# Help with plants and specialy java fern needed



## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

I have a few plants in my 10Gl tank that most of them I bought in local BigAl's but some privedly. But some of them got yellow or brawn spots on them. Actualy all my plants are growing and showing new leafs and existing leafs on all my plants are up. But the only two who is doing very well is java moss and Microsodium Windelove. rest of them growing but some leafs on them turning yellow (Amazon plant) or getting wholes. The worst is java fern. its groving pretty nicely and new roots and leafs comming from old leafs but at the same time lifes on it getting bawn spots. Some small but many on one leaf, some the whole leaf becoming brawn. i don't understand why ? My fish tank is over a month old and all the fish there is very helphy with no desises or abnormalities. Anybody knows why my plants and specialy java fern getting spoots on them ????
Forgot to mention: Light kept in the fish tank for 8 hrs (3 in the morning and 5 in the late afternoon). the special flurecent light bulb used that are 15 wats each (I have 2) but each outputs 75 watts (same idea as energy safe ones). The only things I'm adding to my fish tank is a BigAl's conditioner to new watter before change and BigAl's bio support to the tank after each watter change. Watter change 20-25% every week.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

The brown spots that you observe on your Java Fern leaves is normal; it is a method of propagation (spores) for the Java Fern.

As for the rest of your plants, to diagnose the problem, we will need more information (i.e. amount of light over your tank, photoperiod, whether you are adding fertilizers or not, CO2 injection or not, fauna stocking levels, etc).


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## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

Darkblade48 said:


> The brown spots that you observe on your Java Fern leaves is normal; it is a method of propagation (spores) for the Java Fern.
> 
> As for the rest of your plants, to diagnose the problem, we will need more information (i.e. amount of light over your tank, photoperiod, whether you are adding fertilizers or not, CO2 injection or not, fauna stocking levels, etc).


Forgot to mention: Light kept in the fish tank for 8 hrs (3 in the morning and 5 in the late afternoon). the special flurecent light bulb used that are 15 wats each (I have 2) but each outputs 75 watts (same idea as energy safe ones). The only things I'm adding to my fish tank is a BigAl's conditioner to new watter before change and BigAl's bio support to the tank after each watter change. Watter change 20-25% every week.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

ppaskova said:


> the special flurecent light bulb used that are 15 wats each (I have 2) but each outputs 75 watts (same idea as energy safe ones).
> 
> 
> > Normally, the light that we consider is the actual wattage consumed by the fluorescent bult (in this case, 15 watts), and not the "equivalent" incandescent consumption.
> ...


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Since your tank is only a month old, your plants are probably still adjusting to the new conditions. If the new leaves look healthy, the plants are removing nutrients from the old leaves and shedding them to grow new leaves suited to the new conditions.


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## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

bae said:


> Since your tank is only a month old, your plants are probably still adjusting to the new conditions. If the new leaves look healthy, the plants are removing nutrients from the old leaves and shedding them to grow new leaves suited to the new conditions.


Tere are new lifs comming out of plants but old ones that was little when I got them are comming out and growing but changing color to yellow or brawn.
This is my conthern.


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## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

Darkblade48 said:


> ppaskova said:
> 
> 
> > the special flurecent light bulb used that are 15 wats each (I have 2) but each outputs 75 watts (same idea as energy safe ones).
> ...


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

What exactly is your stocking level? "10 fish and 4 ground cleaner catfishes" is very vague. If (for example), you had 4 Common Plecos, then your tank would already be overstocked.

Also, as mentioned previously, the 75 watts equivalence lighting is not used and should not be considered when attempting to determine how much light you have over your aquarium.

Finally, you should consider purchase a nitrite, nitrate and a phosphate test kit. While you may not use them so often, they are good test kits to have lying around, for those "what if" moments.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

ppaskova said:


> As per light. On the balbs it said that the output equal to 75 Watt each but input is 15 watt (same as florecent scruin bulbs for regular lighting).


If that is the case, I would say a more accurate lighting measurement would be that you have 30 watts of light over your tank. When the package says that they are equal to 75 watts each, it is referring to how the output of the bulb is perceived by the human eye. How we see it and how plants use it for photosynthesis are two very different things.

However, your java fern and and java moss should be fine with low lighting. I doubt your "amazon plant" (which I assume is probably a sword) is though.


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## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

Chris S said:


> If that is the case, I would say a more accurate lighting measurement would be that you have 30 watts of light over your tank. When the package says that they are equal to 75 watts each, it is referring to how the output of the bulb is perceived by the human eye. How we see it and how plants use it for photosynthesis are two very different things.
> 
> However, your java fern and and java moss should be fine with low lighting. I doubt your "amazon plant" (which I assume is probably a sword) is though.


This is special light "Lfe-GLO" bulbs designed by Hagen. And this is what it says on them
- Ideal for planted acuariums
- 6500k natural daylight color temperature
- superior color rendering
- high efficency light output, 64 luments per watt
- stimulates active plant growth

As per amoza plant, it looks similar to java fern but smaller and grows in the bush, not individual leafs. And I've been told it's low light though plant as well


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Darkblade48 said:


> What exactly is your stocking level? "10 fish and 4 ground cleaner catfishes" is very vague. If (for example), you had 4 Common Plecos, then your tank would already be overstocked.
> 
> Also, as mentioned previously, the 75 watts equivalence lighting is not used and should not be considered when attempting to determine how much light you have over your aquarium.
> 
> Finally, you should consider purchase a nitrite, nitrate and a phosphate test kit. While you may not use them so often, they are good test kits to have lying around, for those "what if" moments.


He recieved the plants by now about 3 weeks IIRC. I've been to his place before and seen his tanks. He uses the screw in type CFL bulbs IIRC.

As of last time I was there his stocking was the following:

10gal
-4-5 neon tetras
-2 swordtails
-~2-3 guppies
-~4 of 10 RCS spotted (assuming the 6 are in molting/filter intake/fishfood)
-j.moss
-j.fern (does not have any driftwood so its in gravel)
-some stem plant (can't remember)
-and I think one more plant.

1gal
-female guppy (pregnant)
-~1-2 fry
-1 assassin snail (gave him a few tiny small ramhorn snails a month and a bit ago along with mature filter floss from my 10gal and he got that to eat the snails as IIRC he didn't want to squish the ramhorn snail babies to control them because his kids didn't want him to do that.)
-j.moss

15W x 64lm per Watt = 960lm per bulb x 2 = 1920lms.

He currently has a BA doing his water testing as he does not have a test kit. He is not dosing with Excel, fertilizers, or co2.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

The 10 gallon tank is likely a low-low medium lit tank, so other than the Java Moss and Java Fern, plants may not do so well.

It is hard to say why the "other plant" (whatever it is) may be doing so poorly; perhaps it is simply not receiving sufficient light, yellowing and then dying.

Finally, lumens is not the best measure of light either, and is essentially only slightly better than the WPG guideline. The best way is to measure light is with a PAR meter, but not many people have access to one...


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

could be nutrients.

also, older leaves can die off when the plant is adjusting to new conditions. 
but your problem is either light, nutrients, or English.


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## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

BettaBeats said:


> could be nutrients.
> 
> also, older leaves can die off when the plant is adjusting to new conditions.
> but your problem is either light, nutrients, or English.


And how to battle / fix nutriens ? Add fertalizer ?


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

thats also one of my problem


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Please take a look at the article that I wrote about fertilization in a planted tank. It is stickied at the top of these forums.


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