Unable to grow foreground plants, even E.TENELLUS!! help :)

[leslens]

Hi guys, a brief introduction is necessary since im new to this forum.

Always been an amateur in fish keeping esp aquascaping if i dare mention the word

Recently started a low tech no C02 3ftx1.5x1.5 tank

Background plants
1. cabomba
2. ? tiger lotus
3. java
4. nana

foreground plants
1. the red plants ?? name ??
2. E.tenellus

i started planting 80% of the foreground with e.tenellus as i read that they do not require c02 to survive and will grow. However, in my tank they sorta just decline slowly, turning brown at the tips first and then melting away

a pic one month ago :


other things
ph 6.5
temperature 28degrees celsius mostly
lighting t5 22Wx4 dymax lights
external canister jebao 304 1200l/hr
fauna : 50 cardinals 50 henjel rasboras 6congos 4 red eye tetras 3 clown loaches 2 otos 1 suckerfish
substrate: normal cheap brown sand from polyart (not sure wat this is called but its rec by the uncle there, same sand as the one he uses. Its not branded nor issit fertilised or "enriched" sand)


the tenellus started melting and hence i removed them as i believed the slow decay was destroying my water parameters....

[leslens]

anyhow, the other plans are doing fine,

here is a another update, i added ocean free red gravel and retried planting tenellus and again failed

as u can see i have a bunch on the right, but they just remain there and turn yellow......


my questions are
1. can i grow tenellus w/o c02 ?
2. if so, do i need better substrate ? like ADA ones??
3. do i need to use fertiliser?

im so sorry and would be thankful if someone can shed some answers esp on how vital fertilisers are!! those liquid powder stuff i see pple keep mentioning.

[oblivion]

how long was it between when you started the tank and removed the tenellus?

tenellus sold in lfs are usually in emersed state
so browning and melting of leaves is normal as part of the conversion process
once they adapt and convert to submersed state, they will spread runners and grow quickly

[leslens]

shall i buy more foreground e.tenellus
and this time try to grow them with liquid fertilisers?

just some more random pictures of my tank

[leslens]

how long was it between when you started the tank and removed the tenellus?

tenellus sold in lfs are usually in emersed state
so browning and melting of leaves is normal as part of the conversion process
once they adapt and convert to submersed state, they will spread runners and grow quickly

well i left the initial plot b4 i added the red substrate for perhaps 2-3 weeks, no runners

this small clump was added 1 week ago?

do i need to dose fertilisers?
wat is the likely problem?
thank you

[Shadow]

How many watt is your light? If your light about 3W/galon then yes you need to dose fertilisers.

[StanChung]

With so many plants in there competing for CO2 or source of carbon, it's not surprising, some of the plants don't do well. Try supplementing CO2 to see the difference.

[Jungle-mania]

If you are not keen getting CO2 canister, you can do away with seachem excel to give it a dose of CO2. IMO, if I have to say you should never mix your gravel, With Lapis sand, you will have to remove them and wash them thoroughly every 2 years.

[StanChung]

Personally I'd take out the non-aquatic plants that's on the right and plant the in your garden instead! Addition of CO2 or carbon will definitely be appreciated the plants.

[vinz]

Actually, I would say your tank is pretty nicely laid out.

I think some of us had a hard time finding your tank info. I'll summarise it here:
- Tank size: 3'x1.5'x1.5', approx 180litres, 45USG.
- Lights: 22W T5 x 4, approx 1.8WPG.
- No CO2

Now, regarding your foreground plants.
- What other foreground plants have your tried?
- What are you using for fertilisers and how often and how much do you dose each time?
- Are you using anything below the substrate?
- Are you dosing anything else to compensate for the lack of CO2?

If you are doing a low-tech tank sans CO2, I suggest you get Sagittarius subulata, or some short cryptocorynes. Also use Flourish Excel in place of the CO2.