# Total newby plant questions / problems in Fluval Edge 46L



## graduate106 (Jun 2, 2012)

Hi, I have kept tropical fish for years in my large 45gallon tank, they are malawi cichlids and i do not have any plants in there.

I decided to get a smaller tank for my kitchen and try some plants in there. It is a Fluval Edge 46L (the new larger one with LED lighting).

In all honesty i know nothing about keeping plants in an aquarium so it has come to no suprise after 2-3 weeks of putting the plants in my new tank they are looking a little brown and starting to wither.

Equipment:
Fluval Edge 46L
Stock LED lighting set on timer to run for 8 hours per day
Very fine gravel (almost like course sand)

Do i need to be adding anything to the tank for the plants to grow?
Is the lighting sufficient?
Any help much appreciated
PS. Fish in there at the moment are a couple of blue rams and a few rummy nose tetras

Thanks


----------



## graduate106 (Jun 2, 2012)

Can anyone help please?

My water is getting greener and my plants are getting browner every day!

Thanks


----------



## FisheriesOmen (Jan 14, 2012)

Don't forget WCs, and don't worry about massive algae growth for a while....it's a hurdle most of us have to deal with before the tank gets established and the plants start collecting all the nutrients. Normally Fluvals have insufficient lighting so you might want to consider getting different lighting. Something in the 5000k-6500k range will do well.


----------



## graduate106 (Jun 2, 2012)

Thanks for the reply- what are WCs?

The standard led lighting in the new fluval edge is 7600K I believe, is 8 hours a day enough?


----------



## Cardoc (May 21, 2011)

WC is water changes you need to change 30-50% of water once a week to keep things healthy in the tank. Are you adding any fertilzers or Co2 to your tank?


----------



## graduate106 (Jun 2, 2012)

I'm doing 20-25% weekly water changes as I have always done in other aquariums. Do planted tanks need more water changed?

I'm adding no fertiliser or co2, I suspect I should be doing so? If so what and how much and how often?


----------



## blink (Feb 22, 2012)

I had good growth in my 46L edge using stock lights and seachem products, namely flourish, Excel and root tabs 
Co2 wasn't required for the basic stuff I was growing.


----------



## graduate106 (Jun 2, 2012)

What is flourish, excel and root tabs?


----------



## Cardoc (May 21, 2011)

Its a liquid fertlizer, try changing the water more offten untill you get rid of the algae. At least 50% a week or even twice a week, and look into do it yourself (diy) co2, it is just yeast and sugar water, the yeast eats the sugar and expells co2. Most algae can be cleared up with good water flow, water changes, and co2.


----------



## graduate106 (Jun 2, 2012)

Great thanks I'll get myself some liquid fert and do some more thorough water changes.

8 hours a day ok on the lighting?


----------



## shinycard255 (Sep 15, 2011)

8 hrs a day should be plenty of light


----------



## alexinoz (Feb 29, 2012)

Interesting thread and not too unlike my situation!

I too am trying to grow my plants in a fluval edge 2 (link here if you're interested: http://www.aquarium-manager.com/tank/detail/1) .

For a few months Cabomba grew like crazy, so I've taken it all out and instead trying to grow val and hygrophylia (and some dwarf anubias - but they are doing fine).

About 4 months ago I tried growing val but it melted away near the roots - I'm trying it again as of last weekend, and have just started adding 1ml of Seachem Flourish on Sundays and Wednesdays.

I've done a basic CO2 measurement (ph 6.0 first day, 24 hours later ph 6.1) and I'm gathering Excel would be an appropriate thing to add in addition to the flourish to bump up the CO2 levels. All my test measurements of Ammo, Ni and Na come up as 0, and I'm typically doing 30% PWCs weekly.

Given the lack of air space at the top of the edge I'm a bit worried about putting in Seachem Flourish Excel as I am worried I might suffocate the fish. Is this something I should be worried about?

As an aside, I'm also partially worried the ph is less than 6.0, which I cannot measure with my test kit, I suspect it is fairly acid as a result of the bog wood I have in there, but cannot think of a cheap, effective way to double check my CO2 levels. Out of the tap my water is very soft and ph of 7.

Should I add Excel in addition to Flourish or could I suffocate my fish by doing so?


----------



## 82nd_Airborne (Mar 28, 2012)

If you dose Excel per the recommended dosage, there shouldn't be any problem. Even with the tank not having the surface agitation of a "normal" tank, your filter should aerate the water enough to oxygenate the water. You will probably end up needing trace element additive as well, although sometimes enough trace elements can be obtained through the fish food.


----------



## graduate106 (Jun 2, 2012)

Alexinoz your setup is fairly similar to mine to be fair. I'm gonna get myself some flourish excel to go with the fertiliser and hopefully my plants will "flourish"


----------



## FriendsNotFood (Sep 21, 2010)

Just to clarify, Excel does not add actual CO2 to the water. It's just a chemical source of carbon for the plants. It does not add gas to water or affect oxygen content or pH. Or CO2 content for that matter. What it does do is give your plants a little boost and kills certain kinds of algae (like hair algae). 

Seachem Flourish is a mix of micro nutrients (traces). Root tabs provide micro and macro nutrients. I can't tell what plants those are on either side of the driftwood but they will definitely appreciate root tabs because your substrate has no nutrients in it. 

My advice overall would be to add way more plants  It will help with algae issues. You can add plants that you tie to your driftwood, like anubias or any java fern variety, or moss. Those plants will grow in even the lowest of low lighting and they don't need a nutrient-rich substrate because they get all their nutrients from the water.


----------



## graduate106 (Jun 2, 2012)

Thanks for the clarification, I appreciate excel is not actual co2 but apears to certainly help where you haven't got proper co2 so I'll give it a try.

My overall goal is to add lots more plants but wanted to test out a couple first before I killed a whole tank full of them.

Everyone's help is much appreciated and I'll report back once my excel and fert has been delivered etc


----------



## alexinoz (Feb 29, 2012)

Just a tip for fellow beginners - Excel doesn't work well for valisneria. It melts the plant... so if anyone in Melbourne AU wants a new bottle of Excel I no longer require look me up!


----------



## dougiek (Feb 20, 2012)

I don't personally have the tank...but it's been my understanding that these tanks don't provide the best stock lighting to successfully grow nice and healthy looking plants. Look at this website and check out this guys Edge tanks and his DIY instructions for all of his mods.

https://sites.google.com/site/aquaristikedge/home-1

Its in German so you'll have to translate it in Google haha


----------

