Plant rotting

[TwoFace99]

Hello, I have discovered today that my Amazon Sword (Harbirch) has started to show rotting on the new leaves  it has grown as well as one of the original leaves that arrived with the plant. I done a water change today, and did one Thursday as well. My readings have consistently shown:

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nirite: 0ppm

Nirate: no higher than 20ppm whenever I do water changes

KH: 7dKH

GH: 6dGH (Wonder shell supplement for the Banana Plants’ calcium intake) 

Besides the Wonder shells, the only other product I use for the tank is Easy Green fertilizer, and the substrate is active (UNS Controsoil).
This hasn’t occurred whatsoever when I first placed the plants in the tank alongside my Amazon Sword Red Phoenixes (November 30th), and had even shown new growth quickly afterwards (December 4th). None of my other plants (Java Fern, Crypt Tropica, Banana Plants, Hygrophila Compacta, Anubias Barteri, and Ammania Senegalesis) have displayed rotting, especially my other Sword plants in my aquarium. 

[Tanked]

I would start with some root tabs.  The swords are heavy root feeders as are the Crypts.

[Biotope Biologist]

I would specifically look for root tabs with lots of iron as I remember amazon swords use quite a bit of this in leaf building.

 

Cheers good luck

[TwoFace99]

On 12/13/2023 at 8:09 AM, Tanked said:

I would start with some root tabs.  The swords are heavy root feeders as are the Crypts.

Is it possible that the substrate already has exhausted the necessary nutrients for the new Sword plants (Harbirch), or that my Sword plants’ roots are too together to properly absorb the nutrients? 
Edit:

I'm not sure if this common knowledge about active substrates, and I somehow missed this potential fact in my research prior to starting this aquarium, but do active substrates’ nutrient pool in an area get depleted if you remove an older plant from a spot (after a month), and replace that old plant with a new plant in that general area? I did have a Dwarf Chain Sword plant that was planted in that general area, but it wasn’t growing as was advertised by Aquarium Co-Op, so I took the plant out. 
Do active substrates have potential dead zones where root-feeding plants are unable to thrive long term in those specific spots? 

Edited December 14, 2023 by TwoFace99

[TwoFace99]

On 12/14/2023 at 9:04 AM, Biotope Biologist said:

I would specifically look for root tabs with lots of iron as I remember amazon swords use quite a bit of this in leaf building.

 

Cheers good luck

Sure. It’s just confusing that this one Harbirch plant out of my 6 Amazon Sword plants in total is experiencing this rotting/brown discoloration on both the older and newer leaves.

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/14/2023 at 8:21 AM, TwoFace99 said:

Edit:

I'm not sure if this common knowledge about active substrates, and I somehow missed this potential fact in my research prior to starting this aquarium, but do active substrates’ nutrient pool in an area get depleted if you remove an older plant from a spot (after a month), and replace that old plant with a new plant in that general area? I did have a Dwarf Chain Sword plant that was planted in that general area, but it wasn’t growing as was advertised by Aquarium Co-Op, so I took the plant out. 
Do active substrates have potential dead zones where root-feeding plants are unable to thrive long term in those specific spots? 

Active substrates means that "things change".  The soil has a certain charge and ions from the water are attracted and held into the soil. This also means that sometimes, the soil isn't very potent and it takes water changes, waste, and time to really charge it up. Other types, not so much.

In aquascaping, you'll see tabs right away as well as a layer of powder nutrients, Powersand is another one, where you have a layer of initial nutrients to start that process quickly and give the substrate some nutrition long term.

I tabbed my substrate about 2-4 months after I first planted it. I used old substrate as well that had a lot of nutrients in it as well as a cap. That being said, I still have run into issues and it's a situation where I'm going to pull off some stuff, add more soil, and reset the balance here again... Tabbing again.

I don't know if it's common knowledge, but yeah. Soil, just like in farming, depletes over time and managing the soil is critical to long term success.

On 12/14/2023 at 8:21 AM, TwoFace99 said:

Do active substrates have potential dead zones where root-feeding plants are unable to thrive long term in those specific spots? 

Basically I would say yes and no. No you don't need to move plants around. Light plays a factor in positioning too. Plants often will get shaded out.

[TwoFace99]

On 12/14/2023 at 12:48 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Active substrates means that "things change".  The soil has a certain charge and ions from the water are attracted and held into the soil. This also means that sometimes, the soil isn't very potent and it takes water changes, waste, and time to really charge it up. Other types, not so much.

In aquascaping, you'll see tabs right away as well as a layer of powder nutrients, Powersand is another one, where you have a layer of initial nutrients to start that process quickly and give the substrate some nutrition long term.

I tabbed my substrate about 2-4 months after I first planted it. I used old substrate as well that had a lot of nutrients in it as well as a cap. That being said, I still have run into issues and it's a situation where I'm going to pull off some stuff, add more soil, and reset the balance here again... Tabbing again.

I don't know if it's common knowledge, but yeah. Soil, just like in farming, depletes over time and managing the soil is critical to long term success.

Basically I would say yes and no. No you don't need to move plants around. Light plays a factor in positioning too. Plants often will get shaded out.

That’s really informative and depressing at the same time. I was basing my success off of my Amazon Swords (regular), which I had placed into the tank since the cycling process started (2 days after, but it’s been almost 2 months now). Those same two plants have been thriving off the active substrate alone, so I didn’t feel the need to have root tabs. Not to mention, the soil I was recommended by LFS (Controsoil) said they would last up to a year, depending on heavily planted my tank was and how deep the substrate would be for those root-feeders. 

However, my Dwarf Chain Swords never took off and was slowly dying, until I removed said plants entirely, while the regular Swords kept thriving. Now, I got Harbrich plants in the same position as the Dwarf Chains. I wish I recognized the problem sooner. Major oversight as now essentially three plants have gone to waste. 
Lastly, I can’t go today as my LFS is closed, but I’ll go tomorrow and try to get some root tabs to, at least, prevent the Red Phoenixes and Cryptocorne Tropica from meeting the same fate (Both are doing fine so far). 
As for lighting, I had/have the Harbrich plants and the others in spots that don’t shade each other out, but are close together. The Harbrich plants were in an open area. 
The pictures/video below is my tank in general and the state of my Harbirch plant when I took one of them out today:

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/14/2023 at 11:55 AM, TwoFace99 said:

Not to mention, the soil I was recommended by LFS (Controsoil) said they would last up to a year, depending on heavily planted my tank was and how deep the substrate would be for those root-feeders. 

It should last a very long time, not just a year.  There's no reason to ever replace soil unless it's actually turned to mush (crushed). 5-10 years is pretty normal. 2-3 minimum.

On 12/14/2023 at 11:55 AM, TwoFace99 said:

The pictures/video below is my tank in general and the state of my Harbirch plant when I took one of them out today:

 

The big thing there is just to look at the root development. Good soil (charged.and full of nutrients) would have a lot of root development. The plants will anchor themselves and send out roots looking for nutrients and accessing them.

[TwoFace99]

On 12/14/2023 at 7:35 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

It should last a very long time, not just a year.  There's no reason to ever replace soil unless it's actually turned to mush (crushed). 5-10 years is pretty normal. 2-3 minimum.

The big thing there is just to look at the root development. Good soil (charged.and full of nutrients) would have a lot of root development. The plants will anchor themselves and send out roots looking for nutrients and accessing them.

My mistake. I meant last a year in terms of nutrient availability in the substrate, until I need to place root tabs into the substrate. 
 

Also, the root system in that picture pretty much stayed the same since I first got them. I still have the plant, but I didn’t want all the dead components to harm my water parameters/inhabitants, so I removed it. However, my banana plants and regular Amazon Swords have extended immensely. I have a photo that’s a few weeks showcasing the root system, but the picture is coming out as black. 

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by TwoFace99

[TwoFace99]

Well, I’m not sure if this conversation is dead now, but I do face a new challenge with my aquarium, but it’s now with my Hyrophila Corymbosa Compacta plants. 
 Several of my Hygrophila Corymbosa Compactas are now displaying a lot of leaf fallout, where some of the stems plants are almost barren. If they are not barren, the leaves are turning a light shade of brown/white or having holes in them. Some of the leaves are healthy, but it’s a far cry from when they first came into my aquarium. 

The only change I have recently (within the past week and a half) committed was lowering the light intensity from 60% to 50% (Aquarium Co-Op light), and using less Easy Green fertilizer (from 10 to now 8 pumps), because I was starting to get a noticeable amount of algae in my tank, and my Amano shrimp weren’t bothering to eat it. Additionally, I do weekly water changes of 50%, and scrub whatever algae I can. The water parameters as of now are:
PH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
KH: 4dKH
GH: 9dGH

Should I just change the light intensity back to 60% and go back to adding the 10 pumps? The leaf fallout and the algae on my Amazon Swords/Anubias Barteri is somewhat bad. I am trying to wait for my LFS store to get Panda Garras to hopefully help deal with the algae problem, but he hasn’t had any luck. 

This is the current state of my plants (Also, all my images I have took previously are coming in black picture please help): 

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by TwoFace99

[Tanked]

This conversation is never dead.  Somebody, myself included always has these issues in one form or another.

I would not reduce the EG.  Your plants are starving. I would add some root tabs.  There is a nutrient deficiency chart above that will help explain some of what you are seeing.

Light duration might be an issue causing the algae issues.  How long are they on?

[TwoFace99]

On 12/30/2023 at 10:22 AM, Tanked said:

This conversation is never dead.  Somebody, myself included always has these issues in one form or another.

I would not reduce the EG.  Your plants are starving. I would add some root tabs.  There is a nutrient deficiency chart above that will help explain some of what you are seeing.

Light duration might be an issue causing the algae issues.  How long are they on?

I was told by my LFS to not add root tabs, as my substrate shouldn’t be out of nutrients yet (UNS Controsoil). I have only been running the tank for a little over 2 months now. My Amazon Sword (Regular) on the right side of my tank is dealing with algae issues, but my other root plants (Sword plants and Crypt Tropica) aren’t, and have been showing growth/adjusted to the tank well unlike the plant I shown much earlier in this thread. 
 

I look at that chart earlier, but I don’t see an example that relates to my problem. Some of the leaves turn straight white and fall off right away, while the others turn a light shade of brown then turn white, with a few maybe having some holes of them. A few of them have their veins exposed after falling off the Corymbosa plants. It’s a weird mix. 
 

I have always kept my tank on 10 hours a day (it’s on a timer as well) mainly for the Sword plants at that 50% intensity for a little over a month, until I upped the value to 60%. 
As for the Easy Green, should I dose again? I did does twice already this week. 

[nabokovfan87]

 

On 12/29/2023 at 10:41 PM, TwoFace99 said:

Well, I’m not sure if this conversation is dead now, but I do face a new challenge with my aquarium, but it’s now with my Hyrophila Corymbosa Compacta plants. 

Not dead, always the opportunity there to extend the conversation! There's also others that will see it if new issues pop up! 🙂

On 12/30/2023 at 10:25 AM, TwoFace99 said:

I look at that chart earlier, but I don’t see an example that relates to my problem. Some of the leaves turn straight white and fall off right away, while the others turn a light shade of brown then turn white, with a few maybe having some holes of them. A few of them have their veins exposed after falling off the Corymbosa plants. It’s a weird mix. 

Sounds like magnesium, potassium, or iron deficiency.

On 12/30/2023 at 10:25 AM, TwoFace99 said:

I have always kept my tank on 10 hours a day (it’s on a timer as well) mainly for the Sword plants at that 50% intensity for a little over a month, until I upped the value to 60%. 
As for the Easy Green, should I dose again? I did does twice already this week. 

Nope, just once should be plenty, but it seems like there is more to the story... More things happening and that's leading to playing a bit of whack-a-mole where one problem dies down, things develop, and then the next issue rears it's head up.

10 hours or light can be tough on plants. Some only want say 6 hours or 4 and others want very extended hours (in that 7-10 range).  The normal recommendation has always been to cap it at 8 hours. I do a rise of 1.5 hours and a fall of 1.5 hours each cycle for my tanks and that can all be adjusted.  Basically, the tank is only getting full power for a few hours out of the day.  This is similar to nature where you're not blasting the plants 100% light for the entire lighting window.

So let's start there. Does the light have a mode where it can gently rise or fall for sunrise and sunset until it reaches full power for you? Let's adjust back the timings and then see what the algae does, as well as what type of algae you're experiencing.

Generally, very much generally speaking, plants with big wide/broad leaves want less intense light and others that have smaller leaves will fight for much more intense light... Even only needing that bright intense light over a very short period.

This is something I did in my own tank to adjust placement and I kicked all the plants to the sides or corners of the tank that didn't need the intense light.  Hopefully this helps cut down the algae as well.

Edited December 30, 2023 by nabokovfan87
duplicate photos, mobile didn't show them.

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/14/2023 at 8:33 AM, TwoFace99 said:

Sure. It’s just confusing that this one Harbirch plant out of my 6 Amazon Sword plants in total is experiencing this rotting/brown discoloration on both the older and newer leaves.

it appears to me to be brown diatom algae which  could be controlled by lowering light hours and using a toothbrush or something to remove it from surfaces and into the filtration.

 

On 12/29/2023 at 10:41 PM, TwoFace99 said:

on the glass, rock, and the plants in the top photo, that's your brown diatoms.

The other ones are showing a nutrient deficiency.

[TwoFace99]

On 12/30/2023 at 3:31 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

 

Not dead, always the opportunity there to extend the conversation! There's also others that will see it if new issues pop up! 🙂

Sounds like magnesium, potassium, or iron deficiency.

Nope, just once should be plenty, but it seems like there is more to the story... More things happening and that's leading to playing a bit of whack-a-mole where one problem dies down, things develop, and then the next issue rears it's head up.

10 hours or light can be tough on plants. Some only want say 6 hours or 4 and others want very extended hours (in that 7-10 range).  The normal recommendation has always been to cap it at 8 hours. I do a rise of 1.5 hours and a fall of 1.5 hours each cycle for my tanks and that can all be adjusted.  Basically, the tank is only getting full power for a few hours out of the day.  This is similar to nature where you're not blasting the plants 100% light for the entire lighting window.

So let's start there. Does the light have a mode where it can gently rise or fall for sunrise and sunset until it reaches full power for you? Let's adjust back the timings and then see what the algae does, as well as what type of algae you're experiencing.

Generally, very much generally speaking, plants with big wide/broad leaves want less intense light and others that have smaller leaves will fight for much more intense light... Even only needing that bright intense light over a very short period.

This is something I did in my own tank to adjust placement and I kicked all the plants to the sides or corners of the tank that didn't need the intense light.  Hopefully this helps cut down the algae as well.

The full list of my plants and their recommended light settings I bought them from (Buce Plant, Dustin Fish Tanks, and Aquarium Co-Op):

Java Fern (low to medium)

Anubias Barteri (low to medium)

Amazon Sword Regular (medium to high)

Amazon Sword Harbrich (low to medium)

Amazon Sword Red Phoenix (Medium)

Ammania Senegalesis (medium to high)

Banana Plants (low to medium)

Bucephalandra Brownie Blue (low to medium)

Bucephalandra Catharine Green (low to medium)

Hygrophila Corymbosa Compacta (medium to high) 

To satisfy these plants (In my mind) I have/had them at 50%, and they pretty much thrived, and I tested to see what 60% would do, and they stayed fine.

The only issues I had before were my Dwarf Chain Swords never adjusted to the tank, so I got rid of them. My Banana plants had curling leaves, so I got them a calcium supplement in the form of Wonder Shells, which are growing healthy leaves and have melted back the curled spawns. One of my harbirch plants (earlier in this thread) was experiencing intense stress, despite never being moved around and generally having the same water parameters. The other plants in the tank have adjusted well and thrived. 

To address the concern about sunrise/sunset feature, no, my light doesn’t have that nor can I change the individual LEDs (Aquarium Co-Op lighting 48in). I mainly have the lighting at 10 hours a day (from 12pm-5pm, 9pm-2am), because that’s the bare minimum hours for Amazon Swords. 
As for the nutrient deficiencies, that could be because I cut back on the Easy Green fertilizer (I went from 10 pumps, twice a week to 8 pumps, which cut out 4 pumps per week 20 to 16), so various deficiencies are rearing their heads at the same time with the Corymbosa plants I’m assuming. 
 

Next, the type of algae I currently have are hair/white and some form of black algae on the Amazon Swords (not black beard, but it’s random black spots on their leaves). Additionally, the brown diatoms you have mentioned, which are chilling on the glass around the tank. 
 

Finally, my logic to cut back on the algae growth was to use less fertilizer as I thought the water-column feeding plants weren’t consuming all of the nutrients I have been giving and the algae were using such resources to further expand, specifically the brown diatom. I’m afraid to cut back the time because I don’t want the Amazon Swords to suffer any worse than they are already going through. 
 

Sidenote: I did dose 7 pumps of Easy Green and turn the light intensity back to 60% before I left for work. 

 

On 12/30/2023 at 4:50 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

it appears to me to be brown diatom algae which  could be controlled by lowering light hours and using a toothbrush or something to remove it from surfaces and into the filtration.

 

on the glass, rock, and the plants in the top photo, that's your brown diatoms.

The other ones are showing a nutrient deficiency.

Yea, I scrub off the diatom after taking the pictures, but I knew it was going to take some time, so I went ahead and took those pictures. 

Edited December 30, 2023 by TwoFace99

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/30/2023 at 3:41 PM, TwoFace99 said:

Java Fern (low to medium)

Anubias Barteri (low to medium)

Amazon Sword Regular (medium to high)

Amazon Sword Harbrich (low to medium)

Amazon Sword Red Phoenix (Medium)

Ammania Senegalesis (medium to high)

Banana Plants (low to medium)

Bucephalandra Brownie Blue (low to medium)

Bucephalandra Catharine Green (low to medium)

Hygrophila Corymbosa Compacta (medium to high) 

Hygro and the ammania are going to be your medium light plants. Everything else is either very low or low light. The swords can handle medium light, but too much on their leaves and you're looking at a ton of algae.

So your plants centered under the light should be those two, the swords can be towards the back but not necessarily right under the light. The swords that are labeled as medium would be closer towards the middle of the tank than the big Amazon swords.

Secondarily, let's consider something like tank height as well. If you have a 12" tall tank compared to an 18" tall tank then your swords are growing tall and taking in a ton of light. Something like 20"+ compared to 18" is going to give the swords a little bit more room, but it's depending as well on where the flow is pushing those big leaves.  Quick flow right on the ends of the leaves gives you BBA in some cases.

On 12/30/2023 at 3:41 PM, TwoFace99 said:

Yea, I scrub off the diatom after taking the pictures, but I knew it was going to take some time, so I went ahead and took those pictures. 

Awesome news. Good to hear. That type of algae is awesome food for algae eaters and omnivores.

On 12/30/2023 at 3:41 PM, TwoFace99 said:

Next, the type of algae I currently have are hair/white and some form of black algae on the Amazon Swords (not black beard, but it’s random black spots on their leaves). Additionally, the brown diatoms you have mentioned, which are chilling on the glass around the tank. 

That's what I've seen as the start of BBA too. It's similar to green spot algae which grows strands and turns into green string algae.  I've got some photos of my tank before we moved that had BBA on surfaces and it just looked like a discoloration, once things progressed I understand what I was in for. 😞

On 12/30/2023 at 3:41 PM, TwoFace99 said:

because that’s the bare minimum hours for Amazon Swords. 

I would argue against this. I have the same plant under lower light duration and it's doing well for me. I don't think any plant requires a minimum of 10 hours. I'm not sure where that information came from, but I would just suggest further research on that.

On 12/30/2023 at 3:41 PM, TwoFace99 said:

As for the nutrient deficiencies, that could be because I cut back on the Easy Green fertilizer (I went from 10 pumps, twice a week to 8 pumps, which cut out 4 pumps per week 20 to 16), so various deficiencies are rearing their heads at the same time with the Corymbosa plants I’m assuming. 

I can send a DM on this as it's something I am exploring on my own for my own tanks when I get deeper into advanced stems. The suggestion just being to make sure you're using root tabs every 3-4 months (9-12x a year basically) for those plants that really need it. Something like was mentioned earlier, there are companies that sell iron tabs and that might be a great way to supplement those plants as well if you're not looking towards dosing easy iron.

On 12/30/2023 at 3:41 PM, TwoFace99 said:

Finally, my logic to cut back on the algae growth was to use less fertilizer as I thought the water-column feeding plants weren’t consuming all of the nutrients I have been giving and the algae were using such resources to further expand, specifically the brown diatom. I’m afraid to cut back the time because I don’t want the Amazon Swords to suffer any worse than they are already going through. 

I very much understand. It's always tough when you just aren't sure what is the best method and the best routine.  There's a lot of great resources out there and there's some great books on aquarium plants. Also, some very skilled and highly practiced plant experts (I don't use that term lightly) here on the forums. There's some beautiful tanks and hopefully one of them can chime in and better guide us for the schedule or care of the swords.

@AllFishNoBrakes sent me some swords and we've been watching them grow. What is your lighting setup for them?

[TwoFace99]

On 12/30/2023 at 8:47 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I would argue against this. I have the same plant under lower light duration and it's doing well for me. I don't think any plant requires a minimum of 10 hours. I'm not sure where that information came from, but I would just suggest further research on that.

I’m getting various sources that suggest:

1. moderate to high lighting (10 hours-12 hours)

2. Low lighting/undemanding as their natural habitat consisted of murky, black waters where the sunlight hardly penetrated the waters they reside in. 
 

3. No mention of specific number of hours

It’s very weird these sources state. However, I did drop my hours from 10 to 8 (12pm-4pm, 10pm-2am), and I placed the light back in the middle like I originally had, as well as drop the intensity back down to 50%.

On 12/30/2023 at 8:47 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Awesome news. Good to hear. That type of algae is awesome food for algae eaters and omnivores.

It’s unfortunate that my Amano shrimp aren’t glass cleaners. Lol. If I can’t get any Panda Garra from my LFS, I’ll just order them from Dan’s Fish online. The only issue is they won’t ship out til January 8th (next Saturday), so hopefully, my aquarium can hold on for a little longer, because there’s no way it’s going to take only a week to recover all the damage I have caused. Lol. 😂

On 12/30/2023 at 8:47 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Hygro and the ammania are going to be your medium light plants. Everything else is either very low or low light. The swords can handle medium light, but too much on their leaves and you're looking at a ton of algae.

So your plants centered under the light should be those two, the swords can be towards the back but not necessarily right under the light. The swords that are labeled as medium would be closer towards the middle of the tank than the big Amazon swords.

Secondarily, let's consider something like tank height as well. If you have a 12" tall tank compared to an 18" tall tank then your swords are growing tall and taking in a ton of light. Something like 20"+ compared to 18" is going to give the swords a little bit more room, but it's depending as well on where the flow is pushing those big leaves.  Quick flow right on the ends of the leaves gives you BBA in some cases.

That’s probably another issue is that my light is positioned towards the back over the Amazon Sword/Ammania/Some of the Anubias Barteri plants. I used to have the light positioned directly in the middle, but my lids have a thin bar in the middle that holds the two ends together (They are foldable). The Ammania aren’t experiencing algae or some of the Java Fern that are placed in the back (It’s attached to a rock, but is somewhat towards the back). However, my filter is directly above those plants. The Amazon Sword and Anubias Barteri on the right side is dealing with that BBA/hair algae. I wish I could send you a picture, but my pictures come out black when I try to post them. 
Also, my tank is a Aqueon 55 gallon, and the height is 21 inches. 
 

 

On 12/30/2023 at 8:47 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

That's what I've seen as the start of BBA too. It's similar to green spot algae which grows strands and turns into green string algae.  I've got some photos of my tank before we moved that had BBA on surfaces and it just looked like a discoloration, once things progressed I understand what I was in for. 😞

Yea, when I was cycling my tank, the Black Beard algae didn’t appear until a week before I got my first inhabitants (the Amano Shrimp were apart of that care package), and they destroyed the BBA, along with the green hair algae. The Angelfish surprised me. The white algae back then died off slowly but now it’s re-emerging. Thanks for the clarification. 
 

The picture below are the lighting situations I had before and after. It’s hard to tell, but the lighting is alot more subdued with the light being in the middle as opposed to being placed in the back. Additionally, another image is of the Amazon Sword and Anubias Barteri (still showing growth) in question that is doing somewhat badly at the moment. 

Edited December 31, 2023 by TwoFace99

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/30/2023 at 10:52 PM, TwoFace99 said:

It’s unfortunate that my Amano shrimp aren’t glass cleaners. Lol. If I can’t get any Panda Garra from my LFS, I’ll just order them from Dan’s Fish online. The only issue is they won’t ship out til January 8th (next Saturday), so hopefully, my aquarium can hold on for a little longer, because there’s no way it’s going to take only a week to recover all the damage I have caused. Lol. 😂

rubberlip pleco are really awesome glass cleaners. best I've seen.

 

On 12/30/2023 at 10:52 PM, TwoFace99 said:

If you can, push the tidal all the way to the middle of the tank for better flow patterns.  There's some plant location adjustments you can do to help things out too.  Overall it sort of depends on what you want the hardscape to be, then adjust the plants where they "fit" that setup.  Just quickly looking at the layout these are a few things I would adjust if it was my setup.

Red = move the filter over so your intake and output in around the middle of the tank.  Right now you have very low circulation off on the right right of the tank.
purple = move the stem up front that's being blocked out by the fern over towards the middle, consider location where the wood is now or where the fern is right now. You could also leave the fern right where it is, but move the stem so it doesn't get shaded out and replace it with anubias perhaps.
Blue = move the amazon sword (I think that's what it is) towards the left corner where there is slightly less intense light, and move the yellow stem somewhere in the middle segment of the tank.  The wood is right under the brightest part and slightly middle of the tank.  For golden ratio, you'd want to just push that towards the right a little bit, centered about where that grey stone is. (sort of swap the wood and the stone maybe).

edit, that fern on the rock you could also push toward the back corner somewhere and it'll be able to grow tall and give you some depth.  Especially with the anubias in front of it that in the middle of the tank.



The tank is growing and it's at the cranky teenager stage.  I'll be excited to see it when you get things growing like crazy on you and you've got the plant mass going a bit more crazy! 🙂

Edited December 31, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[TwoFace99]

On 12/31/2023 at 1:28 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

rubberlip pleco are really awesome glass cleaners. best I've seen.

Are those Plecos susceptible to eating Sword plants? If they are, then that’s a pass from me. 

 

On 12/31/2023 at 1:28 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Red = move the filter over so your intake and output in around the middle of the tank.  Right now you have very low circulation off on the right right of the tank.

I was thinking of doing that before. The only issues are I have to cut the plastic that’s on the backside of the lids a bit more, which were a hassle, and the banana plants don’t appreciate water flow all that much. 

 

On 12/31/2023 at 1:28 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

purple = move the stem up front that's being blocked out by the fern over towards the middle, consider location where the wood is now or where the fern is right now. You could also leave the fern right where it is, but move the stem so it doesn't get shaded out and replace it with anubias perhaps.

Makes sense.

On 12/31/2023 at 1:28 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Blue = move the amazon sword (I think that's what it is) towards the left corner where there is slightly less intense light, and move the yellow stem somewhere in the middle segment of the tank.  The wood is right under the brightest part and slightly middle of the tank.  For golden ratio, you'd want to just push that towards the right a little bit, centered about where that grey stone is. (sort of swap the wood and the stone maybe).

Moving the Amazon Sword plants and Ammanias will be simple, but the Wood is more complicated, since I have to move the Crypt Tropica as well, and if I’m not mistaken, they are sensitive to being moved at all. The Amazon Sword on the right side I guess I can move to the far right corner, but I have to move the Banana plant in the back as well. The Banana plant in the front is far too deeply rooted into the substrate. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/31/2023 at 9:12 AM, TwoFace99 said:

Are those Plecos susceptible to eating Sword plants? If they are, then that’s a pass from me. 

Mine stick to only glass, but I'll let you know whenever I can find one.

On 12/31/2023 at 9:12 AM, TwoFace99 said:

I was thinking of doing that before. The only issues are I have to cut the plastic that’s on the backside of the lids a bit more, which were a hassle, and the banana plants don’t appreciate water flow all that much. 

can you just flip the lid or swap the lid from the left to the right side (hole stays on the left side but to the right of the brace)

[TwoFace99]

On 12/31/2023 at 11:53 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

can you just flip the lid or swap the lid from the left to the right side (hole stays on the left side but to the right of the brace)

I can flip the plastic connecting the lid on the left side where the filter is. The lid on the right side of the tank would need to have the plastic cut. 

 

On 12/31/2023 at 11:53 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Mine stick to only glass, but I'll let you know whenever I can find one.

Thank you. I’m aware that Bristlenose plecos may feast on Sword plants, but I’m not sure about the other variations. 

[nabokovfan87]

Found this today, just wanted to share.
 

 

[TwoFace99]

On 1/1/2024 at 9:12 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Found this today, just wanted to share.
 

 

Thanks. I just got around to moving around the tank today, and I wanted to share this root system of my Amazon Swords. Took a long while to move. 😅 

Also, here’s an image of the tank now. Sorry for the cloudy water. Hopefully, the algae won’t be as intense, and the Amazon Swords can retreat from its dormant state now. I had to clip off a few leaves, and throw away some of the Corymbosa Compactas. When you said centralize the filter to provide more water circulation to the right side of the tank is this what you envisioned? I couldn’t go directly into the middle, because of the center bridge support. 

Edited January 5 by TwoFace99

[Andy's Fish Den]

I just came across this thread and read through the whole thing. I did not see anything saying what size tank this is, however you did say it has a center brace so Im guessing wither 55 or 75. The nitrate levels seem a little low, I usually try to have 30-40 ppm in my tanks. One suggestion I would have would be to raise the light up off the tank rim. It will allow for more spread of light, and since you said the intensity is only at like 40-50% you can always up that. I see that you have glass lids on the tank, and one problem with using lids is that you will get a shadow where the black hinge is. It will help a little bit by raising the light up, or you can do as Cory showed in a couple of videos recently that he has put two lights on some tanks to get the light in the back as well as front of the tank. 

I would also not move plants around much. I like to wait three to four weeks minimum after making any changes to see any results. Some plants will handle being moved easier than others, as you did mention some crypts done like being moved much. I have a few different varieties of sword plants on my tanks, and I have noticed that when I get a new one, some take longer than others to get going, establishing root systems and new submersed leaves. All my tank lights are on for 8 hours a day, I used to think more hours of light would mean more growth but I have found that there really isn't any difference between 8 vs 10 or 12.

[TwoFace99]

On 1/5/2024 at 6:03 AM, Andy's Fish Den said:

 

I just came across this thread and read through the whole thing. I did not see anything saying what size tank this is, however you did say it has a center brace so Im guessing wither 55 or 75.

 

Correct, it’s a 55 gallon Aqueon tank. I mentioned that detail at the very end of informing the algae situation of my plants. It was a lone sentence by itself. lol 

 

On 1/5/2024 at 6:03 AM, Andy's Fish Den said:

The nitrate levels seem a little low, I usually try to have 30-40 ppm in my tanks.

I ironically just had 40ppm nitrate levels (mainly off of the fertilizer content as the readings before were 10ppm off of the fish waste, etc), until I performed a WC January 3rd, and it dropped my levels back down to 0ppm. The Easy Green fertilizer I utilized twice (Mondays and Fridays, which is today) raises my nitrate levels anyway, so I still try to not have too high nitrate readings before I add more fertilizer. 
Sidenote: I do WCs before adding new fish as well, which is going to be Monday (🥹). 
 

On 1/5/2024 at 6:03 AM, Andy's Fish Den said:

One suggestion I would have would be to raise the light up off the tank rim. It will allow for more spread of light, and since you said the intensity is only at like 40-50% you can always up that. I see that you have glass lids on the tank, and one problem with using lids is that you will get a shadow where the black hinge is. It will help a little bit by raising the light up, or you can do as Cory showed in a couple of videos recently that he has put two lights on some tanks to get the light in the back as well as front of the tank.

Are there any products that you know of that can raise my light off the tank ceiling more? 
As for the light intensity, I can put that back at 60%. 
Would you suggest any light or get the Co-Op light again? The Co-Op light did cost me quite a bit. 
 

 

On 1/5/2024 at 6:03 AM, Andy's Fish Den said:

I would also not move plants around much. I like to wait three to four weeks minimum after making any changes to see any results. Some plants will handle being moved easier than others, as you did mention some crypts done like being moved much. I have a few different varieties of sword plants on my tanks, and I have noticed that when I get a new one, some take longer than others to get going, establishing root systems and new submersed leaves. All my tank lights are on for 8 hours a day, I used to think more hours of light would mean more growth but I have found that there really isn't any difference between 8 vs 10 or 12.

Agreed. I actually didn’t move the log whatsoever, because of the Cryptocorne Tropica being directly to its right side. That was an experiment that I did not want to undertake, especially since the Tropica plant has adjusted extremely well. No growth yet, but hardly any melting, and the leaves seem to be raising upward. 

Additionally, my two Amazon Sword regular ( named: Longsword and Greatsword) root systems were very deep and extended much further than I anticipated (the left side Sword had its roots settled almost under the log 😳😳, which naturally intersected the root systems of the newer Sword plants). That’s why the new setup in that picture has them all isolated from one from another and not clustered together as before. Besides, getting rid of the last algae-covered leaves of the right most Sword plant, both of them seemingly went dormant and stopped growing. 
 

Finally, as for the lighting situation, this issue has been going on for a few weeks already, and I’m already seeing improvement in controlling the algae growth from lowering down to 8 hours a day (a week now) both on the glass and the surfaces within the aquarium.