red and green foxtails question

5629 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Bert H, Sep 16, 2008

rollie

Discussion Starter · Sep 7, 2008

I have a question for anyone with experience keeping foxtails. I have had no luck with them at all. I want to know if Im doing something wrong. Foxtails are supposed to be easy plants to grow. My foxtails lose their needles or leaves if you will. All Im left with is stems after about a week or two. I have co2 injection in a 55 gallon tank and my other plants, wisterias are growing like crazy. I have to keep trimming them back often they grow so fast. why wont my foxtails survive? I also add iron and other liquid nutrients every 3 days.

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hoppycalif

· #2 · Sep 7, 2008

What "other liquid nutrients" do you add? How much light do you use? If you have more than about 90 watts of fluorescent light you need to be dosing nitrates, phosphates, potassium and trace elements. Have you done any reading in the fertilizing forum here?

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rollie

Discussion Starter · #3 · Sep 8, 2008 (Edited)

In answer to your question Hoppy, the lighting in my tank is a 40 watt flourescent ,single element bulb. It is a full spectrum bulb with a 18000 k rating. the nutrients I dose with are nitrogen, potassium , phosphorus and iron all in liquid form of course. The box the bulb came in said it is for use in planted tanks. Im wondering if I need even more light. Maybe a double element light hood for my tank?

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hoppycalif

· #4 · Sep 9, 2008

You do need more light for that 55 gallon tank, except for growing mosses, anubias, and maybe ferns. One more bulb might be enough to make a difference. But, 18,000K is much too high a color temperature for a planted tank. We try to stay in the range between about 5000 and 10,000K.

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