# Myriophyllum browning out/dying!



## scags (Sep 22, 2003)

Hello eveyone. I'm semi-new to this so please bear with me. My planted tank is doing great, except for my Myriophyllum. It has plenty of new growth, but the lower parts are dying very fast.
I got it at my lfs a few weeks ago, it was bright green and looked lush and full of life. It was in a low light aquarium there with various other plants.

My tank specs-
29 gallon
gravel/sand substrate
DIY co2 thru power head
96 watts of T5HO 6700k @ 8 hours a day
Ferts- Pottasium/iron/(dosing slightly more than recommended on package.)
Flourish excel daily dosing.

other plants include- saggiteria, java ferns, xmas moss, taiwan moss, brazilian pennywort, creeping jenny, and pellia.


----------



## Fishman Dan (Apr 1, 2008)

Most bunch plants especially the Myrio's will shed their lower leaves when they become shaded. If you have them planted closely I would spread them out a little bit. Another reason can be that the new growth is shading the lower part or other plants are doing it.

I find that in my experience the feathery looking bunch plants do best when the stems are kept 12" or shorter, unless you are using very high light.


----------



## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

Too much light and not enough CO2 and nutrients will actually stunt your plants not make them grow better and that is what I think is happening with your myrio. You have way more light over the tank than is needed. With that much light the fertilizer and CO2 levels need to be spot on. It is going to be hard to do DIY CO2 with that much light, cut it at least in half and if possible raise your fixture. You also are not dosing any macro or micro fertilizers except Potassium and iron. Plants need comprehensive fertilization especially under high light. You need to start adding Nitrates, Phosphate and trace elements. Keep up the Excel as a back up to your DIY CO2 and work on increasing CO2 levels and circulation but with T5HO lighting it is usually necessary to go pressurized.


----------



## scags (Sep 22, 2003)

Thanks for the info guys. Overall I have seen tremendous growth out of all my plants, that myrio is just looking a little lanky. 
I have my pressurized co2 on order, should be here in the next week. I think my current co2 levels are ok, as many of my plants are pearling. 
My lighting is about 8 inches above the water level. I thought about going to only one set of lights, but it would only give me about 2 watts per gallon. Would that be sufficient?
I will head up to my lfs and pick up some more ferts today. Any recommendations?

Luckily I have had no algae issues, and its been set up for about 12 weeks now, my amanos, and nerites are doing a great job.


----------



## scags (Sep 22, 2003)

Another thing that I wondered could be a factor was water temp? My tank stays rather cool between 72f and 75f...
I also thought about dispersing them a little, as they are currently in a rooted bunch. However I was worried that disturbing them again could be bad. I heard they take a little time to acclimate to new conditions and uprooting them can stunt growth.


----------



## Sharkfood (May 2, 2010)

Some Myrio type plants are from temperate areas and can't handle tropical temperatures, but I don't know about temperatures being too low. This stuff is mislabelled all the time at LFS so you could easily have something native to North America that likes cooler water. If that's the case, 72F is likely in the upper end of what it can tolerate.


----------



## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

scags said:


> Thanks for the info guys. Overall I have seen tremendous growth out of all my plants, that myrio is just looking a little lanky.
> I have my pressurized co2 on order, should be here in the next week. I think my current co2 levels are ok, as many of my plants are pearling.
> My lighting is about 8 inches above the water level. I thought about going to only one set of lights, but it would only give me about 2 watts per gallon. Would that be sufficient?
> I will head up to my lfs and pick up some more ferts today. Any recommendations?
> ...


A 12 week old tank is still pretty new. When you first get plants they have a certain amount of stored nutrients. If you don't replenish them they eventually bottom out and start to do poorly. Myrio is a really easy plant to grow, a true weed, and it grows very quickly if given enough light. Because of the quick growth it is a nutrient hog and your high light is pushing it full speed ahead. Once your plants bottom out for nutrients it isn't long before the algae swoops in.

With T5HO lighting and good reflectors you don't need more than 2 wpg to grow any plant but it is actually easier to maintain the tank if you use 1.3 to 1.5 wpg of T5HO. With lower light there is less demand for ferts and CO2. Ferts are easy to dose but getting enough CO2 to all the plants is more difficult. Using less light makes it easier and gives better results.

For a 29 gallon tank you could use Seachem or Pfertz liquid ferts but it is way cheaper in the long run to get dry powdered ferts. I get mine from http://www.aquariumplants.com but there are other sources like Green Leaf Aquariums. Get yourself some KNO3 (nitrates) KH2PO4 (phosphates) and some CSM+B (micro nutrients). If your GH is really low also get some Barr's GH booster which will add magnesium, calcium and potassium. There is a sticky about dosing regimes at the top of the Fertilizers forum that will tell you how to dose with the dry ferts. About 20 bucks worth of dry ferts will last you well over a year with that sized tank.

Your water temperature is fine.


----------



## scags (Sep 22, 2003)

Big thanks Captain bu! I followed thru today and picked up some more fertz. Nitrates, phosphates and a bottle containing trace nutrients. 
I totally understand what you are saying. The light is pushing my myrio to grow beyond what the tanks nutrient levels will allow for healthy growth.
I'm probably on a path to an algae outbreak.
I'm going to pull back on the lighting until my co2 equipment arrives. Hopefully it will help turn my once beautiful myrio around!
Thanks again Captain, Dan, and Shark!


----------

