exasperated.

[sunkenmetal]

Easy plant's like java ferns, java moss. Low light plants that don't require a lot of care. I don't have any Co2, and only dose excel and flourish once a week. I do water changes every other day. Ive got a crypt someone gave me I put into a piece of drift wood it is doing ok and growing.

[aquabee]

Easy plant's like java ferns, java moss. Low light plants that don't require a lot of care. I don't have any Co2, and only dose excel and flourish once a week. I do water changes every other day. Ive got a crypt someone gave me I put into a piece of drift wood it is doing ok and growing.

Okay then. I'll try to get a hold of some java ferns and give those a shot. This has been pretty discouraging so far!

[sunkenmetal]

Their are alot of other plants out there that are easier to tank care of. Those are just the ones I have had some experience with...

[Tetranerd]

Here is my take...... Plants need CO2, water, light, and food to grow. They need to be in a certain balance to grow rapidly. Some plants need more light, some less. Some need more co2, some less. Ect... Too much light, too much food (fertilizer or fish poo) and algae (yes its a plant too) will grow quickly. Algae will take up alot of waste and help a tank balance out, but its not pretty to most people. Plants such as swords or grasses and such can take a while to grow a healthy root system before the plant or leaf portion will start to show growth above the surface of your substrate. Once the root system is healthy and established, the plants seem to grow well and take up all available nutrients. This growth usually chokes algae out. But its a waiting game sometimes to allow the tank to cycle out the nutrients. I have read and experienced in both freshwater and saltwater aquariums that too much sun light from a window can encourage algae growth. I have never witnessed a massive growth if algae due sunlight. Water can cause algae if it has a high phosphate levels out of the tap. Too many fish ( fish waste, amonia from respiration, too much uneated food), bad lighting (too little light, too much light, wrong color spectrum), too much of any one chemical\compound in the water, lack of co2, water temperature, ph levels, or temperature are all things that can affect plants growth and health.
All too often we make a change and see no results in the first few days, so we then try to adjust something else and it does not make the expected changes in a few days, so we try somethung new. Sometimes there is a good result that comes from a change two weeks earlier, but we praise the new device or change from a day or so earlier. Our change is attributed to the wrong thing. Patience in this hobby will pay off.
If your lighting is correct, water chemistry is stable, and plants are not sick or dying, then you should have success. Only fix the weak area of your tank.
A larger water volume is more stable. It will take longer to make changes in a 100 gallon tank than it will in a 10 gallon. Water temp will take longer to go up in temperature or down in temperature in a 100 gallon than in a ten gallon. So a larger volume tank tends to be more forgiving to mild neglect than a small tank.
Temperature swings along with ph swings can affect plant health. Some plants do better with low temp, some will accept 85 degrees without a problem.
Research your plants that you have, and see what the internet recommends for ph, temp, light and fertilizer requirements are. Then try your best to give them that enviroment. And be patient. It takes time to grow a vegetable garden, so it will take time to get your plants growing and thriving.

Just my 2 cents

[danielp]

Got to http://aquariumplants.com and look around.

The Wendtii plant group is maybe a good one for you.

[aquabee]

You guys are so awesome. That spiel was really helpful Tetranerd. You're right about the patience... I guess I just didn't think about the root system. I've been trying to give my plants the best environment possible based on my internet research. I'm backing off on the ferts as was previously suggested in the thread. The final step would be to optimize the CO2 delivery, and that's what I'm trying to do. I'll also give it the time it needs without making wild changes.

Thanks a lot, really... I appreciate it mucho.
b

[aquabee]

Got to http://aquariumplants.com and look around.

The Wendtii plant group is maybe a good one for you.

Great website. Looking into it now! :)

[dryden]

if you only need get rid of algae, you can add some ghost shrimp or red cherry shrimp. they work like your peon to clean all algae and nice to look them.

[aquabee]

if you only need get rid of algae, you can add some ghost shrimp or red cherry shrimp. they work like your peon to clean all algae and nice to look them.

I've got a kuhli loach in there though. He won't mess with the shrimp?

[dryden]

No, loach works too. just compare with shrimp it is a bit expensive.

[aquabee]

No, loach works too. just compare with shrimp it is a bit expensive.

Well, the kuhli doesn't eat any of the detritus or algae. He just works on leftover food. From what I hear, shrimp are good for all the types of algae and debris not consumed by my oto or kuhli. Can shrimp and kuhlis coexist?

[dryden]

yes, they have no hurt to each other.
If you dont want any loss, try buy some ghost shrimp from petsmart. 33cents each. they will not die if you dont kill them.

[aquabee]

Hm. Maybe I'll get some shrimp! Thanks!! I was holding off cuz I thought the kuhli would interfere. :)

[wesleydnunder]

Growing the type of planted tank you seem to be after is indeed a balancing act. It's typically recommended that you plant thick at the beginning. The baby tears and chain swords like high light. The more light you have the more the plants want to photosynthesize. Plants also need nutrients and co2 for photosynthesis. CO2 helps them use the available nutrients. So, the more light you have, the more nutrients the plants need for accelerated photosynthesis and the more co2 is need to help the plants to use the nutrients. When the co2 is deficient and light and nutrients are abundant, algae uses the nutrients that the plants aren't...you wind up with an algae farm. for now, I'd raise the light 6 to 12 inches above the tank to reduce the amount of light at substrate level and cut back on the ferts. Excel use at this time will generally help a lot to reduce algae. Hair algae can be manually removed by twirling it in a toothbrush.

Once your co2 equipment arrives, set it up per instructions and get yourself a drop checker. If you can't get a drop checker then you can check the amount of co2 being injected with a liquid-reagent ph test kit. It will be a rough gauge but will get you in the ball park. Your target co2 is usually 25 to 30 ppm.

Let a cup of dechlorinated tapwater sit for 24 hrs to allow co2 and o2 to achieve room-temperature stasis. Test the ph. Write down the number in your log. Say, for instance that your co2 reading is 7.6...that's typical for our area. Co2 injection causes carbonic acid to form in the water and lowers the ph. A drop in ph of a full log; i.e. from 7.6 to 6.6 translates to around 25 to 28 ppm co2 in solution. So, turn your needle valve open until your bubble counter shows 1 bubble every 2 or 3 seconds. For a tank as small as yours the co2 should build up quickly. After 15 min test the water with the ph test kit. Write down the result in your log. test every 10 or 15 min and write down the result. If the ph stops falling before it's dropped a full log, open the needle valve a tad more until your bubble count is a little faster. keep testing and logging test results. If the ph falls below your target close the needle valve a little. keep testing and logging it down.

Once your co2 is stable at your target sat. lower your light back to its original position and begin adding ferts again. Remember, that's a small tank and a little goes a long way. You likely will have to tweak your ferts over time as your plants grow. The more plant mass the more fert needed. Give yourself some time as was suggested and don't be afraid to keep asking questions. Always keep an eye on your co2 if you have fish in the tank... watch for gasping at the surface or other unusual behavior. More fish are killed by new co2 set ups than you would think.

Good luck and above all, have fun.

Mark

[aquabee]

I can't even begin to tell you how helpful that is. I've been looking for this kind of complete and concise explanation for 8 weeks now! Thanks again... the system makes sense now and I feel that for the first time, I have a grasp on how things work. First thing I'll do after my CO2 system comes next week is plant heavier.

I've got a little over 3 wpg of lighting. For now, my chain swords are doing well and have spread nicely across the tank. I cut the runners once the daughter plants looked nice and healthy. The dwarf baby tears are infested with hair algae but are doing their best to slowly send out a few legs. And the anubias and crinum look well. I've cut back on the ferts... there are 2 root tabs in the substrate which I'm leaving there, but now I'm only dosing Excel and Flourish only once a week. CO2 with my current system is at a minimum but I refill the plastic Fluval diffuser twice daily. Will keep doing this til the new system comes.

Seriously Mark, thanks! :)