Pothos ruined my tank?

[ViviChu]

I started my planted tank in October 2020 with about an inch of organic garden soil topped with an inch of gravel. I planted dwarf sagittaria, Nymphoides hydrophylla 'Taiwan' and water sprite. There were some random red leaves so I planted them too not expecting much and they all grew wonderfully. I had 3 big beautiful red plants and a thriving planted tank.

Then I got this idea that having a little pothos plant growing from the hang on back filter canister would look lovely. And it did. However, the plants in my aquarium started getting yellow spots and holes, losing leaves and just melting. The red plants are now just stems.

I did a little research then, took the pothos out, and started adding Seachem Potassium supplement. It's been about 3 weeks since I started with this, but the plants are not looking any better.

What can I do to save my plants?

[Guppysnail]

I just put Pothos in mine last night because of a post I seen on how. The research I did ...because the Pothos have access to unlimited co2 they can really suck all the nutrients outs of the tank.  This is why I wanted them to start with and they look awesome. I just bought some easy green as I have never fertilized due to heavy bioload. One tank was starting to show consistently 5 nitrate instead of my norm 15. I am watching to see the Pothos affect and plan to add easy green if needed. Sorry maybe someone more experienced  with Pothos knows more. 

Edited June 10, 2021 by Guppysnail

[lefty o]

once leaves are damaged, they dont come back. if they start melting back or rotting etc pull them off. it will take time for them to recover.  plants tend to die slowly, and they also recover slowly.

[Patrick_G]

Are you adding a comprehensive fertilizer in addition to the Potassium? It’s possible some of the nutrients in the soil have been depleted and your plants need a little boost of additional fertilizer. 

Edited June 10, 2021 by Patrick_G

[Diving Aquarist]

A growing pothos plant can be like a vacuum cleaner when it comes to taking in nutrients. In one of my tanks, it pretty much outcompeted my javamoss, completely annihilating it. It is awesome to get rid of algae, but with slow growing plants that are easily outcompeted might suffer from it. If possible, give the pothos a little less light, so it will slow down growing.

[Griznatch]

 Pothos sucks up nutrients like crazy. Great for combating algae, but can starve out some of the other plants. Pothos is pretty tough however, you could trim it way down. Take half of it out of the filter and put it back in a pot. Now you have another house plant 🙂

My wife has a monster philodendron (not sure what variety. it has leaves bigger than my hand. The benefit of having it in there and reducing excess nutrients is huge. She's thinking of cutting it back some because it's fighting for nutrients from the water lettuce and jungle val...

It's all about balance...

[Jungle Fan]

Peace lilies, are just like Philodendron, and Pothos in that regard but I've got friends who swear by them for their open tanks, however all their floaters seem to struggle.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Jungle Fan

[Jungle Fan]

To the potassium I would add a good all-in-one fertilizer like Easy Green, if you aren't using it already, some liquid iron, and root tabs. Remove all damaged leaves, and give the plants some time to recover, but keep monitoring your water values if you are new to dosing ferts.