signs of slow death and their colors are turning very pale brown or dark brown as in the case of my Amazon swords. Everyday I have to pull a leaf off of the Hygrophila corymbosa because it cant hold itself and bends over. but every plant turns pale on its leaves, including the reineckii. I even put Potassium, phosphate, and flourish into the water on day 2. This is very frustrating. I dont know what im doing wrong. :icon_frow
> 
> My live aquaria plants are :
> 
> ...


Here's a graphic for you. Did you remove the metal band from the Cardamine before planting? Bunching individual plants like that will also cause poor growth. Something else you'll likely run into because you have too few plants and plants in poor condition- algae. Another is not enough co2.


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