tips on keeping plant alive?

T

TheWire

Members
I have some question about my luck with plants. I have never has any luck keeping plants more than 1 month. Slowly , they all died....rooting away...what have I done wrong? They all slowly turn brownish, kind of rotting away and then die!

I am using the CF lights. How long do I should have it on daily? How about dosage on excel?

planted or floating ...I have failed both kind!
 
iamzrad

iamzrad

Members
Do you dose? Do you have C02? Do you have ferts, or a substrate mixture?
Tank size and watts on lights?
 
BevN

BevN

Members
I've fought the same problem for a long time. Can keep fish just fine but plants were a challange.

I changed my substrate and mixed in the flourite...expensive so I went half and half. Hubby rewired my cheapo lights to overdrive them. You can just do a search on the net and find the directions. I added plant tabs into the substrate. I tried the flourish excel but it melted my vals....I didn't know that was why till I read that somewhere else.

Then just added a crap load of fish. In a 125 I have about 60 cardinals, 50 or so marble hatchets, 40-50 green neons, a few dozen pygmy cories, a dozen habrosus cories, 12 parotocinclus, 10 pencils. I plan on adding about 24 or so rummy nose tetras and maybe some red phantoms. That should fill it up.

I also picked out some easier to keep plants. I have marble queen swords, crypts, tons of anubias of different types, a few types of java jern including a trident that was given to me, and three different types of mosses.

Initially some of the plants up and melted away but all have come back. My biggest problem now is keeping the babies from the sword in check so they don't block the light from the lower plants. That and that darn duckweed that found it's way in there.
 
T

TheWire

Members
Ya, I only add those flourish stuffs from Seachem but I do not dose it daily. Also I have HOB on those tank and I do have some fish too in the tank? I do not use any CO2 either also I am just using regular gravel with iron induced. I have also failed floating plant !
 
K

krisw

Members
You mentioned using CF lights, but not how many watts, or what type of bulb they are, i.e., cool white, daylight, 6500K, 10000K, etc... If even you're floating plants are dying, it's likely insufficient light, or a type of bulb that won't grow plants (cool white).
 
M

mrkillie

Members
Seems like your biggest problem is that you are relying on luck :)

Seriously though, I had similar results until I put my lights on timers to ensure that the plants would get at least 10 hrs of light/day, and I guess I actually have them set for about 11-12 hrs/day now. I also changed my rooted plants to flourite as the substrate (all potted) and my plants have done pretty well since. I just use cool white flourescent bulbs, so no special lighting. I use a twin-bulb reflector or 2 singles for plants that need higher light requirements, but for java moss, anubias, and other low light plants a single strip is fine.

One last thing-I had read somewhere to remove the potting fiber from those potted plants as soon as possible after getting the plants, so I always did and always lost those plants. The last potted plants I got, about 4 month or so ago, I kept that fibrous stuff on the plant and just buried it in the flourite, and the plants are doing great.

Joel
 
T

TheWire

Members
I am using a 6500k light CF bulb. I am not sure what kind. I think I may not run it for more than 8 hours daily may be the culprit
 
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