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Stem plant issues, and a quick water question

1K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  starrlamia 
#1 ·
I seem to have issues with my stem plants and it is driving me crazy! Currently I have cabomba, moneywort and repens. My cabomba seems to shed a lot and slowly turn to mush, the moneywort and repens lose leaves like crazy and all three stem plants turn to mush at the bottom of the stem. My tank is low light, 20l with 1 t8 6700k bulb. I dose ei ferts based on the petaphile low tech/once a week dosing. I used organic miracle gro garden soil and sand for substrate (i know people recommend the potting soil but i grabbed the wrong one and have no issues with ammonia from it). Parameters are stable.

My rooted plants are doing fantastic, I have crypt wendtii, dwarf sag, radican sword, and 2 other swords I cant identify, possibly ozelot and something else. In any case these guys have seachem root tabs and have been growing like crazy! My moss is also growing well and so is my java fern. It is only the stems affected and I have no idea why.

My water question is, there are always suspended particles in my water which kinda drives me crazy lol, I have a sponge filter and ac30 HOB on my tank, both of which are up max but there are still particles suspended. I generally keep my water line up past the black trim for aesthetic reasons but it means the HOB doesnt create as much surface agitation, do you think surface agitation would help move the particles to get sucked up by my filters? I also have very very hard water so could that be why?

Thanks :)
 
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#2 ·
I had a similar issue with my stems of cabomba and repens. Mine I believe was do to the shipping and heat. After about a week of fighting with the bottom kinda melting and replanting the top after a trim they took off quite quick. How long have you had them? Sorry not much more help, just sounded similar to my issue.
 
#5 ·
Your Stem Plants

Hello Starr...

Review the growing requirements of the plants that aren't doing well. I don't believe Cabomba will do well floated. It may need to be planted as the others may too.

There are stems that grow well floated like Anacharis, Pennywort, Water sprite and Water wisteria. Some of the other stems may need to be planted.

Check the lighting requirements too. Your single bulb may not be enough for the plants that aren't doing well.

Floating particles can be removed by using polyfiber in the filters. The dense medium is designed to attract and hold floaters in the water. Keeping the tank topped off is the proper way to maintain it.

Plants prefer acidic water (lower pH). Your water is hard, so it has a higher pH. But, that's not really important. The plants will adapt.

Research the above. You may need to make some small changes.

B
 
#6 ·
Thanks, The stems are planted not floating. It could be a light issue, I try and space them out to provide more light. Will definitely do some research.

Ps the lfs I got my stems from keep their plants in tap water, so I don't think it is a ph issue. Ph is 7.6 for reference.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
 
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