# Why are plants dying?



## BlueHaven (Jul 17, 2010)

Meh!!!!
>__m
I have no idea what the face is supposed to be, i'm just upset. 
lol

I bought Water wisteria and duckweed not long ago from petsmart. They looked great, except the wisteria had brown ends where there was no leaves. I added seachem flourish excel a couple times, but not everyday.
The Temperature is 82 degrees, I had an indian almond leaf in it along with jungle fungus clear. 
The water wisteria looks like it's melting, or just dying. The leaves begin to turn brown and they appear see through.
The duckweed is turning white and dying.
My other plants are doing fine.
I have a 10 watt bulb.

Can changing temps quickly and ph changes bother them?


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## BlueHaven (Jul 17, 2010)

Lol.
It is supposed to say why are my plants dying?!
That was a mistake.


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## Thunderloon (Feb 6, 2011)

You have to re-tip the stems and plant them then leave the lights off.
Re-tipping means cutting the dead sections off under water so no air gets into them.


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## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

My wisteria kind of did that too...But after awhile it started to sprout some bright green side shoots so I pinched them off and planted..They're doing alright now..I only use nutrafin grow plant nutrients...No co2...Theres some plants I just cant keep alive though...trial an error I guess...haha...I have learned to stop buying anacharis now..Anacharis doesnt last a week in my tanks...I think it has alot to do with temperature for anacharis though...... /o:

What sort of kelvin rating does the light bulb have?


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

Your water might be very different than the water they were grown in. Wisteria has two kinds of leaves, too- so maybe its shedding the one kind for the other (which is better suited for your tank?)

Mine kinda do that. I just trim them off and they grow back.

82' is also pretty high for all of those plants, so try and lower it a little. Its at the max end of the spectrum.


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## sayurasem (Nov 20, 2010)

i have a question, i have two 50/50 10watts fluorescent lights for my 10gal tank.
so do i have 20watts total or still 10 watts because each bulb is 10???
help appreciate it.


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## DormDrax (Dec 1, 2010)

PewPewPew said:


> Your water might be very different than the water they were grown in. Wisteria has two kinds of leaves, too- so maybe its shedding the one kind for the other (which is better suited for your tank?)
> 
> Mine kinda do that. I just trim them off and they grow back.
> 
> 82' is also pretty high for all of those plants, so try and lower it a little. Its at the max end of the spectrum.


My Wysteria had the land leaves for the LONGEST time... only recently has it gotten it's lazy green butt into gear and started growing those pretty sorta spiky leaves. 

......... 

As for who mentioned Anacharis... Good... good... Anacharis is an evil plant that did nothing but cause me a breakdown months ago when it (A week after I had gotten it) sent out thousands of little mysterious white spores (that did nothing in the end) but ... I was still new to this so... yeah anyway I only have one teeny little Anacharis stem left, it's... Jeese I almost think it's fake >.> It's only 2 inches long, has a long root sticking from it, and is sorta tangled into one of my hornworts. Never grows, never dies... just... sits... (I think it's plotting). 

As for the topic maker.........

Just get a bunch of Java ferns and Anubias plants they are pretty much immortal......... slow growing.... but immortal.


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

LOlol drax coming in from no where! XD

The lights question,20.
But please dont hijack threads!


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## BlueHaven (Jul 17, 2010)

Haha
Thank you for all the help!

Thunderloon:
I did that! BUT I didn't do that to all of them and I cut them outside the water. o_o
I re-cut them underwater. I did not use any scissors, but my finger nails to snip them. Is that alright?
lol

Littlebittyfish:
I don't know the kelvin on it...I don't know how to figure that out.
But the brand is lightsofamerica, I got it from walmart in the fish section!
I think I need to replace it...

Pewpewpew:
Oh, yea. When I got them they had big leaves, now they are growing smaller ones.
I just turned the temp to as low as it can get, which will probably be 78 degrees. 

I love java ferns and the anubias nana.


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## BlueHaven (Jul 17, 2010)

Can I let the wisteria float?
If I put them into the gravel, they will just come back out during a water change, because of the current. 
I only have an inch of substrate..?


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

Omg, mine do it too. Its annoying. Bury deep and use the surrounding gravel to help, steal some away from other areas.

It can float, but does better in the substrate. Its a little hard to swim through, so not too much floating.


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## BlueHaven (Jul 17, 2010)

Oh, okay!
Thanks. ^__^


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

One of the biggest reasons for aquatic plants to fail...are the lights....or better said...wrong lights....proper lighting is the driving force behind successful planted tank...not only the proper light but the age of the light bulb and the photoperiod......

What you can see and what the plant can use for energy are two different things...

You want daylight bulbs with a kelvin rating of 6500-6700k......daylight bulbs are usually what they are called...watts are just for a general guideline and really don't have anything to do with plant growth per se'......

Photoperiod-for live plants- you need to start with 10h/day and increase to 12h/day based on plant growth and algae...its a balance....the plants have to out-compete the algae for light and nutrients....if you start seeing algae-increase the photoperiod to help the plants grow better.....too short a photoperiod and you can trick the plants into thinking the season has changed and they may go dormant, die or growth will slow and algae will take over.....and in some cases it can help the plant flower....but that another issue....lol.....

Too old light bulb-you may be able to see but the plants can't use the light for energy and growth-as the bulbs age the intensity/spectrum changes and this impedes photosynthesis....bulb need to be changed every 6 months if on a 12/h/day photoperiod and yearly if on 10/h/day photoperiod......

You also have the plastic or glass between the light and water that can hamper light penetration.....this needs to be removed or kept cleaned and free of debris.....

Check your light and make sure they are the proper kelvin, age, clean the plastic/glass between the lights/water, stop the excel (this can melt weak and/or sensitive plants), increase photoperiod to 10/h/d or if already on 10/h/d increase to 12/h/d, make 25% water changes 3 times a week....you can let the plants float or bury in the substrate-in shallow substrate use a rock on top of the stem to keep it submersed until roots form to anchor.......

Another big reason for planted tank failure is using non-aquatic plants......


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Also, if the bioload on your tank is only light, than there may not be enough nutrients available in the water column for your plants. If you're only dosing Excel, you might be deficient in either macro (Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphates) or micro (trace) elements. Duckweed often absorb a lot of nutrients from the water, and it, along with other fast-growing stems are often the first plants to indicate a deficiency. 

I'd recommend picking up a small bottle of Seachem Flourish, although dosing Seachem Potassium alongside it is recommended. Fertilizers can be a limiting factor in the growth of plants. No matter how much lighting you run or for how long, if there are no nutrients available to your plants they won't grow.


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## sayurasem (Nov 20, 2010)

Oldfishlady said:


> One of the biggest reasons for aquatic plants to fail...are the lights....or better said...wrong lights....proper lighting is the driving force behind successful planted tank...not only the proper light but the age of the light bulb and the photoperiod......
> 
> What you can see and what the plant can use for energy are two different things...
> 
> ...



so if i have 50/50 light bulbs... can you tell me what the "actinic 420 phosphor" does?
or 50/50 lights are just ripoff? (but my tank looks 2x better than fluorescent alone).

+ i never turn off my light bulb. so its been on 24/7 for about 1 and a half week and yet still my corkscrew val is browning. so turning off my light for at least 12hrs is a must?


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## kumi (Apr 23, 2011)

My understanding (after buying a light bulb like yours by accident!!) is that actinic light is for reefs! I switched it out.... The good quality Zoo Med brand light also looks very good. I did like the way the reef light looked, but I read that it does nothing for the plants.

Kumi


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## BlueHaven (Jul 17, 2010)

Oh, thank you for all the information!!!


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## sayurasem (Nov 20, 2010)

i c... i researched actinic are for corals.

Simpte wrote:

"For a 29 gallon tank I would have no less than 40 watts for a low tech planted tank. 54/55 Would be better"

I agree with this 100%. 

Mr Fish wrote:

"You prob need MINIMUM 2watts/gallon, even for easy plants live Java ferns and stuff. "

No, this is definitely not the case. I have a nice 20 gallon tank with 30W of light, and the Java ferns are looking really good. They don't grow very fast, but that's Java fern for you. It's also growing successfully crypts, anubias, dwarf sag, twisted vallis, and one Echinodorus ozelet.

As for which bulb to choose, most of the aquarium specific bulbs work well. I once bought a normal, very cheap bulb that was the same size as an aquarium-specific bulb, but was much dimmer. Things to avoid:
* actinic, which is sort of dim and blue 
* Interpet's "beauty light" which is more for enhancing the color of your fish than providing lots of light that your fish can use
* one that says its primary purpuse is in a marine tank

Ones that are good are:
* any aquarium specific daylight bulb
* Triton bulbs
* any bulb from a reputable company (Arcadia, Hagen, Interpet) that says that it promotes phtosynthesis

About pygmy chain sword: assuming this is the same a E. tenellus, I didn't have much luck growing it in my 2.4 WPG tank which is successfully growing other kinds of sowrds. It isn't dead yet, but it doesn't seem to be growing. 

credit to MyraVan from http://www.fishforums.com/forum/aquatic-plants/6051-planted-tank-activated-carbon-2.html


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