[[email protected]]

Hi guys,


I am struggling with older leaves where I get pinholes, and then the leaves will slowly die off. However, no issues with new growth and certain plants. Pictures attached below.


Plants I struggle with (should be the easy ones) - Moneywort (when the leaves gets bigger, they get spots, holes, brown, and die off).


Java Fern (new growth ok, but lots of dying older leaves..some from spawning, some are not).


Amazon Swords (the big red Amazon sword located on the lower left is deteriorating. New leaves are doing ok)


Anubias nana and bateri (older leaves share same cycle as moneywort... brown spots, holes, brown, and die off)


Plants that are doing great are: HC (dwarf baby tears), water lettuce, Crypts, dwarf hairgrass, Ludwigia repens.


Tank is 7 month old 55 gallon with Fluval 406. Inline heater, and inline CO2 (3 bubbles a second). Lighting is 48" Finnex RayII (4hr on 2hr off 3hr on) plus 48" Finnex Monster (2hr on 6hr off 2 hr on). Almost zero algae (some green dust algae on glass).


Dosing (all 5mL) is Flourish excel daily, Potassium daily, Nitrogen daily, Iron every other day, Phosphate every other day, Flourish once a week.


Water change (25% every two weeks.... weekly water change didn't do much).


I use to have too much light without CO2, now with inline CO2...growth is great. My top of the tank is also covered with water lettuce (about 300) to give some shade. Just not sure why my larger leaves are dying off.


Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,


Felix

 

[Melika]

I've found this guide helpful for diagnosing: How to Diagnose Plant Deficiencies - Step by Step Guide - Plant Deficiencies - Aquatic Plant Central

Worked for me anyway.

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks Melika.

The link you share reflects some of the teachings in my aquarium plant books. Everything still points to Potassium deficiency which I will double the dosage.
Just some stats on my tank:

Temp: 76F
Nitrate/Nitrite: 0 ppm
Ammonia: 0 ppm
PH: 6.4-6.5
Iron: 0.1 ppm

Felix C.

 

[touch of sky]

Pin holes in the leaves usually suggest a potassium deficiency, so I think you are on the right track with increasing the potassium. Please let us know if you see an improvement.

 

[roadmaster]

Thanks Melika.

The link you share reflects some of the teachings in my aquarium plant books. Everything still points to Potassium deficiency which I will double the dosage.
Just some stats on my tank:

Temp: 76F
Nitrate/Nitrite: 0 ppm
Ammonia: 0 ppm
PH: 6.4-6.5
Iron: 0.1 ppm

Felix C.

Would want to see some nitrogen level's in 10 to 20 ppm range along with the potassium.

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks road master.

When would it be the best time to measure the nitrogen and potassium level?
Would I be expecting the PPM to be 10-20ppm throughout the day?

My challenge is that my plants with the high tech light consumes the liquid Potassium and Nitrogen so fast that it's hard to have anything register throughout the day.... or should I continue to maintain it at 10ppm during the day by dumping extra potassium/nitrogen that my plants can't consume so it lingers at 10ppm?

Felix C.

 

[roadmaster]

Do not know what you are using for dosing or dosing amount's /method.
I would were it me (and it ain't), use dry powder's for macro/micro's and adopt method such as estimative index for your /my size tank which can help eliminate nutrient limitation throughout the week rather than trying to determine precisely how much might be needed daily.
As plant mass increases,what may have been enough in the beginning ,,might not be so now under perhaps more light energy.
Is the light energy/plant mass driving the demand for everything.
Can reduce demand by reducing light energy, and I would quickly take a bit slower growth over algae issues, but other's won't budge off their light's.
Keeping filters cleaned = good flow,removing damaged leaves (won't heal), to make way for new growth,remove algae from leaves best you can without chemical's with finger's ,old tooth brush, but leave rooted plant's be. New growth will appear, but present algae will not often go away without manual removal.IME
Echinodorus in my view,need deep enriched substrate,More so than most other species and in it's absence,, or root tab's, water column dosing is a must.
Need consistent nutrient availability,clean water,not too much light,regular tank/plant maint in high energy or high tech, where everything happens at a fairly quick rate.

 

[[email protected]]

Just an update for everyone.

After doubling my dosage on Potassium (I use all Seachem liquid ferts BTW), and also introducing Seachem root tabs), I see much fewer pinholes in my new leaves (if any). Looks like it is a Potassium deficiency as first suspected. After the addition of extra Potassium, I see a boost in other plant growth too.

Just some advice for other beginners out there using Seachem liquid ferts. The direction of dosage on the back of the bottle is more for a lightly planted tank using High tech, and more densely populated tank for medium to low light. Based on my experience, if you use high light+CO2 and want to use the recommend dosage.... then limit your light to 5 hrs a day. If you want 8hrs+ a day...be prepared to spend more $$$ as you will need to dose double or more to keep up with plant growth.

As roadmaster says, light will drive nutrient demand. Sometimes.... "less is more" with high tech tank.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Felix C.