Plants getting brown spots

Xavier10

I have noticed some of my Anubias nana plants starting to grow brown spots and my amazon swords. Some of my dwarf water lettuce don't look to good either. My levels are ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate about 10. I'm using API test kit. I have a 50 gallon tank I'm thinking a co2 kit would help anyone can recommend one for a 50 gallon??

Boredomb

Before you go that route can you provide more info? Do you use fertilizers if so what kind and how much?
What kind of lights do you have? How old are the bulbs? What type of bulbs are they? How long are they on for? Also do you know the hardness of your water? All these factors make a difference with plant growth.
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Xavier10

I use a marine land led light set up. The fertilizer I use is seachem flourish comprehensive supplement. I use about a cap a week. The lights are on about 12 hours a day. The lamp is 2 weeks old. Don't know the hardness only place I can find the hardess liquid test kit is online still looking for them in stores. I live in NYC if that means anything.
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Boredomb

You check with you local water company either by calling them or looking online to see what the hardness is. So really no need in buying a test kit that you will probably only use once.
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Byron

Boredomb is on the right track. I'd be willing to guess this is a soft water isue, but your numbers for GH will clear this up. In the far recesses of my memory I am thinking that NYC has soft water...check with the water people.

Any chance you could post a photo of the sword leaves?

Byron.

Xavier10

Ok

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Xavier10

My Anubias nana

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Xavier10

Another one. This one actually getting greener since I moved my floating plants over so it's getting more light

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Xavier10

Anacharis I believe

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Byron

The brown spots on the sword leaves are due to the accumulation of excess iron. In this instance, probably not because you are overdosing iron [the amount in Flourish is in proportion and not excessive], but because the hard minerals, especially calcium, is insufficient. [The GH of the tap water will confirm this.] Calcium is essential for cell structure in the leaves of aquatic plants, and it competes with heavy metals for assimilation. When calcium is lacking in the water, heavy metals such as iron are taken up by the plants in its place, resulting in an excess that is beyond the pants' capacity to store or process. The brown spots spread as more iron is taken up, until the leaf and eventually the entire plant is killed.

I had this very same issue and went ino this thoroughly. The calcium and other hard minerals as they are called are not in sufficient quantity in any of the standard liquid or substrate fertilizers, because these products are made with the assumption that most of us will have sufficient hard minerals in our water. I will go into this further when I have the GH number. It is always possble that something else is involved, though here I doubt it.

Byron.