My 2ft Rescape Journal

[aquarius]

Hi everyone, i'm doing a journal of my new setup, this time using soil with most of the same plants and a few additional ones later on. The placement of the plants or rather the scape will be about the same as my previous 2ft tank http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...5-My-2ft-Setup
The reason why i'm doing this is because i had a similar looking scaped 3ft tank using most of the same plants as my previous 2ft tank and because they just didn't thrive despite my best efforts, the scape didn't turn out the way i wanted. So this time round i hope i'll have better luck using soil.

Tank (braceless) - 2ft (L) x 30cm (W) x 38cm (H)
Filter - Eheim Ecco 2231
Substrate - ADA Amazonia New
Light - 1 x 36W PL tube (DIY)
Duration of Light - 8hrs a day
CO2 - No

The substrate for this setup is my poor-man's ADA substrate setup. Instead of using ADA's Power Sand Special, i opted to use Lava Rocks which i broke down into smaller pieces for the bacteria to colonise. I only use about 3/4 of the pack.



As for the black soil like substance on the Power Sand, i used Baxter Aquatic Plant Organic Fert since i believe it's probably organic soil. It comes in a pack of 10 sachets. I only use 2 sachets to roughly springle over the lava rocks. Come to think of it, i should have added 3 sachets for more power.





And instead of using the usual ADA's “starter kit” for the base substrate, i used mulm from the previous 2ft tank to seed the Lava Rocks with bacteria. I also didn't use any Penac W because if the plants are growing and rooting well, there probably won't be any anaerobic situations. As for Penac P, the reason why i didn't use is because it's probably some powdered form of macro ferts which i believe the ADA soil and organic fert already has.

[aquarius]

I poured some water onto the soil before planting but i accidentally poured in the water too fast and stirred up the soil. It became sooo very muddy that i can't even see the crypts that i was planting into in the soil.

Anyway, i topped up the water slowly and luckily it turned out ok though the water surface was very dirty.


And 2hrs later.....


Unbelieveable.... From what i understand, Amazonia New is supposed to have all the good properties of Amazonia 1, minus the drawbacks.

[edw7636]

haha you could have just use the big red plastic bag which are common to cover then pour in the water. Those plastic bag easy to get haha but anyway nice setup and hope everything goes smooth

[aquarius]

It didn't occur to me to use the plastic bag since i thought i'll be careful when pouring in the water. Bad idea.....

[aquarius]

On day 3 of my setup, all my crypts melt off completely.


By day 5, even my stem plant also dying.




I added in 8 teaspoonful of Sodium Bicarbonate on the 4th day of setup and changed the PL tube to a new one on the 5th day.

Previously my Kh should be around 0 or 1dkh before adding in Sodium Bicarbonate. I'm not sure how much is it now but i believe it should be about 2 or 3dkh. Please help me identify what's the problem cos i've never had crypts melting completely on me before. Very Frustrating.....

[magpie]

Could it be your lighting. Previously do you also use 1 PL tube 36w for your Crypt?

[aquarius]

Previously i also use 1 x 36W PL tube which was from my previous 2ft tank setup and is already 1yr old. My previous tank height is 30cm (12inch) and my new tank's height is now it's 38cm (15inch).

[marimo]

hmm seems that your version of power sand, power rock + baxter fert didnt work?

the melting looks like when you add plant into tap water, and there's no content in the water and the plant just collapse
I mean if there's insufficient light, it wont collapsed and melt like this ..

lets see

i believe it's probably organic soil

You sure not organic waste?
the baxter fert says 1 satchel for 200-300 litres
you used double dosage, contains humic acid
whats your ph level now? off chart?

Amazonia kick start ammonia, probably 5ppm
will the fertilizer release ammonia?
check ammonia level.
too much ammonia may kill the plant

I guess the later

[aquarius]

The baxter fert says in it's packaging that it's organic fert for aquatic plants, so i think it should be safe. Not sure if "over-fertilizing" the substrate will kill the crypts and stem plants but my Echinodorus looks ok and is growing new leaves. I believe the ADA soil and the baxter organic soil will release ammonia, maybe like what you say that's one of the reason?

I'm not sure about the ph or kh cos don't have any test kit now, but based on my experience from before when i had test kits, my tap water's Kh is 1 or 2dkh with the Ph at around 6.8 - 7. With ADA's Ph lowering capabilities, i believe the Ph and Kh will definately be very much lower. I would like to check whether do people with ADA soil substrate need to add Sodium Bicarbonate into their tank to buffer the water? I mean maybe there is not enough Kh to buffer the water causing the melt?? Experts please advice......

[Shadow]

by right you should not need to add Sodium Bicarbonate. Even if you add it will drop to less than 1 again, its the ADA feature, no need to worry about.

[aquarius]

Thanks for the info. Based on the info i provided on my tank, you have any idea why my crypts are melting off completely especially the also hardy stem plant Ludwigia? Today i took out 2 stocks of Ludwigia from the tank and it looks like it died and not melted away as previously thought.

[fireblade]

maybe the crypts are adapting to the new environment?
new soil new fert and new water? also is your tank new??

[marimo]

from wiki

A phenomenon often encountered when planting new crypts in an aquarium is commonly called Crypt melt, whereby the plant loses all its leaves. There seem to be two possible causes for this.
Rapid environmental changes is thought to trigger this, as these plants don't seem to adapt well to transplantion, and may need thirty days or so to become established and for the leaves to regrow. Experienced growers report that it is better to plant crypts in aquariums that have been established for at least three months

new water syndrome ?
either they adapt or they fall...

[felix_fx2]

Thanks for the info. Based on the info i provided on my tank, you have any idea why my crypts are melting off completely especially the also hardy stem plant Ludwigia? Today i took out 2 stocks of Ludwigia from the tank and it looks like it died and not melted away as previously thought.

1: DIY PL tube? So it is a new PL tube? I used 36W x 2, felt similar.. like light does not penetrate strong enough, but it's felt that way no fact since my glosso and other plants like water wistera grew still.
2: same experience with my 1st try on crypts, all leaves rot. as long as rhizomes intact and light is ok. good chance the plant can adapt to the new enviroment.
3: Stem plant, cause may be the 1st point i mention. Sidetrack abit, how come it's stem is like disco mode. hee

[aquarius]

Thanks fireblade and marimo for the inputs.... Yes it is a new tank with fresh dechlorinated tap water. I've kept crypts in previous setups before using fresh dechlorinated tap water and have never had my crypts melt off Completely before that's why i was very concerned when i see it happening. Usually some of their leaves melt off but never completely..... Btw earlier today when i went to clear away some of the badly melted leaves, i noticed that the bigger crypts are starting to have small green shoots coming up. 2 of the small crypts at the front are also exhibiting some signs of life.

[aquarius]

1: DIY PL tube? So it is a new PL tube? I used 36W x 2, felt similar.. like light does not penetrate strong enough, but it's felt that way no fact since my glosso and other plants like water wistera grew still.
I initially thought it could be the lights and since the height of my tank is now 38cm instead of 30cm, the possibility was very high that not enough light was able to penetrate and get to the crypts especially the stem plant. But i later ruled that out because the rot/melt didn't just occur at the bottom part of the stem plant, it also melted off at the top of the plant as can be seen in the pic. I also changed to a new Osram tube but that didn't help either

2: same experience with my 1st try on crypts, all leaves rot. as long as rhizomes intact and light is ok. good chance the plant can adapt to the new enviroment.
I'm starting to see some signs of life liao. Anwyway, i'm glad to have some assurances

3: Stem plant, cause may be the 1st point i mention. Sidetrack abit, how come it's stem is like disco mode. hee
The stem plants were in a disco mode because i left them floating in another tank without much lights for about 2 or 3days. When i finally planted them, they stayed that way n started dying. Maybe they enjoyed disco so much until they died for exhaustion.

[aquarius]

Managed to get some plants that i wanted on 22nd Dec. The stem plant in the centre is only there temporarily. Will remove it once the stem plant behind the wood grows and establishes itself.



The below is the crypts regrowing after the melt. The back of the tank with the bigger crypts seems to grow back faster while the front smaller crypts are taking a much slower time to grow leaves. Hope the front crypts will regrow faster and fill up the front.

[felix_fx2]

Wonderful update. Seems that all is well and the crypts are doing pretty good.

[aquarius]

About a week after i planted the Vallis, quite a number of leaves are melting from the bottom part of the leaves. I also noticed 3 or 4 leaves melting from the top part but their bottom part looks ok. Btw i planted the Vallis quite close to each other, so i'm wondering whether is it because the light is not getting down to the bottom part of the leaves?? If this is so, why did some leaves melt at the top one quarter instead of the bottom??

I also noticed that the Ludwigia in the centre seem to be doing better than the ones behind the wood. The centre ludwigia did not shed any leaves and the bottom part of the stem is growing shoots while the ones behind the wood shed some leaves and did not have any shoots growing. Looks like a clear sign that not enough lights is penetrating down in this case.

[Tony]

Crypt do not like to be shifted, so the melting and rebirth is normal especially going into a new tank. No need to worry, just be patient and give it time. Do spread the vallis a bit to give it room for light and growth. Good luck.