[paaco1981]

I know it may be hard to see or even make an assessment from pics, but I'm new to the planted aquarium stuff. These have been in my aquarium about a month and are slowly yellow/browning.

I have been dosing once weekly with flourish comprehensive.
Daily with API Co2 booster.
I have some Osmocote+ root tabs in there.

They are planted in black sand with laterite mixed in.

Using a 48" Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus Light

Pics of some of the plants.

 

[Zapins]

Quite likely this is a lack of either nitrogen or phosphorous. Do you have test kits for either nitrates or phosphates?

Can you post close up photos of the damaged older leaves? In particular the bacopa and the hydrocotyle in the second photo. The pattern of damage helps determine which nutrient is missing.

 

[paaco1981]

Thanks for the quick response, I don't have any way to test for phosphorus, Nitrates is showing 0 though on my API Master test kit. Tried my best to get you a better more close pic. i hope this is helpful.

 

[Zapins]

It does look like it could be a nitrogen deficiency. A lack of nitrogen usually starts out with the tips of old leaves turning yellow and dying back. Fairly quickly you'll notice new leaves start to grow smaller and smaller until the plant stops growing entirely.

Easy to fix, just add some potassium nitrate (KNO3) that you can buy from ebay/http://www.aquariumfertilizer.com/index.asp?Option1=cats&Edit=2&EditU=1&Regit=2. You might as well buy their other ferts as well if you are there, they will last you years (CSM+B/K2SO4/KNO3/KH2PO4/DTPA iron are the usual ones to add, and CaCl2 and MgSO4 if you use distilled or reverse osmosis water).

The flourish comprehensive is very dilute and you'd need to add a lot of it to properly feed the plants you have.

You can use http://calc.petalphile.com/ to help you figure out how much nitrogen to add to reach the 15 ppm nitrate that is recommended.

 

[paaco1981]

Hey Zapins, I really appreciate your help. I'll check out the stuff you mentioned and hopefully my plants will start to look better soon.

 

[Zapins]

Sure no problem, let us know how it goes, its always nice to see feedback whether the advice worked or not. It helps future people out as well. You should start seeing plants grow faster and not deteriorate within about a week. The already damaged leaves will not heal themselves but no more leaves will degrade if the problem is a lack of nitrates.

 

[JeffHerr]

This isn't a temporary condition, either. I believe once per week dosing like that is not sufficient. API dosing schedules are rather light.

 

[paaco1981]

Thanks for the input. At some point hopefully i can get all my ferts and co2 to a good balance. Im still new with a ton to learn but this forum is very helpful.

 

[paaco1981]

What would the dosing instructions be for potassium nitrate in a 55 gallon? Thanks again for the help.

 

[Zapins]

You want to keep at least 15 ppm nitrate in the tank at all times. To do this people have many different ways of dosing. Some dose 3-4x a week in large amounts and then do a large 50% water change at the end to flush out the excess, others test repeatedly and dose to make up for what has been lost.

This site will help you calculate out your nitrates: http://calc.petalphile.com/

Here is a decent place to start if you want to know how often to dose: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=21944