Help! E. oriental melting

[GaspingGurami]

My oriental plants were growing well 2 weeks ago, putting out a rosy pink leaf almost every week. I had them 6 mths ago as 2-inch plantlets and now they have grown to 7 or 8 inches tall.

This morning, I noticed one leaf floating at the surface. It looked perfectly alright except that the base of the leaf stalk had rotted away. Hmmm So I tugged at another healthy looking leaf and HORRORS it also came out with the same rot at the bottom.

What shall I do? I'm still dealing with my excess phosphate problem, changing water every alternate day and topping up with KNO3, LGA, baking soda and Flourish Potassium and now this

CO2 is 58 BPM (25ppm), Lights are 36 watts x 10 hrs per day for a 20 litre tank. The plants are not bubbling as well since my blunder with KH2PO4, although these orientals were blowing big bubbles from their roots.

Any advise appreciated.

[juggler]

[quote:f4f8715f="GaspingGurami"]I'm still dealing with my excess phosphate problem, changing water every alternate day and topping up with KNO3, LGA, baking soda and Flourish Potassium and now this [/quote:f4f8715f]

I think it is hard to keep track of the nutrient levels with frquent dosing of you KNO3, LGA, baking soda etc.

In my opinion, if you intend to lower the PO4 with water change, you can do that over a week or so on alternate days. Don't need to dose anything else since our tap water has NO3, Mg and Ca etc. The plants can derive their nutrients from here. Just in case all these extra dosings makes matters worse.

BTW - how are the other plants doing? Any algae problems since the excess phosphate dosing?

[GaspingGurami]

[quote:4a9605afd0="juggler"]
I think it is hard to keep track of the nutrient levels with frquent dosing of you KNO3, LGA, baking soda etc.[/quote:4a9605afd0]
Ya, I know. One round of water tests before water change, add dosing of ferts, another round of test to confirm I didn't overdose. Very shagged already.

[quote:4a9605afd0="juggler"]In my opinion, if you intend to lower the PO4 with water change, you can do that over a week or so on alternate days. Don't need to dose anything else since our tap water has NO3, Mg and Ca etc. The plants can derive their nutrients from here. Just in case all these extra dosings makes matters worse.[/quote:4a9605afd0]
I'm down to my last water change. After that, I need to figure what to do with trimming down the plants that have grown untidily.

On hindsight, I should have just turned the lights and CO2 off, plonk in an airstone, and just do daily water changes till I diluted the PO4 slick. This would have saved me all that tedious testing and dosing, and would have halfed the time to get the tank back within acceptable parameters.

[quote:4a9605afd0="juggler"]BTW - how are the other plants doing? Any algae problems since the excess phosphate dosing?[/quote:4a9605afd0]
BBA growth on nana leaves have coated them with a black layer like peach-fuzz.

And my misguided efforts of increasing lighting intensity when the plants were not bubbling, caused a growth of some kind of Cladophora together with green filamentous algae on the tops of the bogwood which I have tied a mix of Riccia and Java moss. I think I'll leave these on to grow as IMO, it makes the bogwood look rather good and natural. (mebbe I have bad taste )

Green and some black spot algae have also coated some of the leaves of E.tennelus, L.repens and E.oriental.

Throughout my tank's mis-adventures, the single undisputed champion whose resistance to algae remains un challenged is the Banana Plant. When BBA infected my tank, it stayed clean. When green algae is taking over the tank, it still stayed clean. In fact, with the excess PO4, it seems to be putting out too many beautiful floating leaves. It is the only Red plant I have managed to grow. Well, OK, it's almost red. The undersides of those floating leaves are red.

[juggler]

Sounds bad with so many types of algae.

I also realised your 36W over 20L tank is very high lighting. It's like 6W/g. Usually we use about 3W/g.

Try having some fast growing plants like Frogbits, Salvinia, Hornwort to soak up the excess nutrients. The floating plants can also help block excess light.

[GaspingGurami]

[quote:528025f1="juggler"]Sounds bad with so many types of algae.[/quote:528025f1] Well, it's a good learning exercise anyway. Afterall, isn't experience made up of the sum of our mistakes?

[quote:528025f1="juggler"]I also realised your 36W over 20L tank is very high lighting. It's like 6W/g. Usually we use about 3W/g.[/quote:528025f1] Ya, I know. It's not so much for the plants but for me. Kinda night blindness U know, I used to have an 18 watt lamp, but it is too dim for me to see clearly especially behind the tall stem plants, so I put on this lamp instead.

It would be ideal if I can use MH just for viewing, and 18watt PL for growing. But the MH will be around the same size as my tank!

[quote:528025f1="juggler"]Try having some fast growing plants like Frogbits, Salvinia, Hornwort to soak up the excess nutrients. The floating plants can also help block excess light.[/quote:528025f1]
I did have a floating Ceratopteris thalictroides plant to soak up the excess nutrients once. I thought I would lift it off when I want to view my tank, then return it to do its work when I'm done. I heard that the Ceratopteris is able to quickly remove excess nutrients. Bad idea. Fast growing plant is an understatement. Multiplying like a virus is more like what I've experienced

Each time I lift it off, I'd break or damage some of its very fragile leaves. These broken leaves will then form new plants which will have more fragile leaves to break....etc In almost no time, the tank's surface is covered such that there is lack of space for fish feeding The leaves even started to grow emersed from the surface. I shudder at the thought that some of these leaves should happen to find their way into our ponds and reservoirs. To those I gave my excess thalictroides to, I keep reminding them: If U dun want this plant anymore, dun throw into longkang. Give to LFS or boil it before discarding