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Is my water too hard for plants to grow?


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In a word, no. Try one of each of the ones that appeal to you and see which ones do well in your tank. Then get more of them. I have hard water and have pretty good luck with most... although I seem to be able to kill an Anubias by looking at it.

Remember that aquarium plant time is measured in months, not days. 

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On 8/30/2021 at 9:32 PM, Ken said:

In a word, no. Try one of each of the ones that appeal to you and see which ones do well in your tank. Then get more of them. I have hard water and have pretty good luck with most... although I seem to be able to kill an Anubias by looking at it.

Remember that aquarium plant time is measured in months, not days. 

I've had a handful of different plants and most have died. My Swords and Anubias survive but don't grow very much even though I've had them for a couple years now. The only plant I've ever gotten to grow is a Madagascar lace of all things. 

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On 8/30/2021 at 8:32 PM, Ken said:

In a word, no. Try one of each of the ones that appeal to you and see which ones do well in your tank. Then get more of them. I have hard water and have pretty good luck with most... although I seem to be able to kill an Anubias by looking at it.

Remember that aquarium plant time is measured in months, not days. 

This. But I will add most plants prefer softer water and some require it. But 95% of plants will grow in your conditions. Just try a multitude of plants and see.

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On 8/30/2021 at 11:10 PM, Aquarius Aquatics said:

Yes I give each plant 2 aquarium coop root tabs monthly and dose easy green after each water change.

My 2 swords are big, out of the top of a 40 breeder big. They get 4-5 root tabs each every month. The whole tank gets 15-20 a month and 1-1/2 times the recommended dose of Easy Green spread out as a squirt a day. My parameters stay just fine, lots of Hornwort probably helps with any excess in the water column.

Edited by Ken
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On 8/31/2021 at 8:01 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

Hi @Aquarius Aquatics

The pH of 8.2 could be the issue. Check out this thread, specifically the portion dealing with iron uptake and pH.  My post of July 28th may help you.  -Roy

https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/topic/14489-deficiency-help/?tab=comments#comment-11823

 

My ph when I tested yesterday after a water change was 7.4 but thank you for the advice!

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On 8/31/2021 at 8:01 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

Hi @Aquarius Aquatics

The pH of 8.2 could be the issue. Check out this thread, specifically the portion dealing with iron uptake and pH.  My post of July 28th may help you.  -Roy

https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/topic/14489-deficiency-help/?tab=comments#comment-11823

 

I read through the link you sent me. It looks very helpful I will try that too and see if the extra iron helps. Thank you!

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On 9/1/2021 at 12:07 PM, Guppysnail said:

My water is hard  ph 7.6-8 on my tanks. Pennywort anacharis anubias Java fern water fern water wisteria water sprite lemon bacopa mint Charlie cardinal swords moneywort all do well for me. I can’t even remember the tons of different ones I’ve killed though 🤣

Anubias, Java fern, Swords, and a madagascar lace plant are the only things I haven't killed but they still don't grow very well.

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On 9/1/2021 at 8:56 PM, Kyle murfitt said:

I'm In Houston with pretty hard water and vallisneria from aco has been my best plant in the tank. Swords, crypts , and bacopa took me a little work but are doing fine once I figured out my ferts 

Ya I probably need to look back into that. I must not be doing something right. Time to hit the books!

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On 9/2/2021 at 4:31 PM, Aquarius Aquatics said:

After

I wouldn't dose more Easy Green. I would look for a K stand alone. Seachem Potassium is available most places. Might grab some Easy Iron and dose per directions along with whatever you choose for K.

You could try root tabs as well. They can fill in the gaps, but they will leach into the water column and possibly/ will increase your Nitrates more.

Edited by Mmiller2001
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On 8/31/2021 at 9:01 PM, Ken said:

My 2 swords are big, out of the top of a 40 breeder big. They get 4-5 root tabs each every month. The whole tank gets 15-20 a month and 1-1/2 times the recommended dose of Easy Green spread out as a squirt a day. My parameters stay just fine, lots of Hornwort probably helps with any excess in the water column.

I forgot to mention that I do supplement with Seachem Pottasium. The leaves green up better and no more holes. I put in too much of it also. You'll have to figure out what works in your tank. It takes forever, a low tech aquarium plant's reaction time is measured in weeks.

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