[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Disintegrating leaves
I have been lurking on this list for about the last 2.5 years and have
tried to absorb all of the wonderful advice and information that this list
provides. But recently I have been having problems with my recently setup
tank devoted to plants. The problem is that small holes appear in the
older leaves of several of my plants (Echinodorus spp. mostly but the
problem also occurs in my anubias and apongetons). More and more holes
appear in the leaves until the leaves disintegrate. The veins in the
leaves remain intact but the rest of the material just seems to disappear.
Some parameters of my tank:
55 gal. w/ 4 40W fl bulbs
fine gravel substrate w/ Duplarit mixed in the bottom half
GH: 7 deg
KH: 3 deg
pH: 7.5 (I'm working on bringing it down but my tap water is 8.2)
fertilization: Tetra plant tabs in the gravel, Flourish added weekly
Iron concentration according to Red Sea test kit=0.1ppm
I'm curious if hard water has anything to do with the leaf problems. I
know my water is fairly soft now but my tap water has both GH and KH > 15
deg. and I have just recently purchased a reverse osmosis unit to help
lower my hardness.
I mix tap water with my ro water for water changes so I'm not adding
straight ro water to my tank.
I thank you in advance for any assistance you can offer me.
Richard Cribbs
richman at ucla_edu