Im so confused!

[partobe]

Hi Everyone!
My 36 gallon tank has been up and running now for a cpl of months and about half of my plants arent happy. Some are just turning brown or black some are losing leaves and then some are just fine. My fish are doing fine. For lights I have a solar max Ho 72 watt plus a strip it came with and 3 led lights I bout from Wingo that total 24 watts(these are more like spot lights). Ive been looking for a co2 thinking thats why my plants arent happy. I posted here and on planted tank. I received several different responses and they are about 50/50 half think I dont need co2 with my set up the other 50% think I do. I thought I had come up with the solution go buy low light plants(this time from pacific they have really nice plants) and order the fluval co2 that way I would have the best of both worlds but then I realized I cant turn that co2 system off and the replacement bottles are really expensive to replace. Can someone please help me figure out what I should do.
1. just go buy low light plants and replace the ones I have?
2. Buy a real co2 system since my set up in now considered mid to high light now? (my tank doesn't look bright could be because of the wood turning the water brown)
3. Buy low light plants to replace the ones dying and order one of the fluval 88 co2?
Pacific says they have on order a real co2 with tank and everything around 250$ will be in withing 3 weeks.
thanks for your in put.
patrick

 

[jeffvmd]

There are a lot to consider for the "unhappiness" of your plants. That will be the Light, CO2 and Fert dosing.
The 72 watt strip you have seems to be fine for the low light set up you want to achieve even without added LEDs but more light wouldn't hurt unless you adjust the other 2 factors (CO2 and fert dosing). Everything should be balanced out properly.
You can try to tweak your fert dosing by upping it a bit. What are your current ferts and what dosing regimen do you currently have?

As for the CO2 system, It really is a plus. You can do away with it but if you want to see fast results and lush plant growth, that is the way to go.
The fluval 88g IMO is a waste of money. You will end up spending more for the canister refills. the 3-4 weeks of getting new canisters will definitely add up to your cost. If you are willing to spend $250 for a CO2 regulator and tank set up that is the way to go as you will be saving in the long run.

Try to check the azoo CO2 regulators. the are on the affordable side.
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.c...03csegb&ref=3312&subref=AA&CAWELAID=529155783
As for the tank, check them out at local CO2 refill stations as some ask for deposit on a tank or you can buy your own at ebay or CL but most refill stations swap out tanks so the new tank really is not yours.
Better to piece them in together (tank and CO2 regulator set up) as it will definitely be cheaper.

Or try this cheap Paintball CO2 kit http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/s...5582-fs-new-paintball-co2-setup-complete.html which last me 5-6mos before refill. I actually just got a refill yesterday on my 20oz paintball tank at 1-2bps(after 6 mos of use). Been using it for a year or more already.

Another is they may just be adjusting to your tanks parameters. Just clean out the dying leaves.
You can do a search on low light, low tech tanks on TPT and you can see a lot has been succesful in keeping them and you'll be surprised to see that they are really great looking tanks with really healthy plants. It just takes a longer time to have them grow and establish the tank.
The 2 mos your tank is running is still too early.

 

[partobe]

Thanks Jeff
so it sounds like I will be needing the co2 sooner or later. At Pacific the have one for 250 that includes everything. I will prob go look at one they have running monday just to see what it looks like. The good thing about it is they will refill the canister for me as needed.
I checked out the link to foster and smith and my concern is putting it all together and ordering the correct parts. I know pacific will cost more but atlest it will all be done.
I dose 1/2 cap of excel every other day. Im starting to get little algae spots on the glass so I was thinking maybe Im dosing too much?

 

[howze01]

Well, the CO2 can't hurt (except for the whole pH thing). Maybe another few pics of the tank may help too. That way we can see which plants are being affected. If it's some of the higher light plants that we were talking about in the beginning then I think that Jeff may be right in saying that it's just best to clean up what's dying and hope they live. If not, lesson learned and you stick to lower light plants.
I used to work in an LFS and my number 1 recommendation (whether salt, fresh, planted or whatever) was to just leave the tank alone. People get caught up in getting this or that perfect when what a system really likes more than anything is stability. Get your tank on a routine of ferts (like you already do every other day) and just do that for a few months. Wait to see what thrives under those conditions and we can probably point you in the right direction with what else you may be able to add. Having said that, I stick to my original statement as well: CO2 won't hurt either.

 

[partobe]

Thanks Howz yeah Im starting to think the co2 at pacific is the way to go Im going to go check it out monday. I will post more pix later when I get off this afternoon.

 

[partobe]

Here are more pix for you to go by. As you can see some is fine others not so fine.

 

[howze01]

Hmmmmm. The worst off looking one seems to be the swords which is pretty much what II expected. The Anubius, Cryptocorynes and Java Moss all seem to be doing pretty well which was also pretty expected. The Hygro looks good too but it also looks like it may be under one of the PAR bulbs so I'm sure that is helping it. I wouldn't be all that worried by the Java Ferns leaves browning either. I have seen the same happen before when put in a new tank and they come back well after adjusting. Overall I think you're doing very well. Looks like you are going to be better off staying with the low light plants with just 1 or 2 mediums under the PAR bulbs.

On another note, watch out for that gold algae eater. They can get pretty big (up to a foot) and aggressive. If it were me I would stick with Ottos and Amano Shrimp for the algae crew.

Looking very nice, keep it up! It will get easier once you get the right plants in there, I promise!!!

 

[partobe]

Thanks Howze
I thought that was a albino ottos?
Thanks for helping. Ill stick with low light give these guys a while to settle in and buy the co2 tank hopefully that will turn things around.
So I should try to catch the algae eater that I thought was a otto?

 

[howze01]

Yeah, that certainly looks like a Gold Algae Eater to me.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+1162+938&pcatid=938
If it is I would pull it out. It can't be albino since it's eyes are normal colored as well as the black spot. Albinos are all white with pink eyes. As far as I know too, there aren't any albino Ottos out there....at least not many.

 

[partobe]

OMG thats him. I love that fish :-( Ill try to catch him monday before I head over to picific I can drop him off there where hopefully he will find a good home.
Thanks Howze

 

[howze01]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news......

Don't worry though Ottos are pretty cool little fish. Do you have any Cory catfish in there? They were always one of my favorite things about my tanks.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Did you use very fine planted tank substrate?

How long it has been since plants are added to the tank while the water was still cloudy?

Are most of the plants that are going away in the cloudy water for a while?

If that's the case, they are suffocated and the roots probably have rotten.

Is your water clear now?

 

[Jzhou]

What are your water parameters like and by pacific, do you mean pacific aquarium of Chinatown. From your pictures, it doesn't really seem as if you have anything that seachem excel can't provide in terms of carbon.

 

[partobe]

Thanks Wingo and Jzhou
Wingo my water is crystal clear now. The plants were added about 2 months ago and the water was only cloudy for a day or so while the dust from planting them setteled. Im going to remove the plants that are dying this am and do a water change before I head over to pick up the co2 system
Jzhou
My amonia is 0 and my ph is always around 6.4 day and night. Yes Pacific aquarium in china town.

 

[Jzhou]

IMO, you should wait before buying the CO2 regulator, Can you give me the values on your water hardness (gh/kh, and calcium carbonate hardness) and also your iron levels. Your PH seems a little low for sword plants.

 

[snail_chen]

Your plants are mostly low light plants and they do not need co2.

 

[partobe]

Hi Snail Chen and Jzhou
I really dont know what my gh/kh and calcium are. I didnt buy the co2 because it wasnt in but I did buy some plants
Anubias fraeri
Anubias Barteri
Narrow leaf sword
parrot feather plant.
I also bought flourish potassium nitrogen and iron
I did a water change this am and removed the dead plants
I knoticed some of my other plants are also getting holes in the leaves but some arent.

 

[budddman]

You can use flourish excel (I believe, its been a long time since I did planted) as a carbon supplement. Also you could make your own co2 with a soda bottle and yeast and sugar, you will just need a diffuser for in the tank. Plants from the amazon will like the lower ph water eg. Amazon swords. Some plants prefer different ph levels as well so keep that in mind.

Sent from my Droid using Reefs

 

[partobe]

Thanks Budddman
I really want to avoid the yeast and suger thing. I am using excel now and have been for about a month and a half. I think since my lights are considered med the co2 is the best with weekly water changes.

 

[howze01]

Hi Snail Chen and Jzhou
I really dont know what my gh/kh and calcium are. I didnt buy the co2 because it wasnt in but I did buy some plants
Anubias fraeri
Anubias Barteri
Narrow leaf sword
parrot feather plant.
I also bought flourish potassium nitrogen and iron
I did a water change this am and removed the dead plants
I knoticed some of my other plants are also getting holes in the leaves but some arent.

Hmmmmm. Wouldn't hold my breath for the Narrow Leaf Chain or the Parrots Feather. The Parrots Feather is a higher light plant and the Sword is a moderate-high one. If you can get one of them under the other PAR bulb it should be OK though. I don't remember the Fraeri Anubius that one is pretty nice. They are some pretty tough plants.