# Dying plants



## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

I was wondering why my plants that are in my cariba tank (125g) are turning brown. I was thinking that it might be that they arent getting enough CO2. I heard that they have CO2 machines or something of that nature. Does anyone here use CO2 in their tank? Anyone have a pic? I also change my water 25%-30% weekly. I took out a plant and gently scrubbed the leaf and some of that brown stuff came off. Could it just be dirt or sh*t from the p's?


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## alexm (Aug 18, 2003)

sounds like it could be algae growing on the leaves. My plants nearest the window have the same thing where the most sunlight gets to them. Would also be interested in any suggestions for this! (Nitrates are pretty low too)


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

If you are getting brown algae on the leaves, then chances are, you do not have sufficient lighting for your plants to thrive. Do a search on the web for the specific species of plants that you have in the tank and learn about their lighting requirement. Some hardy plants will do well in low light but many others won't. There are equipment for sale and DIY plans if you want to add CO2 to the tank but they bring along another set of problems if you want to add it to a piranha tank. Carbon dioxide levels and pH must be constantly monitored.


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## rday (Mar 10, 2003)

also, normal output (NO) flourescent lights are not real helpful for live plants. try a grow light, which is cheap, only a couple bucks at home depot.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Sorry to go off-topic (well, kinda), but I have a similar problem in my manueli tank: my plants are not covered with brown algae, but the leafs turn yellow and start to "dissolve" from the middle...

What does this mean: I use two tube lights (a normal daylight tube and a Grolux grow light, both 36W), and add liquid nutrients (with iron) to the water once every two weeks (as recommended in the product manual...)








Suggestions/pointers are appreciated!


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## tweaked (Aug 3, 2003)

Are you guys keeping the plants in pots or just diggin them into the gravel?

When I use to use live plants, I always keep them in pots with peat moss and fine sand. I prefer plastic nowadays if at all.


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

Yes, my plants are still in those little black pots they came in. I just plant them into the plant sand I have.


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