I have a 55 gal tank with 2 65 watt cf lights that stay on for 10 hours a day. Temp is 78 deg, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 15. Water is very hard with a ph of 7.I use Flourish and Flourish Excel, as well as potassium. I also use API root tabs. Substrate is about 2 inchs of gravel. Most of my plants are swords, with a few crypts and some java fern. My plants have been doing well for months now, till all of a sudden the leaves start dying from the tips down. It is a slow die off affecting a few leaves at a time.I am at a loss , and any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
That plant looks like a type of ecninodorus, they need to get alot of iron. 2 inches isnt alot of substrate, maybe add a bag of flourite or other nutrient (iron) rich substrate. otherwise place another root tab near the base of that one, or try dosing a little liquid iron. I think swords and crypys like a tad more iron than average.
I have added several tabs around the sword and have been dosing with iron and micro ferts, p;ant is still dying leaf by leaf. Now my other sword is starting to die the same way
I'm certainly no expert, but I have heard of swords dying in this manner if they get root bound because they are heavy root feeders. Like has been said, 2 inches really isn't a lot of substrate. Maybe if you added more substrate, and kind of pulled the plant up a little from the base to give it more room to spread you'd have better luck.
i would run my lights 8 hours max. 6-8 hours is a good time frame.
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