limp rotala. help please!

[JennaH]

i noticed that some of my rotala indica is leaning over. some of them aren't even near the top of the tank, i also noticed the new stem growth right by the substrate is doing the same thing. leaves and color look ok to me, nothing has changed prior to this starting.
10 gallon
DIY co2
KH ~ 100 PPM
PH 7.2
nitrite 0
nitrate~ 20 ppm
dosing dry ferts KNO3 1/8 TSP, KH2PO4 1/16 TSP, K2S04 1/16 TSP all TIW mon, wed, fri.
1.25 ml FLOURISH COMP SIW tues
20% WC sundays
but this has been this way for a few weeks now. no recent dosing change. the rotala has been leaning the past few days.

[JennaH]

oops- just remembered i lowered my lights hanging over my tank. it's 40w about 5" above the tank. it's a 24" fixture over 20" tank. 1 20w 6500k daylight, 1 20w 1 gro-bulb. do you think this could be the cause? will they adjust if it is?

[OverThinker]

I was just going to say that it looks like something to do with the lights. The fact that the top of the plant is loosing color and life. You should put it back to the way you had it before. Also I am not sure if this information is correct, but I read somewhere that the KH should be in between 3-5 degrees. They could have meant for a "lower light" tank set-up. Also it seems like you are dosing A LOT. I just got into this plant stuff but the more I have read about dosing it seems once a week or less often is preferable. Just some useless "read through the grape vine" knowledge...lol..

[JennaH]

well after i lowered the lights is when the tips actually became pinkish instead of just green which is how the indica is supposed to be right?

[xximanoobxx]

Originally Posted by OverThinker

I was just going to say that it looks like something to do with the lights. The fact that the top of the plant is loosing color and life. You should put it back to the way you had it before. Also I am not sure if this information is correct, but I read somewhere that the KH should be in between 3-5 degrees. They could have meant for a "lower light" tank set-up. Also it seems like you are dosing A LOT. I just got into this plant stuff but the more I have read about dosing it seems once a week or less often is preferable. Just some useless "read through the grape vine" knowledge...lol..

uhh, I dose ferts everyday so she's fine with her ferts routine. Also, the KH level shouldn't be in between 3-5 degrees. Soft water plants prefer low KH levels though. My city has pretty much liquid rock but I'm not sure about the actual hardness my water has.

[OverThinker]

just saw images of rotala indica and yes, yours looks healthy. It would make sense it is the lights because in your pix they look like they are trying to hide from the light. Where was the placement of your light before you moved it?

[JennaH]

it was 9 inches above the tank, now it is about 4-5" above. maybe i should back off a couple inches and see?

[JennaH]

ok, so i raised the lights back up, they are 6" above the tank now. ill keep you updated if this helps or not

[Church]

All that would happen is the rotala would stay lower and grow more horizontally, if you decide to keep the light lowered. It was simply reacting to the higher intensity it suddenly received.

[JennaH]

All that would happen is the rotala would stay lower and grow more horizontally, if you decide to keep the light lowered. It was simply reacting to the higher intensity it suddenly received.

but it all looked so sad, like it was hanging in head in shame haha. yea, like i said, it looks healthy, just well, sad...

[bsmith]

There is no r.indica in the tank it is rotala "green" or r.rotundifolia, which has a pre-disposition to grow laterally. DIY co2 is the root of the plants lackluster growth. It is inconsistent at best and deadly at worst.