# What am I doing wrong???



## MrG (Apr 28, 2013)

I started this tank about 5 weeks ago. It's been fully cycled for the past week.

I had plants brown and die off on me, not having done my research.

Now, since 2 weeks ago, I added DIY CO2, but only a single 2L bottle's worth.

Since Sunday, I've added 78watts T5 HO.

I've been watchin everything closely to note progress, but I really hate to say I've failed to do so.

I'm not even certain of all the plant names that I have :-/ I do know I'm trying for the second time to grow dwarf hairgrass. I have some type of moss, and another plant tied to my driftwood. Besides that I have 5 other types of plants. I should just show some pictures of my tank..

I have eco-complete substrate. I dose with fertilizer, and use seachem's equilibrium as recommended by my LFS to harden my water for the plants.

I don't have the resources to test my kh and gh, but I know my ph is 7.6 as of a couple nights ago. My temperature is a 25 degrees (as I type this I'm also suspecting it to be a partial reason).

My main concern is that some of my plants have, and are literally disintegrating! Leaves will lose their density till they're transparent and break off. Other plants' leaves are getting chewed up along the edges by something in my tank :-/

What the &@*# is going on? Pardon my language!


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## TroyVSC (Aug 29, 2012)

have patience, some plants will have die off and it will take awhile to get going again. Two weeks is not a lot of time as far as plant growth goes in the beginning. It sounds like you are doing things the right way.

The on;y thing I would question is trying to make your water more hard with chemicals. I will defer to someone with more expertise on that subject.


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

I would definitely stop trying to change you ph, as of right now your ph is to high to successfully grow dwarf hairgrass and many other plants. What is your ph out of the tank?


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## MrG (Apr 28, 2013)

dalfed said:


> I would definitely stop trying to change you ph, as of right now your ph is to high to successfully grow dwarf hairgrass and many other plants. What is your ph out of the tank?


How am I trying to change my ph? I didn't know anything I was doing was altering my ph. From what I understood, CO2 could lower your ph slightly, Driftwood also lowers ph slightly, and limestone could raise it a little as well. Otherwise, I thought hardening your water replenishes minerals the plants need.

I'll check my ph out of the tank later, as well as out of the tap when I get home from work and I'll keep everyone updated.

Thanks for the help!


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

Seachem's equilibrium states that it will not affect ph so I apologize for the assumption. If you are not using RO water to start then your regular water changes will supply your plants with the minerals needed along with your ferts. If your water out of the tap has a ph of 7.6 already then you may have trouble growing plants from acidic waters like dwarf hairgrass. Some plants like anubias and Java Ferns you cant bury the riozome or they will melt, crypts are famous for melting on any changes to the aquarium water even starting a fertilizer schedule if they are not use to it, but if they are crypts they will grow back.
Need pictures or names and how they were planted to give better insight. The dwarf hairgrass is my personal pet peeve I failed six times before I got it to maintain still not getting much growth but at least its still there.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

I agree have patience. how are you checking your co2 to know what it is? and how long are you leaving your light on?


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## MrG (Apr 28, 2013)

Well, I just read that I can check my pH and see if it has dropped, due to CO2 having acidic qualities that would alter my water parameters. Last and first time I ever got readings myself was the 7.6 pH, which was when I already had CO2 in there for a week. I _am_ questioning the integrity of my CO2 setup though. My water is too agititated by the blower I have my CO2 airline going through I read that calmer waters are better for giving the CO2 time to break down.*frown

My lights are on for a staggering 12 constant hours a day. This is carried over from my previous T8 setup. I'm thinking of reducing to 10 hours a day.

I just worry that my plants aren't getting what they need and I'm standing by watching until they're completely dead with no chance of revival. Plus, it makes my tank ugly  

If I should have patience, how much is too much?


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## lonedove55 (Jan 25, 2012)

Hi MrG, Your set up is fairly similar to 2 of my tanks, a 26g and 38g with eco complete for substrate. My 26 has 48 watts T5HO and the 38 has 78 watts T5HO. You might find this link helpful in identifying what plants you have or if you could post some pics, I'm sure other members could help you in identifying most of the plants.
aquarium_plants_1
It will also give you an idea of the type lighting, ph etc. specific plants need. Unfortunately, that site only sells to retailers, so ordering from them is probably out of the question <label for="rb_iconid_9">







</label>. On the 2 tanks above, I've only used substrate ferts (in addition to the eco complete), Excel, and the 26g gets diy CO2 also. Most of my plants ( mostly low to medium light) do pretty well with growth, and my ph runs 7.6 to 8.0 with only about 6-8 hrs/day of light. Check the kelvin rating on your bulbs (it may be written on the bulb itself)..6500K is usually the standard for growing plants as it has the correct color spectrum for photosynthesis. I would avoid any kelvin rating above 10,000K as it will have too much blue spectrum that freshwater plants do not use and are mostly for saltwater tanks (may cause algae issues). One plant that is super easy to grow, gets very thick, tall and bushy is water wisteria...I was constantly having to trim it in my 26g even when I wasn't using CO2!


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## MrG (Apr 28, 2013)

My lights are 6500K..I just changed my light cycle from 12 hours to 10.

I checked my parameters today, 0 across the board! Even nitrates. I read up on that as the API manual says somewhere around 40 is good, but I think this depends on your specific setup. I read that if my nitrates are at 0, my plants may eating up all, and even craving more nutrition from fish wastes and such. Perhaps this is the reason my plants are slowly dying off?

I also did a 50% water change today. Replaced with conditioned tap water and did not use seachem's equilibrium this time around.

My tank water pH was again at 7.6. My tap water is 7.2 :-/ What is making my water more alkaline? 

I've also drawn the conclusion that my CO2 setup isn't effective, so I revamped that and will get a pH read again tomorrow evening. I'm under the impression that CO2 will drop my pH levels..we'll see how this turns out.


Oh and I actually had a wisteria plant, it died as well! Well..went all brown and gross looking so I just got rid of it.


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

The Estimative Index (EI) Dosing with Dry Salts | UK Aquatic Plant Society this is a very interesting read and this method is widely used.


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## MrG (Apr 28, 2013)

That was definitely quite the read. Thanks Dale! I'm always up for learning new things.


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