Rescaped tank, moss turns brown

[hiisoka]

Due to multiple mistakes made earlier
most probably due to overdose of fertilizer. There was a huge algae bloom.
BBA, GSA, staghorn algae and other hair algae you name it. The situation
got out of control so i took the opportunity to clean up everything,
filter / new soil / new pipes and hose.


Rescaped my tank on x'mas eve.
into this:



Everything was good, the cycling process was moving well. But i ran into a problem.
The fissidens and spiky/taiwan moss all turned brown!!!






and also this plant which i presume is HM.
A few stalks have leaves turning pale /translucent.




i did my water tests to see how far into the cycling process my tank is currently in.


lighting duration: 8hrs
water temperature: 25-26degrees celsius
ph: 6.6 when co2 was present
early morning before i go to work , ph reading was about 7.2
gh: whopping 25ppm (25 drops before it changes color, API test kit)
kh: 7ppm

ammonia: 1ppm
nitrite: 1ppm
nitrate: 5ppm






i tried and narrowed down the possibilities

1.I read up on nutrient deficiency in plants. And i thought this could be because of lack of potassium in the water. i've since started dosing seachem potassium but low dosage.


i also did my first dose of fertilizer which i was reluctant to use initially, because i felt i caused the algae bloom earlier when i overdosed this:

and also seachem iron (because i was very eager, maybe too eager to see my mayaca fluviatilis in my previous setup become greener. probably caused the algae bloom. silly mistake )





2. Could it be the moss/fissiden/hm are acclimating to the new water conditions?
In the previous setup, the mayaca i planted were turning brown and brittle initially. After a few weeks of trimming, they started growing new shoots very quickly and became a healthier looking whitish green color.
the moss and other plants in my office nano tank certainly supports this possibility. As i largely left it alone except for partial water changes, the minifissiden turn from a dying brown into dark green again. And also the moss are turning green and starting to grow new fronds


3. Could it also be due to the excessively high GH reading? i was quite astounded that my tank water was this hard. 25ppm!?
What could have cause this high reading? I tried water change but the reading remains high. Is it The sand? rocks?


Sorry for the long read, i was trying to provide as much information as possible.
So i can get help from you guys.

So my main questions are:

1. In this situation. Will the moss/fissiden turn green again? should i leave them alone or prune the dead parts away? As much as possible i wouldnt want to do any
major shifting as im quite happy with the current layout.

2. What parameters should i try to adjust and how and how much?

3. Should i continue dosing fertilizer? Or which fertilizer should i dose more
or stop completely?


Please help me!!!!

Thanks everyone!

[ciaossu]

Hi first of all, very nice scape. i think probably it's the moss acclimating to the new environment. maybe wait for a week more to see any improvement before you dose more things? sometimes trying hard to fix things will make the situation worse. just my point of view

[hiisoka]

Thanks for the great advice bro, it seems a little patience goes a long way



mini update:
i'm starting to see some green creeping out from the mosses!!
only the rock in this picture, stil very brown, i have since trimmed off the excessive "dead" brown
parts.



even new hydrocotyle leaves are starting from the soil!



cycling: almost done with the cycling process
ammonia: 0ppm
nitrite: almost 0ppm
nitrate: 5ppm
kh: 7ppm
dh: still a whopping 25ppm.

i have reading of 4ppm gh on my tapwater though.


do i need to soften the water using water softener?
because i done some researching on the fauna i would like to keep
and i found most need soft acidic water.

for the fauna:
i intend to keep 10 corydoras hastatus
6 bee/crystal red shrimps
2 zebra otos

the bioload should be low.
water change regime would likely be once every 3-4 days (about 15% water)

please advise whether this is sufficient?
Thanks!

[ciaossu]

great, please update regularly haha , hmm since your PH is 6.6 shouldn't be a problem for the fauna.

[Shadow]

Something not right with your setup. How much bps you inject? Your kh too high, which such high kh you must have inject lots of co2 to pull ph down to 6.6 from 7.2. Your gh also too high, is the white sand coral sand? IMO plant not do well in hih kh.

[hiisoka]

after reading up and looking for pictures. i think the white sand is indeed coral sand
oh my god.

currently ph is around 6.6(evening after whole day of co2 injection) 6.8 (in the morning before i switch on the co2)
co2 at around 1-2bps
kh reading is stabilized at 6. is that still high?

i have oyster shell chips in my canister filter to act as ph buffer as well. should i remove them?
will removing the white sand help? but then again is there any possible way to
adjust the gh lower without removing all the coral sand? (abit impossible )
i read about the water softener pillow thing, is that a feasible option?

yet to add in any livestock. although cycling process is almost over.

[Shadow]

impossible it will be pulling game, softener will pulling it down while coral chip will pulling it up.

[hiisoka]

so the only way left is i really need to remove all the coral sand?

[hiisoka]

Update:

Removed almost all of the coral sand. Probably only negligible amount here and there. Removed oyster shells in the canister
As well.

Kh dropped to 3
Ph at 6.6 to 7

Gh dropped from the whopping 25
To around 15-16
Probably the rocks are also contributing to
The gh. Im hoping to reduce the gh to stabilise
At 10 or less.

But I want the water parameters to be constant.
Rather than having to interfere every now and then.

Im thinking of stocking up bottled distilled water
For water change purposes. I really hope I can keep
Crs and corydoras hastatus in this setup.