Plants With Holes & Black Leaves

In my 125G tank, I recently added some new plants (mainly red ones), and some of my plants (including new ones, and some older ones), are getting small holes in the leaves, and some leaves are black or lacking color (you might be able to see this in the attached pictures).

I do a 25-30% water change a week, done with Flourish 1x-2x a week, dose with Flourish Excel 1x-2x a week, and also do Osmocote root tabs. My lights could be better, as they are the basic ones that came with the tank (fluorescent bulbs).

I'm wondering what is causing this to happen?

In the pictures, the red/pinkish plants (can't remember the name right now), they seem to get a 'weak stem/roots.' Meaning I sometimes see them starting to emerge from the substrate and float to the top.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

I would actually be happy if all my plants looked that good haha. I could probably do more for my plants though. I don't have that much experience but it does usually take them some time to root properly if moved so you might see some early degeneration before they bounce back. Also, many recommend changing fluorescent bulbs every 8-12 months for planted tanks, their light intensity drops over time.

...I don't know if that helps at all but I would just give them some time if they were just planted recently.

 

HI revelations,

The reason the new leaves are emerging deformed (pic #1, pic#2, & pic #3) and showing necrosis (dead tissue) (pic #2) is likely a calcium deficiency (Ca). The reason some of the leaves are 'cupping' downwards (the leaf margins 'roll' downward or upwards depending upon species) (pic #1) is likely a magnesium deficiency. The holes in the leaves could be a potassium deficiency but it looks more physical damage like a pleco or some other species is snacking.

I would suggest adding some Seachem Equilibrium to your dosing routine; it contains calcium, magnesium, potassium, a little iron and manganese. Start with one teaspoon (1 tsp) per 10 gallons which will increase the hardness of your tank be 2.0 dGH. Continue dosing your other ferts as you have been doing. Do not change your lighting or photoperiod. Now the hard part, patience! For the next two weeks watch the new leaves as they emerge (the existing leaves will change little or not at all). Do they look greener, less deformed, less cupping? If they look better then you are on the right track. Don't forget to add Equilibrium when you do water changes; if you remove 10 gallons of water and replace it with new water add 1 teaspoon of Equilibrium to replace what was removed with the old water.

 

HI revelations,

The reason the new leaves are emerging deformed (pic #1, pic#2, & pic #3) and showing necrosis (dead tissue) (pic #2) is likely a calcium deficiency (Ca). The reason some of the leaves are 'cupping' downwards (the leaf margins 'roll' downward or upwards depending upon species) (pic #1) is likely a magnesium deficiency. The holes in the leaves could be a potassium deficiency but it looks more physical damage like a pleco or some other species is snacking.

I would suggest adding some Seachem Equilibrium to your dosing routine; it contains calcium, magnesium, potassium, a little iron and manganese. Start with one teaspoon (1 tsp) per 10 gallons which will increase the hardness of your tank be 2.0 dGH. Continue dosing your other ferts as you have been doing. Do not change your lighting or photoperiod. Now the hard part, patience! For the next two weeks watch the new leaves as they emerge (the existing leaves will change little or not at all). Do they look greener, less deformed, less cupping? If they look better then you are on the right track. Don't forget to add Equilibrium when you do water changes; if you remove 10 gallons of water and replace it with new water add 1 teaspoon of Equilibrium to replace what was removed with the old water.

Thank you!
So you're thinking it's a imbalance of some of the nutrients? Instead of a lighting issues (my original thought was my lighting wasn't good enough).

 

HI revelations,

You didn't provide you lighting information or photoperiod so I can't respond to that. I can say that the plants in the picture show signs of nutrient deficiencies and a jar of Equilibrium is a lot less expensive than a new light fixture.

 

HI revelations,

You didn't provide you lighting information or photoperiod so I can't respond to that. I can say that the plants in the picture show signs of nutrient deficiencies and a jar of Equilibrium is a lot less expensive than a new light fixture.

Thanks Roy! My lighting is florescent bulbs (I think T8(?)), and the bulbs are about a year old. Tank gets light about 8-10 hours a day, depending on how the sun hits the room.

Would Flourish Advance also help this issue, instead of Equilibrium?

 

HI revelations,

Flourish Advance does contain a small amount of Ca and Mg however I believe the amount of those two nutrients that need to be added to your tank is far greater than the Flourish Advance can deal with economically.

For example:
1 dose per the instructions of Flourish Advance will add about 0.09 ppm of Ca and 0.07 ppm of Mg
1 dose of 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of the Equilibrium will add about 11.5 ppm of Ca and 3.4 ppm of Mg

Seacheam Equilibrium has about 100 times more Ca per dose and 50 times more Mg per dose

As for your T8 lights they are marginal at best likely providing PAR@22 at the substrate level (PAR@20 if a glass cover) which is low light. The lamps should be changed once a year to maintain as much output as possible.

 

HI revelations,

Flourish Advance does contain a small amount of Ca and Mg however I believe the amount of those two nutrients that need to be added to your tank is far greater than the Flourish Advance can deal with economically.

For example:
1 dose per the instructions of Flourish Advance will add about 0.09 ppm of Ca and 0.07 ppm of Mg
1 dose of 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of the Equilibrium will add about 11.5 ppm of Ca and 3.4 ppm of Mg

Seacheam Equilibrium has about 100 times more Ca per dose and 50 times more Mg per dose

As for your T8 lights they are marginal at best likely providing PAR@22 at the substrate level (PAR@20 if a glass cover) which is low light. The lamps should be changed once a year to maintain as much output as possible.

Do you think Equilibrium will have any affect on my fish?

As for my lights, I was looking into getting some new Finnex LED lights (I have a lot of credit card points to convert to gift cards), so I figure the T8s aren't doing much right now.

 

HI revelations,

It is very unlikely that Equilibrium will effect your fish, we are not changing the PH just the hardness any only by a small amount. Remember that these are tropical fish, they evolved in areas where there were wet and dry seasons and when it rained, or the rivers dried up, the water parameters would change. Sometimes those changes would be drastic and sudden and the fish species evolved to deal with those conditions.

Finnex lights are fine, they come with a six month warranty. Personally I use Fluval Fresh & Plant 2.0 which comes with a 3 year warranty.

 

HI revelations,

It is very unlikely that Equilibrium will effect your fish, we are not changing the PH just the hardness any only by a small amount. Remember that these are tropical fish, they evolved in areas where there were wet and dry seasons and when it rained, or the rivers dried up, the water parameters would change. Sometimes those changes would be drastic and sudden and the fish species evolved to deal with those conditions.

Finnex lights are fine, they come with a six month warranty. Personally I use Fluval Fresh & Plant 2.0 which comes with a 3 year warranty.

Thank you very much! I'll give it a shot...my concern was it would effect my fish, but doesn't seem like it.

For lights...I'll research those Fluval, I like the Finnex since they have different modes, like sunrise, sunset, etc....