HELP!! Plants are dying!!!!

[kal123456]

Hello everyone!

About 1 week ago I started up a 40 gallon tank- with everything in it except a filter, which I ordered and is supposed to arrive in couple of days. In the tank, there are 10-15 bunches of Sagitaria plants, 2 bunches of vallisneria plants and some moss. 3 days after I started the aquarium the leaves of the plants became a clear yellow and are close to falling off. The moss is doing well. Is this a disease that can be treated or new plants have to be bought?

 

[kal123456]

Anybody!!! please answer!!!!

 

[Sab_Fan]

ok, I'll go with some of the standard questions:

> what kind of lights are you using (flourescent, compact flourescent, T5)?
> what wattage? do you know the Kelvin rating (6700K, 10,000K, other)?
> what are your water parameters (hardness, ph, etc.)
> what substrate (gravel) are you using?
> what fertilizers/supplements are you using, if any?

once we get those out of the way, the healing can begin

 

[kal123456]

Thanks for answering!

My lighting is flourescent and it is 18,000K. The pH is 7.5 and the water is medium hard.
I picked up the sand at a beach, which I also have in my 20 gallon tank, it works ok. I'm not using any fertilizer, since I don't have my filter yet.

 

[Sab_Fan]

ok, I'll give you my thoughts, based on my experiences (others may have different thoughts):

> 18K is not ideal for plants; not saying it can't work, but I've had the best luck between 6500K and 10,000K
> you didn't mention your wattage, but when I had a 20G (long) I ran 72W of T5 lighting
> sand is generally a poor medium for planted tanks; they do better in small gravel, which (apparently) supports their root systems better . . . this may explain why your moss isn't doing badly, since it is not rooted
> generally speaking, I think the plants you have would prefer a neutral PH and softer water, but since plants are usually pretty adaptable, that may not be a major problem for now . . .

so, if it were me, I'd change my bulbs, probably to 10,000K (and again, please confirm the wattage, just to see if you are in the ballpark)

I'd also change the substrate, but that might be a bit much . . . you could try using root tab fertilizers . . . or you could try keeping your plants in pots with a different substrate in the pots

 

[kal123456]

Wait, do you mean the lighting is too much?? or the other way around?

I don't know the wattage, I threw away the package where it said it.

About sand, I have it in all my other tanks, and actually, the vallisneria was moved from my 10 gallon tank to the 40 gallon tank. In the 10 gallon tank it grew without any problems with much less lighting!! And the pH was 7.5!
I can't use fertilizers right now, because I still don't have my filter yet, and the water might become very cloudy!



Also, What is the diameter of the gravel I should use?
My sand is 3-4 mm in diameter. I think that is pretty good, or not?

 

[Sab_Fan]

from a Kelvin rating perspective, your light might be too high . . . you are using 18,000K and I was suggesting you would be better of with 6500K to 10,000K (sorry if that wasn't clear)

you should be able to get the wattage by checking the bulb(s); it will be printed on them, usually at one end, near the base

as noted, I wouldn't worry about the hardness or Ph right now

3-4mm in diameter is awfully large-grain for sand; the sands I see available have grain size of 0.1 to 0.3mm . . . if you are at 3-4mm, then that is more like coarse gravel than sand, which means you are probably okay

for example, the smallest grain-size I use for planted tanks is about 1-2mm

Q: what was the lighting in you 10G tank? if you had success on the 10G, you really should use that as your template, and then see what has changed with the set-up for your 40G

 

[mgamer20o0]

i am just going to guess lighting is your problem. sab is right there should be how many watts the bulb is on it somewhere. if you cant figure it out take a pic.

regular fluorescent

compact fluorescent

 

[kal123456]

In my 10 gallon tank, the lamp is of the same brand but less power.(wattage-14)

In my 40 gallon tank i have two light bulbs. one of them is 20, and the other is 14 watts. I still think the light is a little bit dim. I wish i could take a pic, but i don't know how to post one. Please help!!!

 

[kal123456]

Help please!!!