My tank was doing really well for many months. Was completely cycled before adding fish. Suddenly, my plants started dying and water started turning yellow- assuming because of the dead plants(also have driftwood.) I also used to get tons of snails and most of them are gone. I do bi-weekly water changes and top it off when necessary since I don’t have a lid. I just bought root tabs but I’m wondering if there’s another issue here. Last time I tested the water ammonia was 0 but that was weeks ago. My brother took my kit with him and I haven’t gotten another or any test trips which is on me. Should I take dead leaves off? Any advice would be very appreciated.
25 gal tank
Posted by Nice-Sea-9212
4 Comments
Please also let us know the GH and pH and temp because those can really impact plant health. Also, make sure the water you add is de-chlorinated and de-chloraminated
Yes, remove all the dead leaves. Too much rotting organic matter will cause problems for your plants and creatures right now.
If your driftwood didn’t colour the water for months it is unlikely to be doing so now.
Are you saying you just added root tabs for the first time? Are they a major brand name, and intended for aquatic use? If not a major brand name for aquatics, I would be suspicious of them.
> I just bought root tabs but I’m wondering if there’s another issue here.
So the API master test kit is for fish. However if plants are also important to a hobbyist there are supplemental liquid tests you ideally need.
– pH (This indicates how effective certain liquid fertilizers will be)
– GH/KH (Not really detrimental to plants unless both are 18+ degrees or 322+ppm, but good indication if a tank has necessary minerals for growth)
– Nitrate
– Phosphate
– Potassium
The last three are macro-nutrients, and monitoring their levels will help dictate how often someone should be adding fertilizer to their tanks.
All that nerding of mine out of the way, to address the issues you mentioned:
> water started turning yellow
This is most likely from your wood and any organics in the water (tannins). Its harmless but if it bothers you, more frequent water changes, or chemical filtration will resolve it. Chemical filtration being Seachem purigen.
I would add those root tabs under your sword plants, add multiple around their base. If you have other stem plants, or epiphyte plants in the tank, look into water column fertilization as well.
Another victim of the water change cult.
Those are amazon swords. For some baffling reason they are pushed as beginner plants, and they aren’t. Swords thrive when happy, and are tolerant of hard water.
Their weakness though is they are sensitive to wonky nitrate levels, which I suspect is due to their inability to store nitrogen well. The result is rapid leaf rot the second they aren’t happy.
The bi-weekly water changes aren’t helping. Fish waste eventually turns into nitrate which feeds plants, but bi-weekly water changes eliminate the nitrogen and just turn your tank into tap water. Don’t get me started on phosphate – that’s long gone and being 0 isn’t helping. I’m assuming the tank isn’t heavily stocked with fish.
Use the root tabs, trim off the dead leaves and back off the water changes.