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Thread: re: plants rotting at base? etc... pls help newbie

  1. #1
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    re: plants rotting at base? etc... pls help newbie

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    hi all,

    i'm a newbie to planted tanks and i would like to know about what could be the possible cause of my plants rotting at the base of the stem or where the leaves connect to the stem.

    ie. the stem turns a translucent, jelly-like stuff b4 breaking off the parent plant. i also encounter frequent sheeding of plant leaves even a week or more after the plants has been introduced into the tank.

    i usually leave my plants as i bought them. (ie. in their pots or attached to their original driftwood)

    i understand that CO2 fertilization is required but i'm currently unable to afford a full set-up for a 2 ft tank. are there any alternatives available to me? what else do i need to get?

    i have 01x 36W Aqualux (10k & PG combi) on for ~11h a day. my tank consists of mainly a neutral-mild acidic pH, community of tetras filtered with an Eheim 2213 w/ submerged spray bar.

    i currently have a variety of plants( eg. red cabomba, mushroom anubias-like plant(?), Java ferns etc.

    all suffer from yellowing at the edges of the leaves, frequent shedding of leaves and rotting stems/ leaves.

    any help and advice rendered is much appreciated
    4ft (55 gal) African Rift Valley Tank
    Eheim 2229

  2. #2
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    that sure sounds like insufficient nutrient or less probably insufficient light.

    any base fert??

  3. #3
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    nope.....

    heh,this may sound corny but i only rely on Geo-Liquid and the high bio-load to provide the nutrients?

    20% water change twice a week w/ gravel vacuuming.

    fish include
    04x cardinals
    04x colombian tetras
    04x harlequins
    01x keyhole cichlid
    01x albino cory
    02x zebra loach
    01x skunk loach
    01x clawed frog

    no other additives or medications

    thx
    4ft (55 gal) African Rift Valley Tank
    Eheim 2229

  4. #4
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    You bioload is still not every high, suggest u can try some fertilization.
    Cheers!

    Benetay

  5. #5
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    May I know what plants are melting? I would strongly suggest that you remove the plants from the pot and give thema good rince b4 you plant them. The mineral wool is quite poisonous and also it is very high in nutrients may encourage algae growth.

    You can actually try DIY Co2 using sugar + yeast fermentation. Very cheap but it will be abit messy.

    For lighting, the general guide is 3W per gallon. So if you tank dimension is 60 X 45 X 30cm, you would need about 2X36W of light.
    Cheers!!

    Sherwin Choo
    [email protected]

  6. #6
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    hi,

    thx for the advice. it's the case in general, whatever floats up in the morning has a rotted stem.

    but now having removed my plants from the pots and wool, my plants just can't seem to stay firmly planted in my pea gravel. ~1 in. thick.

    worse of all, most of the shoots do not have roots and i'm really at a loss at how to firmly anchor them in the gravel. ie. onli a thin pathetic stem w/o a single root hair.

    i have to forcibly thrust them in at an angle to allow enough levergae by the weight of the gravel. but now my plants are growing slanted out of the gravel

    any thots and how to anchor them firmly in this case?

    thanx
    4ft (55 gal) African Rift Valley Tank
    Eheim 2229

  7. #7
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    Oh... the gravel is a bit to big for planted tanks. Most planted tanks gravel are abt 2~3mm grains. Do you know what species of plants are dying?
    Cheers!!

    Sherwin Choo
    [email protected]

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    hi, agree that bioload is not high enough to provide nutrients for the plants. need to fertilize...

    gravel need to be 2-3mm size and at least 1.5inch thick in order for plants to stay down, from my experience.

    in my old 2ft tank, light only 15w but i used liquid fertilizer and my bioload was pretty high then.[:0] []

    good luck!
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  9. #9
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    If you do not want to replace all your gravel, you can use containers containing the prescribed gravel requirements to plant. However, you'll need to give the plants ample space for root growth. Errr... as a guesstimate, at least 2 inches worth of gravel around the borders of the 'forest'.

    You either place the containers into your existing gravel, or decorate exposed sides with more gravel, stones or wood.

    How are the plants on the driftwood doing?
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    ----------------

    i have to forcibly thrust them in at an angle to allow enough levergae by the weight of the gravel. but now my plants are growing slanted out of the gravel

    ----------------
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