Hey everyone. Am update on my 55. My plants are growing wonderfully. Wisteria is bunching up, swords and Java Fern are sprouting new leaves, and my cabomba has reached the top of the tank. However with this good news, I'm also having trouble. My wisteria leaves fold down after about a week or 2 on the ends. My cabomba is super green at the top bottom and new shoots, but all the middles are brown. I also have a few small holes in my sword. What am I missing here? There seems to be plenty of light reaching the plants. I'm wondering about dry ferts. Should I switch, do I have to mix these or can I just measure and throw in the tank from the bag? My current setup for reference is : Lights are CFL 55w 6500k x2 so 110 total watts over 55g. Lights are on 5 am to 9 am, 5 PM to 10 PM. Ferts are Flourish excel daily. Comprehensive and tetra flora pride twice per week, and Root tabs from Peabody paradise. They are the ru tabs, and the boost versions. Thanks and here are pics for reference.
Looking at the pictures it can be a combination of not enough light and possibly a shortage in Macros such as Potassium with your Wisteria hence the curled leaf tips. Very hard to tell but any yellowing on the tips going inwards? Any yellowing leaves or yellow patches? Pinholes in any leaves? Do you have soft water or harder water? Nitrate reading? Planted tanks need 10-20 ppm of Nitrates. Or should never be too low. The Cabomba looks to be not enough light and that is why it is browning. I have never dealt with browning plants. My personal opinion on your lighting is it is on the low/moderate side. Cabomba needs bright light, micro and Macro ferts and not be shaded by any of its neighbors. Doing a solid 8 hour photoperiod instead of a split one is also what I recommend doing. That can also help. Wisteria can shade its bottom leaves as well and they can become unhealthy looking and grow BBA. Dry ferts are really easy. I just measure and throw into my tank dry, as some prefer mixing into solutions. Its more of a personal preference. IMO I started out with package. You can purchase them separately. I think you will like them much better then the liquid.
Now my next question. Do I need to dose osmocote, flourish, and these macros all at once? Also for my 55, how much and how often would I dose that package? It looks exactly like what I need. BTW I don't have any yellowing in the wisteria, mainly turning slight brown when they curl.
The link that Alyeska provided is for an estimative index system. If you go that route, and it's a good idea, you don't need to add anything else. Here is an explanation on how it works.
