Plants dying in established tank

[Guppy Guy]

Hello. I have had this 10 gallon tank going for 3 years now, with great success. Recently, I did a rescape to clean up the java moss, and add some new plants. After that scape, all the plants except the banana plant, java fern(which I usually can’t keep alive), amazon swords, and some of the crypts are still alive. The dying ones are water wisteria, Java moss, crypts, and marsh mermaid. I dose seachem excel a few times a week, flourish whenever I remember, which is about once a month, and I don’t use root tabs. I noticed that the ph keeps dropping lower then usual as well, even though that wasn’t an issue before. Also, yellowish, brown algae is popping up on the leaves of many plants to compliment the beard algae that has always been there(and won’t die even though excel is supposed to do that). 

I have lost a few guppies as well, but I am not surprised as 60 fish in a 10 gallon tank is a little much. Could this have something to do with my problems?

I am wondering if it is my light, but it is LED, and I shouldn’t have to replace it. I have the aqueon deluxe hood on the tank, and it supports 2 led tubes, though I only use 1 daylight tube. Thanks everyone, and the help is appreciated.

The pics aren’t great, but hopefully it helps. Sorry, I didn’t think about this until after I clipped most of the dead plants off.

Edit: Just remembered that there is pothos growing out of the top of the tank. Don’t know if that helps.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Guppy Guy

[Odd Duck]

That’s a lot of fish for that size tank and I suspect that’s the root of your problem.  Too much nutrients for the amount of plants to process.  Typically you need root tabs for swords, they are heavy root feeders.  Since yours are still surviving without, that tells me you have plenty of nutrients in the water column.  The pothos should be helping and if you have enough light on it, it can absorb tremendous amounts of nitrates for you.  If the light is borderline, it can’t absorb as much.

What are your tank parameters running?

[Torrey]

pH, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, temp? Do you know GH or kH? 

A rescape will generally offer up some algae until homeostasis returns

 

[JoeQ]

Im suspecting your ph is dropping because of low kh, are you supplementing anything to keep your kh stable? 

[Guppy Guy]

Generally speaking, I am pretty bad when it comes to water testing. I can usually tell the PH by looking at the fish’s behavior, and KH has never been an issue, so I don’t have a test kit for that.

As far as PH goes, I would estimate it at about 7, as I did a water change yesterday, and I’m not sure about KH. The PH booster I use when it drops says it raises KH as well, but I have no way of knowing. 

[JoeQ]

Kh is directly related to ph and important to plants as well. Browse the aquariumcoop shop, they sell multi parameter test strips which are (excuse the expression) good enough for government work. You should not need to add any "booster" to a properly running planted aquarium other than co2 and fertilizers. 

Edited March 11, 2022 by JoeQ

[Guppy Guy]

On 3/11/2022 at 9:40 AM, JoeQ said:

Kh is directly related to ph and important to plants as well. Browse the aquariumcoop shop, they sell multi parameter test strips which are (excuse the expression) good enough for government work. You should not need to add any "booster" to a properly running planted aquarium other than co2 and fertilizers. 

Are the strips accurate? I have used some in the past that are more then 1 point off the real number. It isn’t a “planted aquarium”. Just an aquarium with a few plants to make it look good.

[JoeQ]

Symantecs.... If It has 1 plant in it, in essence its a planted aquarium. And you need proper water parameters / fertz to make the plant(s) look good (proper water parameters also benifit your fish and make the hobby easier) As for the accuracy of the strips, like i said "they are good enough for government work". They probably aren't as accurate as liquid tests, but will give you a good idea of the status of your tank. 

Edited March 11, 2022 by JoeQ

[Guppy Guy]

On 3/11/2022 at 10:25 AM, JoeQ said:

Symantecs.... If It has 1 plant in it, in essence its a planted aquarium. And you need proper water parameters / fertz to make the plant(s) look good (proper water parameters also benifit your fish and make the hobby easier) As for the accuracy of the strips, like i said "they are good enough for government work". They probably aren't as accurate as liquid tests, but will give you a good idea of the status of your tank. 

Good enough for me! The swords and crypts are doing fine without root tabs, but should I get them anyways? I don’t want to repeat my nutrient overload. (I havn't dosed and ferts all week, and already things are perking up)

[Patrick_G]

@Torrey already mentioned it but a rescape, plant removal or trim can throw off the balance of the tank. I wish I had a journal of my wife’s Betta tank. It’s heavily planted and gets only occasional ferts. When she does a trim we immediately see the effects on the plants and and algae growth. After a month or so things get back in balance, algae dies off and the plants start to flourish again. 

[JoeQ]

On 3/11/2022 at 11:15 AM, Guppy Guy said:

Good enough for me! The swords and crypts are doing fine without root tabs, but should I get them anyways? I don’t want to repeat my nutrient overload. (I havn't dosed and ferts all week, and already things are perking up)

That recommendation would be better left for the guys knowledgeable in fertilizer.  I don't have any experience with ferts and a massive fish load! 

[Guppy Guy]

Thanks everyone. @Patrick_G, now that you mention it, I recall the same thing happening in the past. 

For now, I will stop dosing ferts, as there seems to be enough nutrients in the water column as it is. As the weather warms up in the coming weeks, I will probably move some fish outside into a pond, mail a few to friends, and contribute to Michael’s Fish Room’s “Mutt Guppy Project 3.0”. Thanks again!

As far as plants go, I have a thread here about my banana plant, in this same tank, sprouting lily pads. I would love opinions on that there. Thanks!

[Torrey]

On 3/11/2022 at 8:05 AM, Guppy Guy said:

Are the strips accurate? I have used some in the past that are more then 1 point off the real number. It isn’t a “planted aquarium”. Just an aquarium with a few plants to make it look good.

I have found the Aquarium Co-op strips to be superb, and they were shipped to a friend who placed their order in NC and then shipped to me. They are great for quick tests when someone in the forum asks the question and I need a quick answer on my tank. They match up almost perfectly to my API Master kit, which I periodically validate by sending a water sample to work with a friend to see if the "control" sample matches my test results.

So far, so good.

[Guppy Guy]

On 3/11/2022 at 6:30 PM, Torrey said:

I have found the Aquarium Co-op strips to be superb, and they were shipped to a friend who placed their order in NC and then shipped to me. They are great for quick tests when someone in the forum asks the question and I need a quick answer on my tank. They match up almost perfectly to my API Master kit, which I periodically validate by sending a water sample to work with a friend to see if the "control" sample matches my test results.

So far, so good.

Thanks Torrey. I will probably place an order this weekend. I am also considering getting a USB nano air pump to run the sponge filter on my outdoor pond this summer. Will it be able to handle the high heat and humidity of south carolina? I saw that one thread about them breaking, and I am a little wary about it now. Thanks!

[JoeQ]

On 3/11/2022 at 6:53 PM, Guppy Guy said:

Thanks Torrey. I will probably place an order this weekend. I am also considering getting a USB nano air pump to run the sponge filter on my outdoor pond this summer. Will it be able to handle the high heat and humidity of south carolina? I saw that one thread about them breaking, and I am a little wary about it now. Thanks!

Don't forget a ziss airstone! Things are incredible 

[Torrey]

On 3/11/2022 at 4:53 PM, Guppy Guy said:

Thanks Torrey. I will probably place an order this weekend. I am also considering getting a USB nano air pump to run the sponge filter on my outdoor pond this summer. Will it be able to handle the high heat and humidity of south carolina? I saw that one thread about them breaking, and I am a little wary about it now. Thanks!

They are NOT watrproof, lol!

If you go on the Co-op channel, look for the interview Jimmy did with Candi. The way Candi set up the outdoor tubs with the nano USB pumps. I have not had any issues with mine. I keep my pumps above the waterline and don't limit the airflow. I am suspecting that it's having the airflow restricted that actually causes the problem, not something inherently wrong with the pumps themsevles. I may be biased, because so far, so good?

If I were to be back in NC again, and wanting to use outside... I would probably use an inverted tupperware with an upright tupperware inside. Use an inch of rice to absorb any moisture/condensation that gets in, under a piece of plastic canvas mesh to keep the USB pump at least a half inch above the rice. Silica packets also work well, but aren't environmentally as friendly. I'm also big on double redundancy because Murphy loves me more than I love him. 😅

[Guppy Guy]

On 3/12/2022 at 10:29 PM, Torrey said:

They are NOT watrproof, lol!

If you go on the Co-op channel, look for the interview Jimmy did with Candi. The way Candi set up the outdoor tubs with the nano USB pumps. I have not had any issues with mine. I keep my pumps above the waterline and don't limit the airflow. I am suspecting that it's having the airflow restricted that actually causes the problem, not something inherently wrong with the pumps themsevles. I may be biased, because so far, so good?

If I were to be back in NC again, and wanting to use outside... I would probably use an inverted tupperware with an upright tupperware inside. Use an inch of rice to absorb any moisture/condensation that gets in, under a piece of plastic canvas mesh to keep the USB pump at least a half inch above the rice. Silica packets also work well, but aren't environmentally as friendly. I'm also big on double redundancy because Murphy loves me more than I love him. 😅

😂👍🏼