# plants dying need help



## kookoobird88 (Feb 27, 2012)

Hey

so I had a regular planted tank with anubias, java, rotala, and Hygrophila Difformis, and a few others mi not sure what they are called ( all plants were growing fine before c02)
anyways, I added c02 nothing changed except a brush algae that seems to have infected a lot of plants so I removed the c02(plants started dying eg Hygrophila Difformis). I tried a black out to kill the algae, didnt really work, but the Hygrophila Difformis seemed recovered during this black out. now after the black out the Hygrophila Difformis leaves are going clear and seem to be dying again. this plant was always fine before I did anything with c02. lights ferts all the same. the rotala leaves also seem to go bright green then dying a couple days later. 

55g
ph 6.5
light on 8 hrs
anyways i have two t5 HO about 26in from substrate
fluval stratum substrate
dose seachem flourish excel everyday, flourish trace every second day, and flourish plant comprehensive supplement 2 times a week

any help on why plants would suddenly start dying? everything was fine before the c02, maybe it through something out of wack?
again all plants were fine before i even started c02.
also getting white specs on the glass, any idea what that is too?

thanks in advance! I just want it all balanced again like it used to be!


----------



## Flygirl (Jul 23, 2011)

Wow... I feel for ya Kookoobird. 

Can you give a bit more info as to how long the tank had been set up prior to Co2, how long since you hooked up the Co2, how much Co2 are you adding and also any other changes to the tank/water/ferts/light period etc.


----------



## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Also how big is the tank? Is it heavily planted? IMO you are dosing alot of ferts for some low light plants such as java and anubias. Could be part of the reason for the algea outbreak. What was your bubble count when you had the Co2 running?


----------



## kookoobird88 (Feb 27, 2012)

i know its a real pain in the ass! haha

the tank was set up for about 3 month prior to c02, I used the redsea c02 system with the yeast and sugar method and just did spurts of bubbles about every 10-15 seconds(probably 15-20 tiny bubbles at a time) I have had the c02 now disconnected for 2-2.5 weeks
nope nothing different, I see some plants sometimes that the plants roots somehow creep out of the substrate then go brown and furry , probably whats also contributing to death
also any idea on the white things sticking to the glass? ich?


----------



## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

Your irregular spurts of co2 and lots of nutrients is most probally the cause of black brush algae, the stuff also settles on low flow areas, either cut the infected parts off or try to remove as much as you can manually then use metricide.... The dosage and quantities can be found on one of the sticky threads, good luck!


----------



## Flygirl (Jul 23, 2011)

You have a lot going on in there right now. Hard to understand without actually seeing it and having more of a history. Maybe this is the right thing to do, maybe it's not - but it's where I would start. 

Do a 50% water change, remove your Co2, don't dose anything (no ferts) for a couple of weeks and see where you are at. Then go slow. Add one thing at a time starting with the Co2. You're plants will tell you what you are lacking. There is a great chart on the Seachem website for diagnosing what nutrients/minerals plants may be deficient in and requiring more of. 

Sorry not able to be of more help.


----------



## BCAquaria (Apr 24, 2010)

Every aquarist nightmare. I also had slight issues with BBA. Having the picture perfect algae free aquarium is no easy task.

Adding co2 is beneficial but without PERFECT regulation comes certain consequences. Like tang daddy said its basically an imbalance of lighting, co2 and nutrients. It's very hard to get perfect unless you monitor your water parameters very regularly (like daily). I've had a near perfect tank running w co2 and tailored aquatics ferts for months, then started to get a little lazy for a week or so, then one day the BBA hit. Slowly at first, so I began trying to clean it manually, and it just kept coming back heavier. Note that most picture perfect planted tanks don't have many inhabitants.

So the main thing with removing BBA is you need to be VERY patient with it. There's no overnight cures.

To begin with we definately need all the details of the tank. Size, inhabitants, feeding, ph, how much co2, ferts, gravel, cleaning schedule, lighting schedule, type of lighting, how long tanks been running, how old are the bulbs etc etc.

Do you have a co2 drop checker? AKA 3x CO2 Drop Checker for nano aquarium PH level tester | eBay

What type of water testing kits do you have?

If i were you I would still continue the co2 and a slight lower dosage for now. There's a quick band aid solution with flourish excel I used to do to help rid BBA quicker, but again, it's only a band aid solution. The root cause is the co2/lighting/water parameters.


----------



## BCAquaria (Apr 24, 2010)

Ooh look what I found stickied in this section

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/plan...lic-enemy-1-black-brush-algae-how-fight-2286/


----------



## AquaSox (Jun 9, 2010)

*If you follow the teachings of Tom Barr (father of EI method) then the most important things to fix (from most important to least) are:*

1. Light. If you don't have a PAR meter, borrow or rent one. Or you can look at PAR charts to find the right height to set your light. Physically raising your light higher above your tank will decrease PAR values in your tank. Also you can decrease your photoperiod. You can probably get away with as low as 6 hours. The other thing you can do is remove some bulbs if you have too much light. Light is paramount and is the easiest thing to fix.

2. CO2. Harder to measure...there is a lag between drop checker response...about 2 hours behind. Also the drop checker will only measure CO2 reasonably well at one end of the tank. There is a more accurate way to measure CO2, but it is more laborious. I'll try to find link.

3. Nutrients- are of the least important factor. As long as light and CO2 are right, excess nutrients will have virtually no effect on algae growth. It is more important to have enough nutrients for plants to grow healthy than worry about too much causing algae outbreaks. In fact the EI method emphasizes dosing nutrients in excess. Healthy, thriving plants=decreased algae.


----------

