Hello guys. It appears that the leaves of my plants are starting to brown around the edge. What could the problem be? I keep the lights on for at least 8 hours a day. Also, there appears to be brown algae growing on my gravel. What should I do? Probably a lack in nutrients?
Browning around the leaves' edges
- Thread starter grox
- Start date
Some pictures of the plants may help.
The plant in the first picture is wilting, and the leaves of the all the plants in my tanks are all brown around the edges. What could be the problem? I've had them for about 4 weeks, and have not used any fertilisers. That is the problem, right? What should I do?
The plant in the first picture is wilting, and the leaves of the all the plants in my tanks are all brown around the edges. What could be the problem? I've had them for about 4 weeks, and have not used any fertilisers. That is the problem, right? What should I do?
Lack of fertilizers is most likely the main issue. At the very least you need to supply Nitrogen (can come from fish), Phosphorus (can come from fish food), Potassium (add 3x a week), Micronutrients (2x a week), iron (2-3x a week). The amount you dose per week really depends on how many plants you have and the power of your lights. I would also recommend adding liquid Carbon (flourish excel) if you don't provide co2.
The nitrogen and phosphorus levels can come from fish and fish food but that is assuming you are heavily stocked. And I mean heavy. Most likely you will need to add N and K. I would get a few test kits to find out where you are at. Three test kits will give you the info you need. Nitrate, Phoshporus and Iron test kits are what you want.
Nitrate should be 5-20 ppm, 20 being on the high end for fish and 5 being on the low end for plants. Phosphorus should be 1-2 ppm. Iron should be around 1ppm.
The nitrogen and phosphorus levels can come from fish and fish food but that is assuming you are heavily stocked. And I mean heavy. Most likely you will need to add N and K. I would get a few test kits to find out where you are at. Three test kits will give you the info you need. Nitrate, Phoshporus and Iron test kits are what you want.
Nitrate should be 5-20 ppm, 20 being on the high end for fish and 5 being on the low end for plants. Phosphorus should be 1-2 ppm. Iron should be around 1ppm.
