# Monte Carlo dying in high tech tank



## kruns (Aug 13, 2018)

Sorry if this is a repost, can't find my previous post.

Hi, I'm new to the forum, I apologize in advance if I'm breaking any rules.

I set up my planted tank last week and it looked fine for the first few days, but now my Monte Carlo carpet is dying and rest of the plants don't look so good either. I was wondering if this is expected, or if I'm missing something.

Lights/CO2 are switched on 6 hours a day from 5PM to 11PM (*Q1. does time of day matter?*)

*Equipment:*
- ADA 60-P Dimension: 60x30x36cm (~17 gallon)
- Twinstar 600E(S?) light
- Eheim 350 Canister Filter with stock intake/outtake
- CO2Art PRO-SE Series regulator with Bazooka atomizer (1 bubble per second)
- Some random heater my friend gave me, thermometer consistently reads between 76-78°F

*Substrate: *
- Power Sand S
- Bacter 100, Clear Super, Tourmaline bc - 4 spoons each
- ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia (Base Layer 3-4 cm to 10-12 cm)
- ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia - Powder (Top Layer 2-3 cm, ~1 inch)

*Water Changes:*
- 50% every day for the last week (tank is 1 week old)
- 30% every 2 days/3 days from now on
- I've randomly chosen either API Freshwater Conditioner, or Seachem Prime and used them according to doses specified on the label. I've tried to stay as accurate as possible, but its not very easy to measure 1ml with the equipment I have. *Q2. Is it safe to overdose? If it is, how much is it safe to overdose by (2x, 3x, 5x..)?*

* Water Parameters:*
(Current - 12 hours since last water change, CO2, Lights)
pH - 6.6 (was less than 6 the first 3-5 days)
Ammonia - 2 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 0 ppm
KH - 1 drop
GH - 2 drops

*Ferts:*
- ADA Brighty K (started only 2 days ago, this might be the reason why pH is higher than the first few days)
- *Q3. Do I need to use Green Bacter and GREEN BRIGHTY MINERAL at this stage? (Day 8)*

*Plants:*
- Cryptocoryne Parva
- alternanthera reineckii 'Mini'
- cryptocoryne axelrodi
- hygrophila pinnatifida
- rotala nanjean
- myriophyllum mattogrossense
- micranthemum monte carlo

*Livestock:*
None

Day 0 : https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=867043&stc=1&d=1534203137
Day 5 : https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=867045&stc=1&d=1534203137
Day 7 : https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=867047&stc=1&d=1534203137

If you look closely between day 5 and day 7, you can see the monte carlo between the 3 rocks dying. I don't have more pictures, but *in the beginning only the rightmost montecarlo was dying, slowly it has spread to the others*. Not sure if this is normal, or due to algae, lack of water circulation, lack of nutrients, or some disease. 

Any ideas or suggestions on what to do? Or do you think I should just stay patient and wait for the tank to cycle more? 

Thanks,
Kruns


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## kruns (Aug 13, 2018)

I forgot to mention in my post, but I have a lot of driftwood in the tank, and I think this is leading to some white algae issues. Its mostly on the driftwood but sometimes I see some diatoms on the substrate too. Maybe that is the reason? 

If algae is the problem, can/should I introduce algae eating shrimp at this point? Or a UV sterilizer?


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## madcrafted (Dec 23, 2017)

Did you happen to purchase a tissue culture of the monte carlo? It looks like typical transitional melt to me. The new leaves should emerge soon and be better suited to submerged growth. This is very common. As for the white stuff on driftwood... also normal. It's just fungal based mold. It usually only lasts a few weeks and will go away on it's own. Shrimp and snails eat it. Probably other critters too.


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## Grobbins48 (Oct 16, 2017)

I second the melting, either potted or TC will melt when transitioning to submerged. Give it time and I am sure you will have a lush carpet.


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## swarley (Apr 12, 2018)

I would continue what you are doing and just wait a bit for the plant to recover. The one concern I might have is if it's tissue cultured then maybe if you didn't clean off the gel well enough, it could be bad? But most likely you just need to wait.


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## kruns (Aug 13, 2018)

Thanks madcrafted! Your assurance makes me feel better. Yes, I did buy tissue culture. 
I'd heard about melting, but I thought that'd happen uniformly to all the montecarlo clusters. This looked like it was something spreading from one side of the tank to the other.

Thanks Grobbins48 and swarley, I'll just give it time then. 
And swarley, I think I'd cleaned the montecarlo pretty well, but I might not've cleaned some of the other plants with the same enthusiasm. Thanks for mentioning it, I'll keep an eye out for plants behaving abnormally.


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