# confusion over low light plants with hard water



## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

what low light plants will do ok in hard water?

i have amazon sword and its growing ok but the ends are turning brown on some of the leaves, should i add ferts? i have a couple other plants but i dont know what they are, there also growing but turning brown on some lelaves.


----------



## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

what ferts are you using?


----------



## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

fish poo........


----------



## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

zero said:


> what low light plants will do ok in hard water?
> 
> i have amazon sword and its growing ok but the ends are turning brown on some of the leaves, should i add ferts? i have a couple other plants but i dont know what they are, there also growing but turning brown on some lelaves.


Hello z...

Plants prefer more acidic water, but the plus is, fish prefer harder, alkaline water. But, both will adapt, that's what they do. As long as the pH stays between 6 and 8, even 8.5, with no sudden changes, your fish and plants will be fine.

Even if you keep low to moderate light plants, they still need fertilizer. I rely on the fish to take care of the bulk or macro nutrients. I just feed them a balanced diet a couple of times a week, mostly frozen. That way, I avoid algae problems. I also dose a liquid version of the micro nutrients or trace elements only when I top off my tanks. If you feed your plants too much, you can have algae problems. There are other forms of micros, like dry, granules and tablets. Just dose according to the instructions.

B


----------



## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Java Fern does well in almost any water condition. If you have low light stay away from Sag or Vall. They both need strong light.


----------



## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

Even my moss is turning brow n my sand is turning green


----------



## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

Just wana add this started last week and I've not done anything different to the tank


----------



## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

that is indicating that the photo period is a bit too longand you are Co2 deficient if I am not mistaken. Chances are that since the plants are under higher light conditions then they are using up all the minerals in the water indicated by the browning leaves but slow growth. I would suggest dosing ferts and backing down the light or adding some form of Co2 to the tank.


----------



## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

Nice to see you posting again crazy, how's the oscars doing?? Ok so I've cut the light timer down by four hours. Ill take pics of the plants and upload them tomorrow in a hope I can get a positive I'd and then can go purchasethe right ferts for them. If I was to do co2 it would have to be diy, is that possible in a 100litre?


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I think you'll find that most plants will do well in hard water. In fact, the ones that don't usually need special things like CO2. I have hard water and have about 40 different species of plants and all do well. But....most of my tanks have higher light, CO2, and I dose ferts.

Try Flourish and see if that works for you. They won't need much if it is just Amazons. For them, concentrate on the new leaves. If it is old leaves or ones that were on it when you got it, don't worry about it. This can just be the plant adjusting...adjusting can take months in low light tanks and speeds up with more light. Worry about the new leaves coming from the center. If they are healthy and green you're fine.


----------



## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

All of my plants new leaves are lovely and green, it is the outside ones are the browning ones so I make you right!. The moss I've noticed is growing longer I think and every strand in like 20 is brown. Not 100% I can get florish over here but ill call around n look on the net.


----------



## Auban (Aug 8, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> I think you'll find that most plants will do well in hard water. In fact, the ones that don't usually need special things like CO2. I have hard water and have about 40 different species of plants and all do well. But....most of my tanks have higher light, CO2, and I dose ferts.
> 
> Try Flourish and see if that works for you. They won't need much if it is just Amazons. For them, concentrate on the new leaves. If it is old leaves or ones that were on it when you got it, don't worry about it. This can just be the plant adjusting...adjusting can take months in low light tanks and speeds up with more light. Worry about the new leaves coming from the center. If they are healthy and green you're fine.


*i/a*

diy CO2 would be fine for a 100Liter. if you go much bigger though, you would need a good diffuser to make a DIY bottle effective.


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If the leaves start looking too bad and it is just the very outer ones, you can remove them. Just be careful when you do it and try to peel the leaf all the way down to the bottom. I would make sure it is firmly rooted before you try it.


----------



## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Earlier on, someone wrote : 
"Plants prefer more acidic water, but the plus is, fish prefer harder, alkaline water."

With all due respect, have a look at any rainforest species of fish. That is a generalization that flies smack into a wall the moment you look beyond a few select species of fish, from a few regions of the world.


----------



## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

i have another question about floating plants:

ive tried duckweed and the mollies ate the roots and water hyacinth but it died. whats the best floating plant i can use in this tank? (this is my livebearer tank so need good surface cover as i wont use a breeder box)


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If you want it that way, anacharis/hornwort make a good floating plants. I have 2 planted livebearer tanks and have zero floating. I have watched the babies come out before, about 50/50 on going toward the top....at least from what I have seen. Personally, I think they block too much light for the other plants. Personal choice though, not really "needed" for a livebearer tank.


----------



## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

hornwart needs next to no light and is near indestructable. I have it as the floating plant for my oscar tank with 3000K light and it's thriving. I love it for those kind of uses.


----------



## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

oh i thought you needed them, theres enough places for the babies to hide at the bottom so i may just get some hornwart to add to the fry hide inside. the sword takes up a corner of the top of the tank anyway so would that be enough cover just incase?


----------



## i4yue (Jul 5, 2010)

NeonShark666 said:


> Java Fern does well in almost any water condition. If you have low light stay away from Sag or Vall. They both need strong light.


since when were sag and val strong light plants? ive grown both sag and val in less than 0.5wpg and they've grown fine...you can grow sag in a toilet and they'll be fine. this is of course assuming that your substrate is good

for floating plants...TRUE floating plants the break the surface water lettuce is a really nice one that ive found to survive almost any tank conditions. you'll see the roots start to melt and die if the nutrient levels in the water are to low which also makes a great great indicator of your nutrient needs.


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

i4yue said:


> since when were sag and val strong light plants? ive grown both sag and val in less than 0.5wpg and they've grown fine...you can grow sag in a toilet and they'll be fine. this is of course assuming that your substrate is good


I would tend to agree, although dwarf sag could have issue. Just depends on the light height to the substrate....forget about WPG. What is strong light anyway? We all should use low, med, high. Eaiser to explain.


----------



## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

i have more questions and thought it best to keep them all to one thread!!

'green dot' algae.....its started to appear now, and ive noticed it in my big unplanted tank too. have read that scraping the glass will remove it but how do i stop it from growing in the first place? 

both tanks have direct sunlight for a little while each day and are both established.


----------



## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

Green Spot Algae. GSA. You'll get alot of google hits off gsa. Harmless but unsightly. If it's not alot, just scrape it off. Otherwise, algae typically grows when there is a deficiency in the tank. examine your light/co2/ferts to determine which is deficient.


----------

