Plants don't look healthy

[Redneck91]

I've got a 20 gallon long with 2 guppys, 5 neon tetras and some ghost shrimp. This tank has been set up for 4 months now. There are 2 amazon swords, 2 Aponogeton (Grew from bulb), 2 onion(grew from bulb) and 1 anubius plant. I put some root tabs under the plants when I switched from gravel to sand 2 weeks ago and still add small amounts of liquid plant food.

The swords and aponogeton seem to be struggling a little bit because the tops of the swords on some leaves went yellow/brown. The aponogeton turned a bit brown and just don't look healthy.

My current lighting is an aqueon 8000K full spectrum daytime 17W t8 24" bulb. I have it on a timer for 10 hours a day.

Any suggestions as to why some plants are struggling? Could it be that I moved them from gravel to sand 2 weeks ago? Not enough lighting?

I've read some places where it's recommended to have 2x watts the amount of gallons in the tank. That seems high for a 20 gallon. I love the look of live plants but hate it when they look unhealthy like this! I've also had a bloom of brown diatoms covering the plants as well.. My water params are in check and good.

Thank you for any help!

Sean

[barrettsline]

Plants don't look healthy

More than likely, the move is what has disturbed them. Sorry that's all I got. Only other thing is I was using 6700k bulbs when I had my planted tank.

[mnemenoi]

+1 I can only say they are going through a little shock currently and will right themselves once they get through their initial shock. I agree on light spectrum (I have never been a fan of 8000K, and prefer either 6500K or 10,000K on my tanks) though I doubt it added anything in this instance as they were doing fine prior to the substrate swap.

About the only thing I have that it could be is depleting a potassium/Nitrate source as the sand is more difficult to transfer nutrients through and this caused the browning. If this is the case then once the substrate ages and becomes more active it should alleviate it as well.

[Numero111]

A 20 long should be fine with that light and those plants. You are right it was probably just removing the plants and putting them in with new substrate. That would mess with the roots, I did the same thing once but since you dose with ferts they should return to normal soon.

[Totenkampf]

I would say that less than 1WPG from a T8 source is a little less than swords and some apons may like. is the sand an inert sand? if it has calcium in it then the increased hardness could cause the leaves to brown out. most likely, the roots were damaged as a result of the move. all plants keep a ratio of foliage mass to root mass so that energy uptake and usage are balanced. if the root mass is decreased, the plant will drop leaves until the balance is restored.

[Redneck91]

Yeah other folks have suggested me a 6700k bulb, I didn't think that would be much of a difference!
I'm hoping the roots will recover shortly
The sand is washed play sand that I got from Home Depot, so I don't know about any specs within it, sorry!

Thank you everyone for your responses :)

[mnemenoi]

The shift in kelvin spectrum and perceived light does indeed have a noticable effect on the tank and the plants light usage ability

[Redneck91]

It seems like the plants would definitely benefit from it, would it have any adverse affect on the fish and shrimp?

[allysangels]

i've heard that low iron can cause yellowing leaves but if you're dosing with ferts then that shouldn't be an issue. what is the temp of the tank? anything over 84/85 can cause this as well, in my big plant tank i constantly move the plants around to harvest as they grow, i have different crypts, swords, stem plants, and more, and it never seems to affect them.

[h2oaggie]

Re: Plants don't look healthy

Not enough light, plain and simple. Look at adding an additional T8 fixture or upgrading to something brighter.

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[allysangels]

with the plants you listed, i don't think light is the issue. i'm still just using the regular fluorescent bulbs that came with the tank and my plants grow like crazy! they are on a timer, 12 hours on, 12 off. no CO2, either. just clean water and fish poop.
IMG_20120823_143011.jpg

[Totenkampf]

It seems like the plants would definitely benefit from it, would it have any adverse affect on the fish and shrimp?

not at all, 6700k is perceived as warmer by us so i assume fish might see things the same way. i have never noticed the animals caring much about the spectrum.

[CRUSHER]

they getting too much water... lol

[allysangels]

they getting too much water... lol

+1 lol

[tada1980]

im,still a noob, but i read that apart from the macro nutrients of npk(nitrogen phosphorus potassium) which you shouldnt worry about your plants having access to already in a balanced tank, make sure they are getting the right micro nutrients too..i think green leaf aquarium sells a green mix which is supposed to be like an all in one mix. aquariumfertilizer.com has a similar macro micro mix which im thinking of getting. just be sure to follow the dosing directions and dont overdose. ive heard the pmdd mix isnt recommended , not sure why tho..