Not sure what's happening with my plants!

Hey guys, first wanna say I've learned so much in these forums so thank you! In my 55 gallon planted tank my plants are not doing so well out of no where, with the exception of one ( don't know my plant names I'm a noob). Everything reads 0, ph a steady 7.0, been doing weekly 25-30% water changes, tanks been established for about 2 months. Have 2 filters running , aqua clear 50 gallon and aqua clear 110 gallon, keeping tank around 78-79F. Dosing flourish excel and I have the finnex planted plus 48" fixture. I'm not sure what to do at this point my plants were thriving now it looks like I will have to take a lot of them out . With the one plant doing good in the picture it's shooting roots near the top of the plant by the driftwood, can I trim these plants and re plant? Sorry in advance for my ty camera, there's a Crack in it hopefully the pictures can help you find me a solution!

 

Have you added any fertilizers at all?

 

Have you added any fertilizers at all?

I was dosing the API plant fert (forget the name) I ran out about 2 weeks ago and the guy at the LFS said I didn't need it because I have root feeders besides the Java moss. I used the seachem tabs the other day, I started with the apI root tabs about a month ago.

 

Lol. I just put a similar posting up. I'm having similar issues. Tell us more details on your wattage and stuff like I did. Bc I'd like to see similarities of what we are doing

 

I was dosing the API plant fert (forget the name) I ran out about 2 weeks ago and the guy at the LFS said I didn't need it because I have root feeders besides the Java moss. I used the seachem tabs the other day, I started with the apI root tabs about a month ago.

So how long were the API root tabs in place? And when did you add the Seachem tabs? I notice that a lot of the plants are losing their lower leaves only. How deep is your tank? It may be that the light isn't able to penetrate deeply enough.

 

So how long were the API root tabs in place? And when did you add the Seachem tabs? I notice that a lot of the plants are losing their lower leaves only. How deep is your tank? It may be that the light isn't able to penetrate deeply enough.

I have a 55 gallon tank I believe it's 21 inches deep ..
660nm intensive photosynthesis RED LEDs
(180) 7000k + (96) 660nm RED + (12) is what it says about my fixture, the root tabs were in for about a month

 

What is your gh, kh and TDS? I wish one of the MODS would add TDS to the information link- so ppl could click on it

 

What is your gh, kh and TDS? I wish one of the MODS would add TDS to the information link- so ppl could click on it

I don't have a GH tester but I can barley understand the KH tester , it took 4 drops to turn yellow, not sure what TDS is. The guy at the LFS also gave me these wonder shells to put in my tank to help with the minerals ?

 

In this case TDS might give you a guage of minerals/ elements present in your tap required by plants, but not measured by gh.

I use strips for gh/kh bc I'm too lazy to measure those.

 

In this case TDS might give you a guage of minerals/ elements present in your tap required by plants, but not measured by gh.

I use strips for gh/kh bc I'm too lazy to measure those.

Not sure what TDS is but it's actually 3 drops not 4

 

Your KH is fairly low, it might help to add more minerals and shells (don't know what "wonder shells" are) or even limestone can help that. You can also buy liquid KH Booster. I had to buy some because mine is desperately low.

 

Your KH is fairly low, it might help to add more minerals and shells (don't know what "wonder shells" are) or even limestone can help that. You can also buy liquid KH Booster. I had to buy some because mine is desperately low.

How can I raise it without the liquid stuff, like more naturally? And won't that raise my ph?

 

Your KH is fairly low, it might help to add more minerals and shells (don't know what "wonder shells" are) or even limestone can help that. You can also buy liquid KH Booster. I had to buy some because mine is desperately low.

And shouldn't my ph be lower than 7.0 if my KH is low?

 

With the one plant doing good in the picture it's shooting roots near the top of the plant by the driftwood, can I trim these plants and re plant?

You can trim and replant those.

Does the brown on the leaves wipe off easily? Looks like diatoms (soft algae common in new tanks and goes away on its own). It also looks like your water has a fair amount of tannins from the driftwood? The combination of diatoms and tannins could be blocking some of the light from the plants. Your lighting is on the high end though, so it probably isn't just that.

 

You can trim and replant those.

Does the brown on the leaves wipe off easily? Looks like diatoms (soft algae common in new tanks and goes away on its own). It also looks like your water has a fair amount of tannins from the driftwood? The combination of diatoms and tannins could be blocking some of the light from the plants. Your lighting is on the high end though, so it probably isn't just that.

I haven't tried to wipe them off, and yeah the tannins was so bad in the beginning, anything I can do to help my plants ?

 

If you don't want the tannins in the water (the fish don't mind and some prefer them) you can use carbon for a couple of days to soak it up.
If the brown on the leaves are diatoms, you can swish your hand around the plants to free some of it, but it's just going to keep coming back until it's not.

 

How can I raise it without the liquid stuff, like more naturally? And won't that raise my ph?

Limestone, seashells, eggshells..there's got to be more. And yes, quite possibly.

And shouldn't my ph be lower than 7.0 if my KH is low?

Not necessarily! My KH is even lower than yours and my pH is usually up around 7-7.5 but I am more prone to pH crashes. It's quite unstable with a low KH.

 

Alkaline buffer is natural... In the sense that it's a natural substance.

 

I have some questions. Is any of the new growth pale in color and have green veins or just new growth pale? Plants growing slowly?

I would also start dosing fertilizers into the water column again. Plants need Micro and Macros (NPK) What is the nitrate reading? It should not be zero as nitrates are a macro nutrient for plants. I would pickup Seachem Flourish for micros and Seachem Potassium and if nitrates are zero then you need to get that up to 10-20ppm.