Burek Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Hi everyone, My plants are going brown not green!!!! Its a 4ft tank with a single 4ft light and sunlight everyday. i use the plant nutrients i add that once a week but its still getting brown. the fish that are in there are 6 swordtails, 6 serpae tetra,1 bn, 1 big chinese algae eater,6 mollies, 6 paltys, 6 danios,6 electric yellows,one peacock fry(lol) any help or do i need more info? btw i dont have that co2 thingy, do i need that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixem Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Hi Daniel If you want really good plants I think you need to use c02. It makes a HUGE difference. Just start off with one bottle and see how it goes, maybe you will need more in a 4ft. You should see some good results within 10 days! Easy and cheap to hook up a DIY system. Just check the DIY section for plans. That's quite a mix of fish you have there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mianos Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Do I have a reading problem of is there no list of the actual plants? Differing plants need differing levels of light. What kinds plants? (Lots of aquarium shops still sell non aquatic plants that always eventually go brown). How many hours of light? How old are the plants? (Many plants when introduced will drop many leaves and grow new ones to adapt). Many slower growing plants (such as anubias species, many crypts and java ferns) don't need much light or extra CO2. Others won't grow much at all without lots of light and CO2. I'd go the easier ones first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burek Posted September 16, 2004 Author Share Posted September 16, 2004 Ok, The Tank Gets light for about 10 hours each day The plants are around one month old now some plants include.. bamboo plants,java fern,alot of amazon swords,elodea, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett4Perth Posted September 16, 2004 Share Posted September 16, 2004 Hello Daniel, Bamboo plant??? Not sure what that is, unlikely to be an aquatic plant though so you can expect it to die. Java fern - doesn't usually need to much attention. Is this going brown? Amazon swords - If planted from pots, the leaves usually die off and are replaced by emersed growth which often looks quite different. Elodea - needs a bit more light than the others. Cheers Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burek Posted September 17, 2004 Author Share Posted September 17, 2004 hi dont know the name of the bamboo plant but it looks like a bamboo lol and has leaves on top. all the plants are going brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grungefreek Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 I reckon the amazon swords would like more light than a single fluro, also a substrate tab would help them along. The elodea i find is a pain of a plant. Unless u have fairly strong light, the only leaves that dont go brown and die are the top leaves. And also what type of brown are the plants going??? IS it a dyiing brown and the leaves eventually go transparent and fall off, or is it more like an alga covering the leaves? And i have no idea what a bamboo plant is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burek Posted September 18, 2004 Author Share Posted September 18, 2004 half of the leaf goes brown and then the leaf goes thinner and thinner and then half of the leaf falls off and then the other part starts to go brown and the same thing happens.the leaves go transparent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punie Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 The bamboo plant he's talking about are those that we see in those 'lucky bamboo' plants, brett. They're commonly placed emersed into tanks of bettas to help absorb the nitrates. Daniel, the bamboo plant won't survive submersed, so try to keep it emersed. Try this link for Nutrient Deficiencies , i'm sure you'd find it useful. Cheers, Jerome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burek Posted September 18, 2004 Author Share Posted September 18, 2004 So do i leave the top of the plant not in water and the bottom in the water? How do i make the bamboo plant emersed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punie Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 That's right, keep the top 1/2 out of water, it should help, thats what most people do for their betta tanks. But that only applies for the bamboo plant. Cheers, Jerome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grungefreek Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 well if thats the case, for the swords, definately need more light and root tabs. I have tried growing swords in mums 2ft tank with a single fluoro, and the leaves did the same as yours. I think another 4ft fluoro costs like $25 complete at bunnings, so go pick one of them up, that should help. I dont know what the minimum lighting would be for them, all my tanks have been very high light (current 2ft has 70 watts of CF lighting) so try another single, although they sell doubles complete as well so 3 lights would be great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punie Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 all my tanks have been very high light (current 2ft has 70 watts of CF lighting) What's your tank dimensions? 70watts is pretty OD for a 2 footer. Don't you get spot algae on your glass very often? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grungefreek Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 Tank dimensions are 2ft x 12 inch x 12 inch, so standard 2fter. Hmm dont get much green spot algae at all. I have oto's and Sae's as algae cleanup, so that helps. I also have Co2 injection. Pretty much anything i have grows madly, except red plants which i still cant get to take off, think i need to add iron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burek Posted September 19, 2004 Author Share Posted September 19, 2004 25$ for a 4ft fluro? thats Cheap LoL, i guess ill go get one then i paid 70$ for mine at a shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punie Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 Tank dimensions are 2ft x 12 inch x 12 inch, so standard 2fter. Hmm dont get much green spot algae at all. I have oto's and Sae's as algae cleanup, so that helps. I also have Co2 injection. Pretty much anything i have grows madly, except red plants which i still cant get to take off, think i need to add iron. That's incredible! On my tank the exact same dimensions as yours, if i power up 2 of my CFs (36w x 2), algae growth is wild, and i consulted with an expert in lighting who told me 72 watts is overkill. Unless your's is really heavily planted and i mean HEAVILY! Lol My red plants grow like wild fire in my tank and i downed the power to just 1 36w cf tube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grungefreek Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 I shoudl also mention that my CF bulbs arent the strait flat ones made for aquariums. Mine are the normal house hold type. So strait away im losing a little bit of light due to the bulb shape. But yeah no algae issues at all. Also, while my bulbs are 6400K, they arent specialty plant bulbs, so that may be the reason my red plants dont thrive. Cant have everything while still doing it cheap Wish i could afford proper CF bulbs Yeah those fuoro's are just normal house hold types, not ones fitted with reflectors or anything. But buy some guttering while u are there and mount the light in that, easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mianos Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 I use the same lights, I have 4 X 26W 6.4K ones mounted in a 'gutter hood'. I recently built a new one with a mylar lining and it's twice as bright. My plants have been growing very well over the last month. The Val is pretty much out of control and the amazon swords are growing a new leaf every few weeks. After I asked what plants etc etc I actually posted a compete reply but for some reason it did not turn up (probably my fault). The main points I made have been covered since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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