# Need Help With Browning Plants??



## kiteboarder123 (Feb 2, 2009)

maybe someone can help....my plants appear to be browning. I am going home for spring break next week and want to do what i can to keep my tank healthy. The plants seem to be browning and i dont know why. I have cherry shrimp in the tank to eat alge....could the brown be alge? if so can i treat it with a alge chemcial reducer with plants? 

Or is there somthing else...the PH is sorta high but there is enoguh light....i put in fert 0-0-3 and 0-0-6 tablets with trace nutriens....(I cant find anything better as of right now in the LPS. if someone thinks its fert i will drive 1 hr to the next shop to get what i need.....any help please i am going to try posting pictures tonight so please look !!! otherwise my tank is going to die!!


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

Tank size, Light wattage, hours on, type of lighting, substrate, adding just iron tabs?

Also are all plants turning brown, or specific ones, what about the tank glass? How old is the tank and how much water do you change a week?


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## kiteboarder123 (Feb 2, 2009)

15 gal tank. running 2 20w coralight compact fl (pink bulbs) and one 15 w awuriam FL on for 9-12 hr a day on a timer. Eco complete substraite. I change 25% water weekly. The alge does grow on the tank glass at time. It is not browning all plants just few but all the same species (if one species of plant has it....they all have it. 

I been working this tank for a while now...i;d had fish in it for 5-6 months and added first round of plant which died because I went away for 3 weeks and didnt have lights on timer. I then planted this tank with no fish. I am using plant food tabs (0-0-6) PLUS iron by Plant care tabs and florapride by tetra plant.


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## kiteboarder123 (Feb 2, 2009)

IMG_1927.jpg picture by kiteboarder123 - Photobucket

IMG_1925.jpg picture by kiteboarder123 - Photobucket

IMG_1924.jpg picture by kiteboarder123 - Photobucket


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

1.) Looks more like Flourite than eco complete. 
2.) I don't see much algae at all. I am guessing that the plants turning "brown" are supposed to be brown. It looks like a Ludwigia and Crypt of some kind. My guess is that you had a lot less light before and they were green, then you added more lights and their true colors came out...or they grew taller and got to a level where the light intensity was stronger. Some red plants also like a lot of potassium and iron, which you obviously feed via the tabs.
3.) Speaking of lights, you have over 3wpg on a 15g tank. That is a bit high since you are not running CO2, I would personally go with ~ 2wpg. Either way I would definately recommend decreasing your photoperiod to 8-10hrs max. Any higher than that and you will get algae problems.


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## kiteboarder123 (Feb 2, 2009)

as long as you think they dont look like they are dying.....

I think some of the plants should have a redish color

I am using flomax which i think is a form or by the company of eco complete sorry for bad info. 

I am going away for a week and I will put my levels down to 8-10 hr of light and just run 2wpg...also i just put my Co2 dyi system on so i hope that helps.....


Im just happy to hear u dont see to much wrong with my setup!!!


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