Started new planted 40 gal - need advice

[LadyAphrodite]

Hi,

I've been reading through these boards a lot for a while and I thought I'd get some advice. I have had a 40 gal for a while that I just planted heavily this weekend.

Plants

2 java ferns (that I'm gonna pull out 'cause the leaves are browning up)
2 baby tears
2 amazon swords
a bunch of grosso
a couple Ambulia
and some grass-like plant whose name I'm not real sure of but the undersides are reddish

Fish
2 Sailfin Dalmation Mollies
1 Sailfin Silver Molly
5 albino Cories
2 orange Neons (which I bought years ago before I knew about fish coloring)
1 zebra danio (a survivor from a few years ago)

The substrate is flourite with fine gravel on top. I have a few large rocks, left some open sand to the front of the tank and planted around it.

Lighting
Coralife with 65W 6700k and 65W 10000K
I'm running the 6700k about 10 hours per day. Someone told me that running 10000K will stunt the plant growth)

Filter
HOB Pengiun bio 200

Water parameters
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
The new testing kit doesn't have nitrate testing for some reason
pH - 5.0 / retested after 25% water change the following day between 6.0 and 6.5
GH - 7
KH - .5

I haven't added CO2 because the pH is so low. The tap water is 7.5 so I'm not sure why the tank water was only 5.0. I do have a commercial CO2 product (redsea maybe) that says it should be good for up to 40 but I'm thinking I should prolly have two. I have noted that one of the Dalmations stays toward the top of the tank and looks like he's taking breaths but he's the only one exhibiting that behavior. I can't tell if he's following the bubbles from the HOB or needing O2.

I'm a little confused about fertilizing. I know some plants should have root tabs and other liquid nutrients, but I can't find any site that tells me which to use for which plants.

Any advice on how to proceed futher would be extremely helpful.

[JustOneMore20]

10000K light doesn't stunt plants IME. I have several tanks with this color bulb and the plants grow very nicely. I'd use both bulbs, or just have the 10K bulb on for 4-5 hours during the day.

I would invest in a nitrate test kit. You will need this to determine if you should dose nitrates, which is a macro nutrient that plants use.

The KH is very low....are you certain that this reading is correct? You may need to add in something to buffer it. Really low KH can cause your pH to swing and that is not good for your fish.

For a 40g tank, I really think pressurized CO2 is the best way to go. You could try 2 of the RedSea things and with regular mixture changes, you may have a semi-steady flow of CO2. On larger tanks, DIY CO2 (yeast method) just isn't efficient enough.....and many times it can cause more harm than good (for example, black beard algae).

As for fertilizing, I suggest you dose some Potassium, possibly nitrates (depending on your readings), and micro nutrients (by way of Flourish, Tropica Plant Nutrition, or some other all inclusive micro nutrient formula). For the potassium and nitrates, the easiest and cheapest way to dose them is dry fertilizers. You can buy KNO3 (for nitrates and a little potassium) and K2SO4 (for potassium) from here. You'll just need to email him and he'll get them out to you. 1lb of each will last you months.

Some plants will use root tabs, but I wouldn't bother with those. You have Flourite in your substrate so that, along with fertilizing in the water column will be enough for the root feeding plants. Even plants that are heavy root feeders will take in nutrients in the water, so root tabs are necessary. They also can cause algae, if you disturb them and release more nutrients than needed from them.

Hope thats not too confusing!

[LadyAphrodite]

10000K light doesn't stunt plants IME. I have several tanks with this color bulb and the plants grow very nicely. I'd use both bulbs, or just have the 10K bulb on for 4-5 hours during the day.
Huh. If I had known that I wouldn't have spent the money on the new bulb.

I would invest in a nitrate test kit. You will need this to determine if you should dose nitrates, which is a macro nutrient that plants use.

I plan on getting a nitrate kit next week. Too bad my old kit disappeared.

The KH is very low....are you certain that this reading is correct? You may need to add in something to buffer it. Really low KH can cause your pH to swing and that is not good for your fish.

The tap water tests at KH of 1.5 and pH of 7.2. I've been doing several small (5%-10%) water changes for the past several days and the tank parameters are now KH 1 and pH 6.6. I'm hoping that small water changes several times per week will maintain stability.

For a 40g tank, I really think pressurized CO2 is the best way to go. You could try 2 of the RedSea things and with regular mixture changes, you may have a semi-steady flow of CO2. On larger tanks, DIY CO2 (yeast method) just isn't efficient enough.....and many times it can cause more harm than good (for example, black beard algae).

I've read that algea grows mainly because of plants not growing fast enough. Even a little more CO2 in the tank should help plant growth, no?

As for fertilizing, I suggest you dose some Potassium, possibly nitrates (depending on your readings), and micro nutrients (by way of Flourish, Tropica Plant Nutrition, or some other all inclusive micro nutrient formula). For the potassium and nitrates, the easiest and cheapest way to dose them is dry fertilizers. You can buy KNO3 (for nitrates and a little potassium) and K2SO4 (for potassium) from here. You'll just need to email him and he'll get them out to you. 1lb of each will last you months.

Do these products have instructions on how to dose plants?

Hope thats not too confusing

Not at all, thank you for your reply

[Damon]

That is too much light for a non pressurized system if you run them 8-10hrs a day. Running one for 8-10 hrs and the 10000K for 4 hrs (viewing time) would be fine.

Your java is turning brown because its adapting. Its a slow grower and thus slow to adapt. Leave it be. Its not a good indicator of how your tank is doing.

Ambulia (the asian variety is illegal in the states) is a good indicator and fast growing. Look at it after 2 weeks plant and see how it does.........

You must have a No3 test kit if no other is in your stock..........

Glosso must be kept pruned or it will take over your tank.

The red leaved plant is most likely ludwigia (repens).

I would start with a all in one fert vs dosing individually. I dont see why you would have to dose No3/P04 with your livestock there. Potassium deficiency would be visible in your plants if it was low. Micros should all be there for now......

Your Kh reading cant be right with your substrate...........
Even with the ph swing you had I would not attribute that to your kh. It would have really crashed with a .5