# Take a look at my plants?



## Longimanus (Apr 21, 2010)

My plants are for the most part growing really well, considering I don't have CO2, but a few are looking rattier by the day, and I am having an increase in algae. My tank is a 33 gallon, with a 24" beamsworks LED light. I have Flourish plant tabs, as well as a few of Mykiss' plant tabs in there. Substrate is Lordco blasting sand.

I know it looks like a horrible overgrown jungle in there, I have a rescape coming up. I have a bit of Eco Complete that I am going to add in in the middle with the sand on either side, and I will rearrange the plants and wood as well.

So here are the plants that aren't doing very well, surprisingly my anubias is starting to look terrible, and these other plants that I can't remember the names of.

I have another light which I stuck on there to see if it would make any difference, but I am unsure if it is a good idea or not. It is a double 24" tube light, one tube is a regular 6500k bulb, the other is a uvb bulb meant for reptiles. Do you think this could help my plants? It is a much warmer light than the LED, though isn't really any brighter.

And as you can see in the second to last picture, there is a major amount of poop there, and I cleaned my tank last night! I'm not sure who the major poopers are, but I need to get something that stirs up the bottom, as the poop isn't going to the filters. (AC 50 and Fluval 404)

Sorry for the crappy pics.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

The increase in light is going to help a lot. For a 36" tank, only having a 24" beamworks LED really isn't enough light. I once had the same fixture for my 20gal, 24" tank and I struggled with those exact plants. Upgrading my light made a big difference. 

Have you tested your water yet? If you haven't I can come by and do a test to see if you have enough nitrates. I don't mind giving you a capful of flourish too to give your plants some food if we find there isn't enough in there. I only see a few fish so the bioload may not be high enough.

First things first though is to make sure you have enough light. I seem to recall there's a gentleman on the forum who is selling a 3' long dual T5NO coralife fixture for a great price that will help.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Oh, also, CO2 is easily replaced with excel. Dose according to the bottle after a water change and it should boost your plant health. Blurry posted his tank on the show and tell thread. He only doses Excel after water changes and that tank looks miraculous.


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## Longimanus (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks Reckon, I will check the nitrates to igut. There are lots of dish in there, just hiding I guess. Stock is an angelfish, 9 neon tetras, 4 emperor tetras, 2 plecos and an iridescent shark. I plan to rehome the shark and add some corydoras.

I will stop at the pet store and get some excel, and ill look into more light as well. 

I do have algae growing on the plants, does that happen if there is not e ought light?


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Longimanus said:


> I do have algae growing on the plants, does that happen if there is not e ought light?


That is possible. Algae grows when plants cannot outcompete them for nutrients. This could be lack of light, or even too much light. It can also be in the incorrect amount of nutrients. Based on what you've posted so far I'm sure you'll see a big improvement with the increased light. A word of warning on the excel, once you start it can be hard to stop 

Actually, I just reread your first post if you see a decent amount of poop in the tank you should have enough plant food.


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## Longimanus (Apr 21, 2010)

Okay I will see how it goes with the different light, if it isn't enough I will look for a larger one. I will also stop and get some excel and see if that helps.
Thank you for the advice! Oh, and I have your bucket in my car.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Not to contradict what Reckon is saying. Hes a stand up guy and I have had many chats with him. I know he is obsessed with his plants LOL and spends lots of time on them but becarefull when adding more light. Plants need 3 major things. Light, nutrients and co2. Changing one thing without changing the others will effect plant growth. Example. If you add brighter light the plants will grow faster at the start. If you arnt providing them enough nutrients to support the fast growth, the lack of nutrients and co2 will cause issues like you are getting. Holes in plants. Good growth at the start followed by slow growth and algea eventually on the lower leaves. Most of the plants you have grow very easily under very little light. The hygrophilia you have grows like wild fire under normal light so does the water wisteria. The others require little light. Anubias tends to grow algea in hight light areas due to its slow growth. Java moss will grow in mud. More light doesnt always mean a nicer planted tank. It can mean more work for you because now you will be trimming the plants all the time. Constantly addind fertz and excel and trying to maintain the tank. That can be a lot of work. I know Reckon had the same light. If it was me id switch to the double bulb you have. I know little about led although eventually im making the switch because bulb prices are crazy!!!

If you are new to planted tanks I suggest slowing it down. Work with what you have now. The second light you mentioned would work if you do choose to switch. Remove the uv bulb and buy a 10,000k or another 6,500k. The uv might be harmfull to fish and plants. Also try trimming the top 5 inches of the hygrophilia and plant it beside the bottom part you just cut. The part wher you just cut will turn inti 2 new stems. It will help it fill in more like a bush rather than a few long stems. I also noticed its reaching for the center of tank. That led light doesnt seem to be hitting the edges of the tank. So any plants planted there will obviously not grow aswell as the ones in the middle. You are learning and asking questions so you are well on your way to a nice planted tank. Remember people who have nice planted tanks have usually setup quite a few. The first one is always trial and error. 

Also if you are going to add excel I would recommend hunting down metricide instead. Its way cheaper. Excel is the same product but Seachem has placed their name on it and jacked up the price. Metricide is also 2x as potent so you dont use much. Ask on here someone will be able to tell you where to find it. If it was me Id try a adding a liquid fertilizer instead of excel. As reckon mentioned once you start adding it. You will need to keep adding it on a regular basis. The plants will need it. Cutting them off will cause more problems or not adding it on a regular basis will cause problems aswell.

Just my 2 cents.

Good luck with the tank


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## JohnnyAppleSnail (May 30, 2010)

A 500ml bottle of Excel for a 33 gal Tank would last You (If used every day) between 5-6 months so that's good value for the dollar. I use it in My 90gal. Planted daily, I like the results....The Plant tabs You are using are great for Sword Plants....


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## Longimanus (Apr 21, 2010)

Thank you everyone for the great advice. This is my first go with plants, so I appreciate the help.


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## shady280 (Oct 17, 2011)

i have 2 5 gal planted tanks and had trouble with my plants.even with flourish, one tank i had 4300k led mr16 bulbs, it started getting bba, i switched to 6500k bulbs and i started with excel and wow what i difference. then i started using iron with that as well for my red plants and another wow!! its amazing what a little nutrients can do. i also found using a drug store syringe (the type for kids medicine) is a great way to accurately dose liquid ferts. i find using the cap is messy and not as accurate as the syringe which has ml gradients on it.


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