KEEPING JAVA FERN ALIVE

[channarox]

help please....my java fern always dies over a few months.
i get them all bright green and one by one the leaves urn brown every few days.
im sure i have enough light cause the lfs have java fern in tanks with lower lighting than mine.
i have done nothing for these plants cause i heard you dont need to do anything except provide light?
thanks

 

[JaxsBr]

Java fern prefer low light.
Maybe to much light.
If Mine get to much light they kind of melt,not sure about the turning brown part though

 

[JakeH]

Maybe not enough water flow over the root ball thingy? Thats what I'm gonna try.
I'm having the same issue, but this is my first java. Leaves just turn brown & break off. I have a ton of daughter plants waiting to break off the good leaves, but the adult plant looks like it's crapping out. Come on aqua-gardeners. Help us out...

 

[velanarris]

Lower the lights or start dosing ferts.

 

[channarox]

Java fern prefer low light.
Maybe to much light.
If Mine get to much light they kind of melt,not sure about the turning brown part though

heres a pic...what'd you think?
btw...its actually darker than in the pic.
mine just go brown,not melt.

 

[channarox]

Maybe not enough water flow over the root ball thingy? Thats what I'm gonna try.
I'm having the same issue, but this is my first java. Leaves just turn brown & break off. I have a ton of daughter plants waiting to break off the good leaves, but the adult plant looks like it's crapping out. Come on aqua-gardeners. Help us out...

i have ALOT of water flow at all parts of the tank.
so strong at some parts that the plants actually are blown away.

Lower the lights or start dosing ferts.

i'll try ferts...do i need different kinds?
or can i just get a general one.

 

[velanarris]

You're probably going to want to do a little research but most likely we're talking organic carbon, maybe nitrate if the livestock level is low and potassium.

With browning I'd probably say adjust your lights first and see if the plant helath changes. Couple easy ways to do so are to wrap tinfoil around the base on about 1/4 of the light length and go from there.

Then again, it could be the bulb color. What Temp are the bulbs?

 

[channarox]

You're probably going to want to do a little research but most likely we're talking organic carbon, maybe nitrate if the livestock level is low and potassium.

With browning I'd probably say adjust your lights first and see if the plant helath changes. Couple easy ways to do so are to wrap tinfoil around the base on about 1/4 of the light length and go from there.

Then again, it could be the bulb color. What Temp are the bulbs?

could you explain what is highlighted in red please?
i have two lights on.
ive tried with just one,and ive tried with two.
the plants seem to survive slightly longer with two lights on.
the bulbs are white in color.
temp?meaning temperature?
i dont know.
i'll have to check somehow.
i dont know anything about the specs of the lights cause the previous owner didnt tell me.

 

[Deaths Sting]

could you explain what is highlighted in red please?
i have two lights on.
ive tried with just one,and ive tried with two.
the plants seem to survive slightly longer with two lights on.
the bulbs are white in color.
temp?meaning temperature?
i dont know.
i'll have to check somehow.
i dont know anything about the specs of the lights cause the previous owner didnt tell me.

u may need to add some source of carbon, u can buy flourish excel which is organic carbon and/or build DIY Co2 injector. u could buy a co2 injector but that will cost a little bit.

Temperature of light is rated in whats known as Kelvin. the sun gives off approximately 5500K - 6700K around the equator. this is a good light temperature to grow plants at. the higher the kelvin rating the bluer ur light will be and the lower the rating the redder it will be.

u may not understand this, but u will with a little research.

on some lights it says the Kelvin rating...

how many watts are ur bulbs? how many bulbs in total?

u should really read the stickies and surf google...

 

[MadRussian79]

From the pic I'd say both too much light and too much agitation. You could try a softer bulb like Home Depot Plant and Aquarium bulb, I'm guessing your using either Power Glow bulbs or a smaller power compact bulb. The CO2 produced by the fish is being driven out of the water by the spray bar. You may or may not need a CO2 system. If you reduce the surface agitation the plants will get more CO2 from the fish, watch the tank carefully for a few days to make sure your fish don't start gasping. Java Ferns tend not to do well (at least for me) when planted try attaching them to driftwood. I also use peat in the filter which will provide some organic fertilizer.