# plants browning/rotting



## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

We have 3 live plants in our 55 gal. aquarium. They were thriving when we first set it up a few months ago. I don't recall the names of the plants, but one of them has broad leafs which have a wrinkly, seaweed-type feel ($30 plant). That plant, in particular, was growing VERY fast at first. New growth every couple days or so and growing 1-2" per day.

The water tests good with the exception of the PH which is a bit high. Amonia and nitrites are zero. We are due a water change and plan on doing that this weekend. The fish look healthy and active. The water is crystal clear.

We just can't figure out why the plants seem to be dying. Browning and rotting of the leaves for the past 3 weeks or so.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

It can be many factors to cause this. Can you post pics of the plants. Your lighting? Are you dosing ferts? How long has the tank been running and how long do you leave the lights on.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

susankat said:


> It can be many factors to cause this. Can you post pics of the plants. Your lighting? Are you dosing ferts? How long has the tank been running and how long do you leave the lights on.


I can post pics later on. I'm at work right now. 

The tank was moved from a 20 gal. The broad-leaf plant is new. The others were transplants. The 55 gal. has been running since March of this year.
We leave the light on for about 16 hours per day on average. 6am-10 or 11pm.

We're not using any fertilizers and to be honest, I didn't know they existed for aquariums. What would you recommend.


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## Arthur7 (Feb 22, 2013)

The lights are on for too long. The plants also need a sufficiently long night's sleep.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

Arthur7 said:


> The lights are on for too long. The plants also need a sufficiently long night's sleep.


I wasn't aware of that. What is a good duration of light?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

The lights only need to run 8 to 10 hours a day. There are a lot of ferts for aquariums from liquid ferts, dry ferts and root tabs. We would have to see what kind of plants to determine ferts and need to know the k rating of your lights.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

susankat said:


> The lights only need to run 8 to 10 hours a day. There are a lot of ferts for aquariums from liquid ferts, dry ferts and root tabs. We would have to see what kind of plants to determine ferts and need to know the k rating of your lights.


Ok..I'll get some pics posted tonight or tomorrow. We are having difficulty choosing the correct light. The light we have now doesn't seem quite bright enough.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

susankat said:


> The lights only need to run 8 to 10 hours a day. There are a lot of ferts for aquariums from liquid ferts, dry ferts and root tabs. We would have to see what kind of plants to determine ferts and need to know the k rating of your lights.


I couldn't find a "k" rating on the bulb. The bulb is an "All-Glass" 17w and it has "Rapid start" printed on it. 

The tank is not as bright as we'd like it to be.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

Here are a couple pics of the plants.

This is the worst. Notice the browning edges and the dark brown rotted chutes coming up. Those chutes were vibrant leafs at one time.




The one below doesn't show the browning as much.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Your plants don't look bad? They do take alot longer to acclimate then any fish(sometimes more thaan 1 month).I found this light
http://www.aqueonproducts.com/assets/016/28606_400wh.jpg
Does it look like yours?
When was the last time you replaced it?Most flourescent lamps need to be replaced every 6-12 months depending on quality.
For K you are looking for 6,500-10,000 or a light that says 'DAYLIGHT".Not soft/warm/cool white,but daylight.
Any homedepot or lowes usaully has daylight flourescents.
As far as All glass(seems very old as they became AGA and are now Aqueon{we're talking several years}), I found this;
Aqueon » 6,700K Daylight T5 Fluorescent Lamp | Products.SORRY this light is T5 and I think you are T8.Make sure you know which light you need if you replace.
If you don't remember when this bulb was new then replace it,turn your lighting cycle down to 8 hrs.You probly don't need ferts,but if you use any you won't need much as it is really co2 and the output of light(low/med/high) that drives the need.You are in the low lighting category.


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## Fishtail76 (Oct 17, 2013)

Hi, I'm thinking your light is probably one that came with the tank. It is probably not the correct spectrum. If it was the correct spectrum you would have tons of algae if you leave it on for 16 hours a day. The wide leafed plant looks like a Cryptocoryne balansae, it should do well in a low to mid light tank. A 24" fixture is not enough for a 55g tank. I would recommend buying a new light fixture, even a shoplight with the correct bulbs (5000-10000k) will work well for low light plants.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

coralbandit said:


> Your plants don't look bad? They do take alot longer to acclimate then any fish(sometimes more thaan 1 month).I found this light
> http://www.aqueonproducts.com/assets/016/28606_400wh.jpg
> Does it look like yours?
> When was the last time you replaced it?Most flourescent lamps need to be replaced every 6-12 months depending on quality.
> ...


The light was new in March when we moved to the bigger tank.

I'm sorry, but I was mistaken...it's a 45 gal. tank. We bought the bulb from a small local pet shop. Maybe they had it on the shelf for 10 years...I don't know. 
Is wattage an issue as well?

Thank you.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

Fishtail76 said:


> Hi, I'm thinking your light is probably one that came with the tank. It is probably not the correct spectrum. If it was the correct spectrum you would have tons of algae if you leave it on for 16 hours a day. The wide leafed plant looks like a Cryptocoryne balansae, it should do well in a low to mid light tank. A 24" fixture is not enough for a 55g tank. I would recommend buying a new light fixture, even a shoplight with the correct bulbs (5000-10000k) will work well for low light plants.



We bought the light separate. It's a 45 gal. tank. Not 55. My mistake.

the wide-leafed plant was doing great for the first few months. Now it's looking sad. Could the light suddenly become a factor after 4 months?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

The most important numbers fo lighting is temp.(K;kelvin) and PAR.wattage is an outdated way to measure light.If the fixture is T8 then you need a second fixture at least as it is really on the low end of lighting.
LEDs are the way to go so if you can't find one,but are interested then correct me if the 45g is different then 36" and I'll go from there.Current makes a popular LED fixture that is not overly priced.
Current Satellite Plus Freshwater LED 36-48 Inch
Amazon.com : Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus Light for Aquarium, 24 to 36-Inch : Pet Supplies
Make sure to move the Ebay link to 36-48" model.It is like $3 cheaper then Kens ,but I didn't check on shipping(kens is free over $79)


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

The tank is 36" wide. The light itself under the hood is 24". 


Thanks!


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

The crypt can probably use a fert tab under it. Mine always did well with the tabs.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

susankat said:


> The crypt can probably use a fert tab under it. Mine always did well with the tabs.


I'm sorry...but I don't know what you mean by the "crypt".


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

The wide leaf plant that is having the most problem


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

ahh ok. I will try that. Thank you!


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## Arthur7 (Feb 22, 2013)

When you say the brown stalks in the first picture are previously been leaves, so it can be the Crypto Corine rot. If the conditions are not right, so Crypto Corinen can completely disintegrated. But do not despair. Do not tear out. The roots remain and drive them out again. If everything is in order again.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

Arthur7 said:


> When you say the brown stalks in the first picture are previously been leaves, so it can be the Crypto Corine rot. If the conditions are not right, so Crypto Corinen can completely disintegrated. But do not despair. Do not tear out. The roots remain and drive them out again. If everything is in order again.


I guess that's my problem. I don't know exactly what are ideal conditions for the plant(s). As I said earlier in this thread, the plants were doing GREAT. Bright green and growing very fast...as much as a couple of inches per day. I haven't changed anything. I'll be doing a water change today and getting a new light bulb. Eventually I'll upgrade to an LED as was suggested earlier.
Hopefully that will help. 

Thanks for everyone's help! I'll keep y'all posted.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

I have 3 light bulb options at my local Pet Smart.

Full spectrum, color enhancing, and plant growth. This may seem like a dumb question, but since I'm having problems with my plants, should I go with the plant growth bulb? I don't want awesome plants and dead fish. *#3


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Fish don't care about light unless you have too much.They don't need it at all.
Really try to see if any of lights have the temp listed(in Kelvin{K}).You're looking for 6,500 -10,000K.
It really may save you some money if you check out your Home depot or lowes(there is almost always one near a Petsmart.)They should have a daylight bulb that will have temp listed somewhere on it and be around $10 or less.
Otherwise I guess I would go with the plant growth bulb.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

coralbandit said:


> Fish don't care about light unless you have too much.They don't need it at all.
> Really try to see if any of lights have the temp listed(in Kelvin{K}).You're looking for 6,500 -10,000K.
> It really may save you some money if you check out your Home depot or lowes(there is almost always one near a Petsmart.)They should have a daylight bulb that will have temp listed somewhere on it and be around $10 or less.
> Otherwise I guess I would go with the plant growth bulb.


I checked Home Depot. They didn't have the 24" daylight. My step daughter is checking Lowes for me since she works there. If not, I'll grab the plant growth light at PetSmart.

Thanks for the info!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I think you may just not have enough light. Spectrum is very important, but still think you are going to be in the very low light area. You need at least two standard bulbs on there, IMHO. You can do with one, but growth rates will be so slow you will think something is wrong with them.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

jrman83 said:


> I think you may just not have enough light. Spectrum is very important, but still think you are going to be in the very low light area. You need at least two standard bulbs on there, IMHO. You can do with one, but growth rates will be so slow you will think something is wrong with them.


Growth rate started out great. Very fast. Up to a couple inches per day. Then it just stopped and the rotting and browning started.

I replaced the bulb, with a Plant Life bulb from Pet Smart. It's still the same 17w, but I was hoping somehow it would be brighter. It's not.

Are there fixtures available that will hold two T8 bulbs?

Thanks.


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## Fishtail76 (Oct 17, 2013)

There are dual T8 fixtures available but after the price of fixture plus bulbs you can probably buy a LED fixture for about the same price or maybe less. Here is a LED fixture that would probably work. I'm recommending that you buy this fixture, only showing it as an example. I'm still using T8's on my 55g tank, so I'll leave it to others who know more about what brands are good and how much light you need.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

Fishtail76 said:


> There are dual T8 fixtures available but after the price of fixture plus bulbs you can probably buy a LED fixture for about the same price or maybe less. Here is a LED fixture that would probably work. I'm recommending that you buy this fixture, only showing it as an example. I'm still using T8's on my 55g tank, so I'll leave it to others who know more about what brands are good and how much light you need.


I found the same one in 36" which is the width of my tank. I think I'll go with that unless I get some negative feedback about it here.

Thanks for the help.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

In perma thread(post) 7 Foster mentions to stay away from these lights.I believe he used to own a pet store and can personally agree that Odessa lights are short lived.
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/best-high-light-fixtures-not-butt-79417.html?highlight=beamworks
I also found this thread on TPT while searching for reviews;
Anybody ever heard of or have a BeamWorks LED fixture?


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

Ugh! The more I look the more options I'm finding. There are actually lights that can be switched from sunlight to moonlight? Is that a better option for optimal plant health?

I like the desc. of that Finnex FugeRay. It looks like I'm going to have to spend some money.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Most LEDs come with daylight and "moonbeams".
The real important to me thing is that they have their own power cord so they can be indepently run with timers.
If the fixture(whatever fixture) has only one power cord or a "rocker" switch then you will be committed to turning the light on and off manually for ever or only having one function work if you want a timer.
The moonlight is not important for plants,but is a nice feature for overall tank appearance.


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## Protues55 (Dec 26, 2013)

I've been very happy with my Current Satellite LED fixture; I use one on a standard 55 and, with seven hours a day of full spectrum, my annubias, crypts, and five Amazons are doing extremely well after six months. Plus, the moonlight setting is cool at night. Great support from the company as well.


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## Arthur7 (Feb 22, 2013)

The LED I take care of solar panel. I have a programmed clock 12V (by motorhome). Only on dark days I stick to a power supply. The battery voltage must be observed.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

Arthur7 said:


> The LED I take care of solar panel. I have a programmed clock 12V (by motorhome). Only on dark days I stick to a power supply. The battery voltage must be observed.


Solar isn't really an option for me since my tank is pretty much right in the middle of my house with no window near by to hang a panel out of.


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

Protues55 said:


> I've been very happy with my Current Satellite LED fixture; I use one on a standard 55 and, with seven hours a day of full spectrum, my annubias, crypts, and five Amazons are doing extremely well after six months. Plus, the moonlight setting is cool at night. Great support from the company as well.


That's a bout $30. less than the Finnex FugeRay I'm looking at. I'll have to compare the two. Thanks!


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## Arthur7 (Feb 22, 2013)

seacoast said:


> Solar isn't really an option for me since my tank is pretty much right in the middle of my house with no window near by to hang a panel out of.


On the roof or balcony it does not work? It is tax free here up to 10 kW. All self-build is the cheapest. Panels from China are cheap. 0,56€ pro WP


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## seacoast (Jul 23, 2014)

Arthur7 said:


> On the roof or balcony it does not work? It is tax free here up to 10 kW. All self-build is the cheapest. Panels from China are cheap. 0,56€ pro WP


Not really...unless I wanted to do the wiring. It's something for me to keep in mind in the future, though.


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