Plants not looking good..

[Angelfish1]

I’ve had these plants since November. They started off really healthy but they slowly got worse and worse and now I’m stuck with this. What went wrong? The water wisteria and banana plant used to grow really fast but now they’re stuck in this state.



I dose Excel Flourish every 1-2 months. I don’t have a set water change or dosing schedule.

 

[StarGirl]

Flourish Excel is not fertilizer. Plants need minerals and fresh water just like fish do. Water changes and ferts should be done once a week. This could be why your plants are dying on you.

 

[Angelfish1]

Flourish Excel is not fertilizer. Plants need minerals and fresh water just like fish do. Water changes and ferts should be done once a week. This could be why your plants are dying on you.

What fertilizer would you recommend? I wish I knew it wasn’t fertilizer before I bought a 2L bottle of it T-T

What fertilizer would you recommend? I wish I knew it wasn’t fertilizer before I bought a 2L bottle of it T-T

Oh wait I have only flourish from seachem NOT the flourish excel.

 

[StarGirl]

Excel is more for algae issues so you may be able to use it at some time. Nilocg Thrive and Easy Green seem to be pretty popular all in one easy fertilizers.

 

[JLAquatics]

Oh wait I have only flourish from seachem NOT the flourish excel.

Even Seachem Flourish (Not Excel) contains only the micronutrients that plants will need to thrive. Using the liquid fertilizer suggestions provided by Stargirl will yield much better results as both the suggestions she provided contain sufficient amounts of macros and micros needed for healthy plants. Seachem makes separate bottles for all the macronutrients plants need in large amounts (Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K)) because their Flourish bottle does not contain them in sufficient amounts. I'm guessing your plants are all dying because they are starved of the following three elements (N, P, K).

 

[Angelfish1]

Even Seachem Flourish (Not Excel) contains only the micronutrients that plants will need to thrive. Using the liquid fertilizer suggestions provided by Stargirl will yield much better results as both the suggestions she provided contain sufficient amounts of macros and micros needed for healthy plants. Seachem makes separate bottles for all the macronutrients plants need in large amounts (Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K)) because their Flourish bottle does not contain them in sufficient amounts. I'm guessing your plants are all dying because they are starved of the following three elements (N, P, K).

Thank you! I think I’ll buy those macro nutrients separately then. I still have plenty of the flourish stuff left and I don’t want it to go to waste.

 

[StarGirl]

The Flourish Excel and Flourish Comprehensive are totally different things. Excel is not fertilizer it will not feed your plants anything.

 

[JLAquatics]

The Flourish Excel and Flourish Comprehensive are totally different things. Excel is not fertilizer it will not feed your plants anything.

Yes, if OP has flourish excel it is just a liquid carbon and algaecide. However, the OP mentioned in one of their posts that they have Seachem flourish, not flourish excel. Despite this, Seachem Flourish (Not Excel) is certainly not enough to make plants thrive despite being loaded with micros. Macros are the main problem with OP's plants right now.

Thank you! I think I’ll buy those macro nutrients separately then. I still have plenty of the flourish stuff left and I don’t want it to go to waste.

As for you, I still recommending going with one of Stargirl's recommendations. It is really easy to not dose the Seachem fertilizers all correctly and get nutrient imbalences in your tank and you would need to buy several bottles for your plants to grow correctly. I still have a bottle of Seachem Flourish I never used again after switching over to Easy Green. Trust me, your plants will thank you for switching over.

 

[StarGirl]

Yes, if OP has flourish excel it is just a liquid carbon and algaecide. However, the OP mentioned in one of their posts that they have Seachem flourish, not flourish excel. Despite this, Seachem Flourish (Not Excel) is certainly not enough to make plants thrive despite being loaded with micros. Macros are the main problem with OP's plants right now.


As for you, I still recommending going with one of Stargirl's recommendations. It is really easy to not dose the Seachem fertilizers all correctly and get nutrient imbalences in your tank and you would need to buy several bottles for your plants to grow correctly. I still have a bottle of Seachem Flourish I never used again after switching over to Easy Green. Trust me, your plants will thank you for switching over.

Yes I just saw that he switched it. I agree to use the Flourish line you really need to know a lot about water chemistry and what each bottle does. Pretty much have to have a chemistry degree to use it....lol Or just been doing it for a billion years.

 

[JLAquatics]

Yes I just saw that he switched it. I agree to use the Flourish line you really need to know a lot about water chemistry and what each bottle does. Pretty much have to have a chemistry degree to use it....lol Or just been doing it for a billion years.

Yup, that is why I said I ain't havin none of that Seachem fertilizer! I personally like to take time to look at my fish tanks and not study bottles of different elements for hours on end. I did enough of that in college!

 

[StarGirl]

I will say though I used the Flourish root tabs in the past because why not? They were easy to get anywhere. I ordered Thrive root tabs when I got fert last time and thats what I put in the 9g with the Indica and Lotus and they are shooting like crazy. So maybe???

 

[JLAquatics]

I will say though I used the Flourish root tabs in the past because why not? They were easy to get anywhere. I ordered Thrive root tabs when I got fert last time and thats what I put in the 9g with the Indica and Lotus and they are shooting like crazy. So maybe???

The thrive root tabs are likely more balanced with more macro nutrients available for the plants than the Seachem ones. That may be why your plants are performing much better. Maybe you should try some of the Thrive tabs with new varieties of plants in your 55 gallon Val tank.

 

[philly27]

Excel is more for algae issues so you may be able to use it at some time. Nilocg Thrive and Co-Ops Easy Green seem to be pretty popular all in one easy fertilizers.

hmm! so excel and flourish is almost pointless to keep feeding into the aquarium? literally buying as i type for the Easy green. thanks starGirl