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Re: problem tank

> From: John Lobingier <jlob at wpa_net>
> Subject: Problem Plant Tank
> 
> 
> Conditions before I had problems:  55 gallon tank.  One 40 watt Vitalite.
> One large, beautiful, and healthy 5 year old Amazon Sword.  This sword plant
> has been in this tank for 3 years without one problem under these conditions. 
> GH= 3dh; KH= .5 to 1dh; Nitrate: 25 mg/l; pH= 6.0.  No CO2 injection
> provided.  Fairly heavily stocked with Angelfish.  Filter media= Efimech,
> efigrob, efisubstrat and efiflavin, Dick Boyd's Chemi-Pure, and filter
> floss.  Algae= very light amount of green spot, and hair algae algae on the
> glass only.  Fertilizers= Dupla laterite and Tetra Hilena Crypto tablets (
> 1-0-25 ).   
>
	The one amazon sword was presumably getting enough nutrients.
The bulk elements came from the fish food and the tablets, and the trace
elements came from the fish food.  The lighting was pretty weak, so one
plant cannot have used very much in the way of nutrients.  How often
did you regenerate/change the Chemi-Pure?  If it was active it would have
consumed both GH and micronutrients, if it was old and dead, it would
have caused no problems.
 
> Present Problem Plant Tank Conditions:  same 55 gallon tank.  120 watts of
> light provided by 1 Penn Plax Ultra Tri-Lux, 1 Coralife Trichromatic, and
> one Vitalite.  CO2 provided by the yeast sugar method at one bubble per
> second.  CO2 is bubbled into the intake my Eheim canister filter.  Algae=
> very light amount of green spot and hair algae on the glass only. Plants=
> the same old ( 1 ) Amazon sword, 1 wyteria, 3 hrgrophila polys, 2 very small
> Java Ferns, 2 Onion Plants, 2 Apons.  These plants were all tried out (
> experimental reasons mostly ) because I have made drastic chages in my tank
> lighting level and CO2 conditions. With these changes in place I wanted to
> see what would happen before I make a large plant purchase through a
> mailorder company.  
> Fish Presently In This Tank: a mixture of tetras, some dwarf cichlids, 4
> clown loaches, ottos, and cory cats. 
> Present readings: GH= 2dh; KH= 3.5dh; Nitrate= 12.5 mg/l; pH= 6.6; Tank
> temp= 80 to 82 degrees F. Per advice from the list I have been adding baking
> soda to bring my KH level up from the prior reading of .5 to 1dh.  The KH
> has now been at 3.5dh. 
> Per advice from the list I removed the Dick Boyd's Chemi-Pure because some
> people thought that it was the reason for my GH level dropping from 3dh to
> .5dh. I do realize it can and will remove nutrients from the water.
> Chemi-Pure has been eliminated and even after making water chages, the GH
> level is still not where it always used to be at.  It used to be at 3dh, but
> is now at 2dh.      

	How many water changes have you made, how large were they, and 
what is the GH of the water you add?  Was the Chemi-Pure new when it went
in?

> 
> Prior Conditions Before Following Advice From the List:  Lighting= the same;
> CO2= the same; GH = a 3dh reading that eventually dropped to .5dh; KH= .5;
> pH= 6.0 Nitrates= 25 mg/l.    
> 
> 
> Fertilizers I have on hand and have used= Dupla laterite balls, Tetra Flora
> Pride ( solubale potash 3%; and iron 0.02% ) and Tetra Hilena Cryto ( 1-0-25
> ) tablets, Aquarium Products Pond fertilizer with potash, chelated iron,
> manganese sulfate, and zinc sulfate.  Analysis of Aquarium Products
> fertilizer:  
> Total Nitrogen= 0.00%, Available Phosphoric Acid= 0.00%, Soluble Potash= 1.00%
> Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Aquatic Plant Stimulant with:  manganese, zinc, copper,
> iron, molybdenum, and boron.  
> 
> Plant Conditions:  Hygro poly and wysteria= leaves pale becoming clear; leaf
> veins stay mostly green before these "bad" leaves desinegrate and fall off.
> My once old and healthy Amanzon Sword= gets yellow/brown spots on the inner
> sections of the leaves only.  The tips and edges do not go bad.  Onion
> Plant= just fine.  Java Fern= just fine.   
>
	Make sure these plants get enough K, N and trace elements, and they
should be all right.  Use the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Stimulant for the
trace elements (it has the major 6).  The Flora Pride can be used for 
potassium (albeit _very_ expensively), but is pretty well useless for iron,
as it uses ferric sulphate if I remember correctly.  You have plenty
of nitrogen for now.
 
> Recovery of Plants:  I took all of the hygro poly and wysteria that was
> going down hill and placed them in the following condtions. These conditions
> reversed the problems with these plants.  These once "bad" plants have made
> a full recovery in the following conditions.  
> Conditions: 30 gallon long tank; Water Temp: 80 degrees F.  One 20 watt
> Coralife Trichromatic bulb; no CO2 injection provided; Fish= small number of
> inbabitants. GH= 3dh; KH= .5 to 1dh; pH 6.0; and two very healthy amazon
> swords already occupying this tank.  
> Results: The leaf sections of the hygro poly and wysteria that were pale and
> clear have almost completly "filled" back in with green color. They are
> growing slow, but steadily.  I admitt that the very most bottom leaves of
> the hygro poly and wysteria have turned yellow and gone bad, but the other
> parts of these plants are very healthy now.  

	They are getting very little light in this tank!  Maybe the nutrient
supply in there is adequate for the poor light conditions.



Paul Sears   Ottawa, Canada