2 weeks old planted aquarium - plants dying

[BaRanchik]

Hey everyone,

I've been having some problems with my planted tank. The plants I've added are:

- Dwarf hairgrass - been in the tank for 2 weeks.
- Anacharis - been in the tank for 2 weeks.
- Hornwort - newly added a few days ago.
- Vallisneria - newly added a few days ago.
- Java moss - been in the tank for 2 weeks.
- A floating plant which I don't know the name of - I think it's dwarf water lettuce. - been in the tank for 2 weeks.
- A red plant which I don't know the name of - bright pink leaves, short, somewhat similar to Anubias. - been in the tank for 2 weeks.

This is my first planted tank, and I was planning on adding a Betta there when it's been established.
So far everything is going wrong. Not a single plant is sending its root, and none of them are really growing. Most of them seem to be melting.

The hairgrass still looks exactly the same as I first got it, the Anacharis have completely melted (I can see some tiny growth though, it's sending new leaves on 2 spots now), the red plant has one of its leaves melting, the Hornwort lost most of its needles and yet to grow any back, the floating lettuce has been multiplying but extremely slowly, the Java moss hasn't spread one tiny bit, and the Valisneria is melting.

Tank parameters:

- pH - 7.6
- Ammonia - 0
- Nitrites - 0
- Nitrates - somewhere between 0 and 5 on the test sticks.
- Temperature - 27C (80-81F)

Additional information:

- Light is a LED desk light, on for 12 hours a day. No filter and no ferts.

- Substrate is regular dirt from outside my house that's been in the oven before adding (which I've seen people use on YT and wanted to try it myself), covered by black sand.

- When I first set it up I've used a few rocks from my goldfish tank, an "Active start" solution sold at the LFS, and live bacteria from a solution. To raise the ammonia level at first I threw in a few sinking pellets. Seeing the snails that came on the plants thriving I later added a mystery snail from my goldfish tank (I made sure parameters were fine before adding) but he began acting weird yesterday, so I had to take him out today to monitor him closer - he might be dying. I added a small number of Amano shrimp yesterday to eat the algae and dead plant material - so far they seem to be always full with food, but they aren't as active as I've read they usually are.

- Haven't done any water changes yet, since nitrates seem to be under control - only adding the amount that evaporates.

I've been trying to figure out the reason why the tanks appearing on YT show so much progress so fast, yet they do the same thing. I hope it's only a matter of patience, but the shrimp behavior alongside the mystery snail getting sick got me very worried.

What should I do?

Edited February 27, 2021 by BaRanchik

[Daniel]

I'd say the culprit is the LED desk light. Some water movement and fertilization would also help.

[kammaroon]

You will need to add fertiliser. Most of your plants are mainly water column feeders, except the hairgrass and probably the red plant. Your dwarf water lettuce, especially, will appreciate it.

I would lower the temperature. 27C can on the high side for some plants.

You need patience also. It may take a little bit of time for your plants to adjust to your water. Two weeks is a short time to expect really good growth unless you are running a high tech tank. Your water lettuce should do well though, once you add fertiliser.

Edited February 27, 2021 by kammaroon

[BaRanchik]

22 minutes ago, Daniel said:

I'd say the culprit is the LED desk light. Some water movement and fertilization would also help.

Can you explain what's wrong about the LED light?

 

16 minutes ago, kammaroon said:

You will need to add fertiliser. Most of your plants are mainly water column feeders, except the hairgrass and probably the red plant. Your dwarf water lettuce, especially, will appreciate it.

I would lower the temperature. 27C can on the high side for some plants.

You need patience also. It may take a little bit of time for your plants to adjust to your water. Two weeks is a short time to expect really good growth unless you are running a high tech tank. Your water lettuce should do well though, once you add fertiliser.

So should I just get a random fertilizer at my LFS and shove it into the substrate?

Also, I will lower the temp to around 25C, I'm just afraid that if I ever add a Betta there it will be too low of a temp.

Edited February 27, 2021 by BaRanchik

[Daniel]

22 minutes ago, BaRanchik said:

Can you explain what's wrong about the LED light?

With lighting two factors are very important. The amount of light and the quality of the light.

LED desk lights have LEDs designed to be pleasing to people. It is unlikely that they are rich in the red and blue parts of the spectrum that are essential for plants and plant growth. You'll notice when you see lighting designed for horticultural applications that it may give off a purplish hue. This is because these lights are rich in photosynthetically active radiation (blues and red). Something like this:

It is possible that your desk lamp is fine, but yours results so far are cause for concern as you have noted yourself:

1 hour ago, BaRanchik said:

I've been trying to figure out the reason why the tanks appearing on YT show so much progress so fast, yet they do the same thing.

I suspect none of the other YouTubers you mentioned are using desk lamps. But you don't have to spend a lot of money on lighting either.

Very good results can be obtained using sunlight. I have an aquarium that is near a window and uses only sunlight.

This can be tricky, because in inexperienced (or even experienced) hands, you can get so much high quality light that you end up fighting green water.

[kammaroon]

52 minutes ago, BaRanchik said:

So should I just get a random fertilizer at my LFS and shove it into the substrate?

Also, I will lower the temp to around 25C, I'm just afraid that if I ever add a Betta there it will be too low of a temp.

A liquid fertiliser that you squirt into the water. You have baked dirt in your substrate so you don't root tabs yet.

Bettas are listed as OK in range 24-27C. You can lower the temperature for now to get the plants growing well, then increase the temp when you add the betta, if you want. With lower temperature, you will also have more dissolved gases in the water, so more CO2 for your plants.