New to the hobby and need a little help please

[Ollie2]

Hi

I started a 10G tank about 2 weeks ago. So far some plants show new growth and at the same time massive melt while others just plain massive melt.

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After spending lot of time reading about plant deficiencies on the internet trying to pin point the cause, I honestly can't tell what it is. It has become all very confusing and nutrient, CO2 and light deficiency all look very much the same to me. By posting yet another thread asking for help I am hoping that someone with more experience can give me some advice.

The tank is 20" x 10" x 12" lit by a Marineland Double Bright 18" - 24" LED fixture which has been reported as emitting 30 PAR at 12" from source. The lights go on at 2 pm and go off at 9 pm. CO2 is injected using a ceramic diffuser and drop checker is bright green. The solenoid opens at 12 pm and shuts off at 9 pm. Macros (dry) are added at night after the lights go out and micros (Seachem Flourish) the next morning according to the EI dosing guide (3x week). Substrate is Aqua soil + Power sand, inert sand and some seriyu stones.

Ph is 7.2, GH is 12 and KH is 7. Temperature is over 86F due to a heat wave where I live.
The plants are Ludwigia Arcuata, Ranunculus Inundatus, Dwarf Hair Grass, Java Fern, Anubias Petit, Moss and some Rotala Indica. Most of the Rotala has completely melted, the L. Arcuata has its stems turning brown, the Ranunculus has new growth but half of the same plant may be melting at the same time, the DHG clumps are just turning yellowish transparent and the fern leaves are turning brown.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Htomassini]

For one having experience with high temp tanks, there are few plants that do well with 86f. That is way high for most plants. Swords and crypts and anubias can handle 84f. Can you put a fan to blow across the top to cool off the water even by a couple of degrees?

Also what is your gh?



Henry tomassini
www.theplantedaquariumstore.com
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Ollie2]

Thanks for the reply Henry.

The GH in the tank is 12 although it comes out of the tap at 7. I supposed the seiryu stones are boosting it. The high temperature that wasn't part of the original plan but AC stopped working a few days ago.

Is it the temperature what's killing my plants?

 

[aquabillpers]

Hi,

It's not unusual for some plants to die in a new tank during the first few weeks. It happens in the best of households.
You should replace the dying ones with different ones.

Once plants are established, they can withstand high temperatures for short periods. Mine have done well with the tank temperature in the 90's for several days.

Are you sure that the plants are getting enough light?

You might consider getting rid of that stone, if it is dissolving and adding minerals to your tank.

Good luck!

Bill

 

[Ollie2]

It's not unusual for some plants to die in a new tank during the first few weeks. It happens in the best of households.

Thanks Bill. That gave me some hope.

I learned today from another thread in this forum that the high temperature can accelerate the plants' metabolism so maybe it is nutrient deficiency. On the other hand I increased the amount of CO2 and got a somewhat yellowish green/murky yellow color (I think) in the drop checker but it is really difficult to say... So I am not sure anymore if the CO2 levels before were enough for the plants. In other words, I am not sure anymore what is a 30ppm green when there are so many shades of green. I took out the dead plants today and it was really easy to pull out the L. Arcuata because the bottom part would let go the top really easy. Also, the Ranunculus has black spots on their stems... It may be light deficiency as well...

It is sad to see the plants struggle when they were so healthy at first...

Where do I start trying to fix this mess?

 

[Ollie2]

So I am upgrading my light fixture to something with more PAR. Hopefully it will give me more uniform spread and PAR. Also added the spray bar to the filter output. I found another thread saying that surface film is not good for the O2/CO2 exchange. When I checked my tank water's surface I could see bubbles trapped. They looked like a Betta fish nest...