High Ph, Water Wisteria Melting

Looking for help. I started a 30 gallon freshwater planted tank at the beginning of January. Things we're going well for the first 45 days or so and then my plants seemed to take a nose dive. Specifically my Anacharis went first and melted, then my Water Wisteria started thinning mid stalk, and now my Anubis BarterI has dropped four leaves in two days (leaves are healthy green but the stalk for each leaf is pale/see through). I tested my tank and the only thing out of whack was the PH which was around 8. Every thing else was 0. I've being using only RO water from my LFS because my tap water was super high in phosphates. My fish all seem to be doing fine. I'm afraid to use the PH lowers because of potentially shocking my fish and the fact that's its just a temporary fix. The LFS guy told me my plants are causing the high PH in the tank and mumbled something about CO2. My internet research just kind of melted my brain with the all the various opinions and options. I've learned about KH but haven't tested it yet. I feel like a browsed enough to know there are so many different directions to try and go its dizzying. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Will my fish eat the plants? The cory cats and Angel fish seem to be picking at the thinned wisteria stalks and floating leaves.

Tank Info:
Plants:
Anubis BarterI (losing leaves rapidly)
Vallisneria Spiralis (initial grass melted but new sprouts and off shoots holding on)
Moss Ball (big and green)
Two pieces of drift wood
One Stump with roots
Water Wisteria (losing leaves and thinning/parting mid stalk)
Anacharis (almost completely gone)

Substrate: Seachem Flourite Black Planted Aquarium Natural Substrate Supplement.
Lighting: Current USA Satellite Freshwater Plus Aquarium LED Light, 36 - 48 in (On about 8-12 hours a day)
Filter:
Marineland Penguin 200, Power Filter, 30 to 50-Gallon, 200 GPH

Previously used Fertilizer:
Seachem Flourish Tabs

Fish:
3 Cory Cats
2 Plecos
3 Angelfish
10 Ghost Shrimp
PH: 7.6 today (8.0 last week, one 33% water change since)
Ammonia: 0
Nitrate: 0
Nirite:0
Phosphate: 0

 

Hello!

I'm not super experienced with plants but I'll use the research I've gathered.
From what I've heard, a lot of plants (especially anubias) don't do very well with RO water. As far as I'm aware, phosphates just cause algae outbreaks which I'm sure is better than a dying plant (tho don't quote me on that), so just using the tap should be ok.

I would also recommend taking a look at the plant deficiencies sticky at the top of this forum in the important stickies section. That could help you see what other minerals you could add to help with plant growth.
I would also like to recommend a better fert such as thrive, as flourish really doesn't have many minerals. That, and if they're the root tabs, those only help with rooted plants, so the anubias are getting no ferts at all.

To lower the ph, you can put in mopani, which essentially leaches ph-reducing tannins forever. Indian almond leaves can also do this, although I'm not sure if they would work well with this fish you have. I'd stay away from any chemicals as they often mess with other parameters.

I think that's all I feel knowledgeable about, I hope this helps!

~Robin

 

Hello!

I'm not super experienced with plants but I'll use the research I've gathered.
From what I've heard, a lot of plants (especially anubias) don't do very well with RO water. As far as I'm aware, phosphates just cause algae outbreaks which I'm sure is better than a dying plant (tho don't quote me on that), so just using the tap should be ok.

I would also recommend taking a look at the plant deficiencies sticky at the top of this forum in the important stickies section. That could help you see what other minerals you could add to help with plant growth.
I would also like to recommend a better fert such as thrive, as flourish really doesn't have many minerals. That, and if they're the root tabs, those only help with rooted plants, so the anubias are getting no ferts at all.

To lower the ph, you can put in mopani, which essentially leaches ph-reducing tannins forever. Indian almond leaves can also do this, although I'm not sure if they would work well with this fish you have. I'd stay away from any chemicals as they often mess with other parameters.

I think that's all I feel knowledgeable about, I hope this helps!

~Robin

Thank you for the feedback. I appreciate it.

 

Well RO contains nothing, which isn’t great for the fish or plants. Melting is normal for newly placed plants but you should remineralize your water and preferably dose fertilizer for future success

 

Since anachris and water wisteria are primarily water column feeders I would think it is due to the RO water and no fertilizer/minerals available for the plants. You mayor may not need to remineralize the water, but you would definitely need some ferts. I would start with some liquid Seachem Flourish once or twice a week. Added with the waste from fish and plant matter, that should begin to feed the plants decently. Also here is a link to an article I put together with lots of various info about getting started with a low light planted tank....

How To Set Up a Low Light , Low Tech Planted Tank

If you want to check out remineralizing the water, check out Seachem Replenish or maybe Equilibrium

 

RO water and no ferts are not a good combo for plants. Your plants are dying from a lack of nutrients.

Seachem flourish and their flourish tabs are garbage IMO. They only contain trace elements which are absorbed in such small quantities anyway.

I'd recommend Thrive by NilocG or dry fertilizers. KNO3, KH2PO4, and CSM+B is a great place to start. High phosphates are nothing to fear at all. I love phosphates in my planted tanks. They keep my plants free of green spot algae (yes, phosphates prevent certain types of algae) and they also encourage color and healthy growth. Phosphates do not cause algae in a planted aquarium