# What's the reason my dwarf baby tears look like this?



## Charlieeex3 (Aug 18, 2013)

I don't understand what's happening with my dwarf baby tears. When I had my finnex ray 2 they were fine. When I switch the lighting to finnex ray planted +, half my dwarf baby tears turn yellow/brown and never got green again. I thought maybe the planted + was too strong so I moved the light 6 inches higher but still the same results. Can anyone explain what happen?


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi Charlieeex3,

The Finnex Ray2 has more output than the Finnex Planted +; comparing the two 24" fixtures the Ray2 has PAR=74 @12" and the Planted+ has PAR=61 @12" (about 20% less). Raising the fixture further reduced the PAR reaching your plants; I would suggest lowering your light to the original location.

I grow HC emersed and occasionally I will have leaves 'wash out' like in the picture. HC comes from Cuba and is used to harder water from the limestone on the island. I can usually correct the problem with additional fertilizer and adding some Equilibrium to the water to increase the hardness with additional calcium and magnesium.


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## Tzac (May 18, 2013)

Calcium and Magnesium are easy to add using Plaster of Paris CaSO4, and Epsom salt MgSO4.


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

Looks like nitrogen deficiency to me which is odd since it looks like you have aqua soil? 

It looks like it is happening on old leaves only right? Leaves go brown from tip to base. New leaves may look smaller than normal and growth rate slows a lot.

New lights may have increased their growth rate and caused the nutrient uptake rate to change.


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## Charlieeex3 (Aug 18, 2013)

thanks everyone! ill try lowering the light to back to where it was before. at first i thought it was too much light. the lack of nutrients is probably what the problem is too. now that i think about it the water i am using is RO water. Would seachem flourish be enough? im scared to add anything in the water because i have this nasty gooey algae in the tank(BBA maybe?) shown in the picture.


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

Flourish is pretty dilute stuff, you'd need to add several times the dose to get enough nitrogen. It works well in low light at the recommended dose but high light tanks need a huge amount more. Are any of your other plants showing funny symptoms?

Can you tell us more about the setup and fertilizing system you use?

BBA is not gooey that is BGA. I can't really see the algae you mentioned in the picture, we might need another one to ID it.


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## Charlieeex3 (Aug 18, 2013)

oo it is BGA!!! thanks a lot zapins. i only have dwarf baby tears in my tank; doing a iwagumi tank. I also have crystal red shrimps in my tank.
Tank size: 5.5 gallon
Finnex ray planted+
ADA amazonia soil
Paintball co2 system
HOB filter for 20g

i haven't been dosing any fertilizers for a long time because I thought the bag came from nutrient overdose.

Should I use these? I have a lot of seachem products just laying around


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

How old is the aqua soil?

Plants need nutrients to live. Some people use chemical fertilizers to feed plants others use nutrient rich substrates like garden soil or aqua soil. 

Your aqua soil should be providing the nutrients your plants need but based on the placement and type of damage your HC isn't getting the nutrients it needs (nitrogen shortage).

It might be that using pure RO water has pulled out most of the nitrogen (and probably many of the other nutrients) from the aqua soil you have. You will need to add nitrogen in some form. Potassium nitrate is a good source of nitrogen many of us use it. You can buy it from many places online, ebay is one source, there are a couple of other good sites you can buy it from.


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## Charlieeex3 (Aug 18, 2013)

The soil is 3 months old now


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

I think what you need is a pair of scissors. I don’t know much about your lights but it looks like the plant is trying to adjust to the change in light intensity. The old leaves are dying off and the algae is taking advantage of their nutrients.


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

Flourish comprehensive has nitrogen in it, but as I mentioned above it is very dilute so huge doses are needed to give the right amount of nitrogen, I'd recommend you use a more direct source of nitrogen like potassium nitrate (KNO3).

This is early nitrogen deficiency in HC. The tips of older leaves start dying back first then it proceeds down the stem towards the growing bud. Your deficiency is moderate and has progressed past just the tips of the leaves.









From the Deficiency Database I'm putting together: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-pictures/showimage.php?i=7668&c=12

BruceF - it is not normal for a plant to die in response to a change in conditions that is a sign of a deficiency/toxicity.

Also, a word about BGA. It can nitrogen fix, meaning it can make its own source of nitrogen using the N2 in the air (which also dissolves into tank water). This gives it a competitive advantage in low nitrogen environments over other types of algae. There are quite a few papers in the literature about this.


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## Charlieeex3 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thanks zapins for your knowledge  I'm convinced my dwarf baby tears are like this because of nitrogen deficiency. After some researching, you convince me to try ppm dosing. I bought some dry ferts from greenleafaquariums. Do know know the difference from ppm vs ei dosing? The only thing I noticed is that ppm dosing has magnesium sulphate.


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