# Help with my plants!



## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

Hi guys.. My tank was doing great for a good while.. But I'm wondering if now there if way too many plants for the amount of animals I have.. 2 of my amazon swords are turning yellow at the tips.. What will bring them back up to health? One thing I noticed though is it's only the Amazon swords.. Not any of the other plants in there (for now).. Also there's 2 bettas and one snail in there, if that helps any









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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

Have you tried putting a root tab by the Amazon, or dousing the tank with liquid fert? 

How old are your lights?


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## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

I do use api's leaf zone, every now and then.. It has 3%potash and 0.10% cheated iron.. Should I up the dose on it? Or look for something else? 

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## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

Rainbo said:


> Have you tried putting a root tab by the Amazon, or dousing the tank with liquid fert?
> 
> How old are your lights?


 

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## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

Rainbo said:


> Have you tried putting a root tab by the Amazon, or dousing the tank with liquid fert?
> 
> How old are your lights?


I don't know how old the lights are.. How often do I need to change the bulb?i was thinking about changing it though.. It looks quite dull.. 

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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Amazon swords are heavy root feeders, so if your substrate is inert, it's recommended to use root tabs. 

I've read that if you are using fluros (not certain what light you are using), it's best to change the bulbs/tubes every 6-12 months as the output (not sure if this is the correct term), diminishes over time and plants may be unable to utilise the light for growth, meaning you see more algae appearing in your tank.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

LittleBettaFish said:


> Amazon swords are heavy root feeders, so if your substrate is inert, it's recommended to use root tabs.
> 
> I've read that if you are using fluros (not certain what light you are using), it's best to change the bulbs/tubes every 6-12 months as the output (not sure if this is the correct term), diminishes over time and plants may be unable to utilise the light for growth, meaning you see more algae appearing in your tank.


I used fluorescent when I raised African Violets and had to replace the bulbs every six months or the plants suffered; same when I ran fluorescents on my planted tanks. I finally figured out it was cheaper to buy new LED fixtures for the aquariums by the time I paid for tubes 2x per year.


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## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

LittleBettaFish said:


> Amazon swords are heavy root feeders, so if your substrate is inert, it's recommended to use root tabs.
> 
> I've read that if you are using fluros (not certain what light you are using), it's best to change the bulbs/tubes every 6-12 months as the output (not sure if this is the correct term), diminishes over time and plants may be unable to utilise the light for growth, meaning you see more algae appearing in your tank.


That might explain why I have algae too.. It's been a while since my tank started so I found it odd that I have algae thanks a bunch!  will definitely look into better lighting, and maybe some root tabs,if I find them here.. 

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## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> I used fluorescent when I raised African Violets and had to replace the bulbs every six months or the plants suffered; same when I ran fluorescents on my planted tanks. I finally figured out it was cheaper to buy new LED fixtures for the aquariums by the time I paid for tubes 2x per year.


Maybe I'll get an led light that works with it.. Thanks for the info  

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## thanatopsian (Apr 6, 2017)

Yeah, some tips i figured out along the way with my 10 gallon:

* a little bit of old topsoil (i use black gold compost in my potted plants outside) under the substrate goes a long way. When you go to change the soil in your potted plants, use something organic. Next time you change the soil, put no more than a one inch of your old organic potting soil under the substrate of your tank.

* diy CO2 is cheap and effective. With 3/4 of a cup of sugar, 1/4 tsp baker's yeast, and a 2 liter coke bottle you, you can have C02 for 2-3 weeks.

* CO2 is usually the limiting factor in plant growth. I keep CO2 running and havent changed my CFLs in over 2 years. No algae issues to speak of (have to scrape the front glass every 2-3 months)

*That being said, you want nutrients to be the limiting factor. Not scarce, but limited. If your plants have more CO2 and light than nutrients, they will soak up the nutrients faster than the algae, effectively starving the algae out. You want to supply just enough NPK that the plants grow healthy but there isnt a much left over (excess nutrients feed algae). 

These are just a few cheap and easy tricks i have learned. Obviously, you can spend more money on nicer equipment that will do the same things i described, just easier and more precisely. As long as you remember the underlying principles, you can make your tank as easy, cheap, labor-entensive, or expensive as you want and still be successful.

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## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

thanatopsian said:


> Yeah, some tips i figured out along the way with my 10 gallon:
> 
> * a little bit of old topsoil (i use black gold compost in my potted plants outside) under the substrate goes a long way. When you go to change the soil in your potted plants, use something organic. Next time you change the soil, put no more than a one inch of your old organic potting soil under the substrate of your tank.
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot for the info .. Are you able to show me your version of the co2 set up? It would be a great help! 

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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

You can dose Seachem Excel as CO2 substitute as long as you don't have Vals and Crypts. It's a CO2 substitute.


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## thanatopsian (Apr 6, 2017)

bluebutterfly123 said:


> Thanks a lot for the info .. Are you able to show me your version of the co2 set up? It would be a great help!
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk


I'll take a picture of it tonight but there is really nothing to it. I use a soda bottle becasue they are designed to hold pressurized CO2 in solution. Just drill a hole in the top of a 2 liter soda bottle cap just a bit smaller than your airline tubing (CO2 rated line is better if you have it. CO2 breaks down regular tubing over time). Pull the airline through the cap with a pair of pliers. If it is hard to pull through, then thats good. It will self-seal if it is a tight squeeze. Run the other end of your tubing to a diffusor of your choice or into the intake of your filter if it is impellor driven. There is a lot of debate about maximizing CO2 dissolution, but i'll leave that for another day. 

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## elizabethdean (Apr 5, 2017)

This chart might be helpful.


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## DianeA7X (Feb 13, 2014)

NOt about plants but where did you get the coliseum decoration?


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## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

DianeA7X said:


> NOt about plants but where did you get the coliseum decoration?


Believe it or not, I got it for $5!! clearance.. at PetSmart a while back..  

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## DianeA7X (Feb 13, 2014)

bluebutterfly123 said:


> Believe it or not, I got it for $5!! clearance.. at PetSmart a while back..
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk


That's awesome! Too bad Petsmart is around 30 minutes from me in a town I hardly go to. I do love that decoration though. =)


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I use and recommend these tabs. I have the RU and Iron as Swords and red plants need extra Iron. With low-light plants you don't really need C02 although it won't hurt anything to run it. Added to the list of plants to avoid Seachem Excel is Anacharis; even Seachem admits it's not a good idea.

RU TABS Root tabs aquarium fertilizer plant ferts substrate clay micro macro | eBay


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