# New freshwater tank---yellow leaves on plants?! :O



## kal123456 (Aug 8, 2009)

Hi everyone!

So, about 2 weeks ago, I set up a new, 20 gallon fresh water tank. I don't have any fish in it because i'm waiting for the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite leves to become neutral, but I have 2 types of plants: 2 bunches of Wisteria and 1 bunch of the Amazon Sword plant. I also have a CO2 system that was running from the beginning, and 2 lightbulbs that are designed for plants (what it said in the petstore). About 4 days ago, I started noticing the leaves of the Amazon Sword plants turning to a little brownish-reddish color, and now one leaf is completely yellow. The leaves of the Wisteria are starting to wilt a little too. From the very start of setting up the aquarium, I added 2 fertilizer tablets in order to feed the plants. They didn't help at all....I decided that it wasn't enough, so today morning I added 2 more. Am I supposed to add the tablets every day, every week?...and also, since it is very hot during the summer in CA, the water gets pretty heated up during the day, so I chose to keep the water heater off. The water was pretty warm during the night too....However, maybe it just seems warm to me, but is actually cold to the plants?...i dont know, but just in case, I put in a water heater today and set it for 72 degrees. 

Can someone please help me identify the problem, and suggest me some ways of improving the conditions for the plants?

I would greatly appreciated it!!!
Thank You!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

A little yellowing of the plants during the first couple of weeks is perfectly normal. On both plants is it just the bottom leaves or all leaves? Wattage of bulbs? Sure they are plants bulbs? How long do you leave them on for?


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## kal123456 (Aug 8, 2009)

Well, it's just random leaves on the Wisteria, and on the Amazon Sword plant, one leaf, the biggest one, is almost fully yellow, and the other smaller ones are beginning to become yellow/brown too....but I see brand new tiny green leaves growing in though....so maybe it's just what happens when the plants get moved or something, like you said...and my lamps are each 15 watts, 18", and it said on the package that they stimulate lush plant growth....and they turn on at 8am and turn off at 9pm every day. 

Hope that helps!!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I think your plants are just settling in. Watch the new growth and see how it does. If it does the same thing then maybe you'll need to do something, but not until then. I would reduce your light time to maybe 10hrs. You'll likely get algae having it on for that long.


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## scooterlady (May 10, 2011)

_ I don't have any fish in it because i'm waiting for the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite leves to become neutral_

Do you have a source of ammonia in there...fish or ammonia? If not, you're not going to start your cycle. You have to have a source of ammonia for the bacteria to live on and convert to Nitrites, and so on. You need to get more info on the nitrogen cycle and decide if you're going to go fishless or fish-in cycling.


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## katanamasako (Jun 29, 2012)

unless you're adding ammonia, your tank will never cycle with just plants in it. you need to add some source of the ammonia. I used a handful of pond snails from my other tanks, the pests came in handy. but for you, try and choose a hardy type of fish to cycle the tank. i know a few people who used one or two minnows.


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