How important is it to remove dead plants?

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


natalie265
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How important is it to remove dead plants?

by natalie265

I'm tempted to let them accumulate at the bottom of the tank because i like the natural way that it looks, but will this affect my tank's chemistery esp. nitrate levels?


a1k8t31524
 
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Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 5:10 am

by a1k8t31524

yes, eventully it will depending on how much you let it build up, also the more dead organic matter you have at the bottom of you tank, the more snails you will heve, i dont mind my snails but my population stays undercontrol. You should ask yourself the question of why the plants are dying. if it is 1 or two leaves here or there that is fine but if it is alot then that is probally a problem,
Also if you like the "natural" look of the "dead" leaves on your aquarium floor you should look into buying some dried almond leaves, these also help lower you ph some people also say they help prevent and fight bacetrial and fungal infections.... it is also known as "leaf litter"


BurgerKing7704
 
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Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:03 pm

by BurgerKing7704

Litter is pretty common in some New world "show" tanks. People use all types of leaves, I havent seen many tanks with litter from the actual plants in the tank.

It will stain your water, usually more than driftwood, and also lower your pH.

IMO, it looks great if you have nice fish, wood, and lighting. But it'll look like garbage if not done properly. You could find some stuff on google probably.

BTW, cichlid-forum.com has a tank of the month winner that has used leaves as a primary substrate, looks great.


BurgerKing7704
 
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Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:03 pm

by BurgerKing7704

I found the picture for you, i really like this one.
ede92-18976a.jpg


natalie265
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by natalie265

Thanks for the comments and the picture. My Ph is high, so anything that will naturally lower the Ph i'm okay with. But will it raise my nitrate levels?


BurgerKing7704
 
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:03 pm

by BurgerKing7704

I'm not sure, but you may find the answer at www.cichlid-forum.com. You can literally ask the owner of the tank, they'll probably know.


yasherkoach
 
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Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

it is very important to remove dead plants

I jave had live plants since day one. and sometimes the leaves will die back, I will watch the leaf, if the leaf does not get better in a few days, I will clip the leaf even if it is onloy 50% dead

the reason you take out dead leaves especially ones that have fallen off the stem is because it deprives the good plants of much needed nutrients.

plant leaves that are still attached deprive the rest of the plant of proper nutrients as well as oxygen because the plant is in a struggle mode attempting to heal the bad part thereby using most of its energy or starches to promote the health of the bad side yet it begins to deprive the rest of the plant or begins the process of weakening anyt part of the plant that may be in a weak state

if the plant leaves are on the gravel, completely detached from the plant - as in your case - the leaves will begin to create mold or bacteria in the tank. dead brown leaves are just that, dead...does it make any sense to leave dead anything lying around? unless you are creating a compost site in the bottom of your tank, what good is it to keep dead leaves or anything in the tank? do you keep dead fish in your tank?

believe it or not, dead leaves and dead fish are just about equal...both create bacterial conditions

throw away any dead leaf parts and clip off any 50% or more of a dying leaf attached to the stem of a live plant

words of advice


natalie265
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by natalie265

Of course i keep dead fish in my tank! Doesn't everyone? Ok. Point taken.


a70m1c
 
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Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2008 3:39 am

by a70m1c

I would like to offer a different point of view here as dead leaves in the bottom of my tanks is not something that has ever been a problem for me.

I have found with my 2 planted tanks that the plant leaves begin to die and fall off. these leaves then float on the top of the tank. after a few days the leaves or plant pieces then begin to grow roots of there own. I than replant the leaf when the roots are long enough and have a new plant in a few weeks.

I think the one of the reasons the leaves float up to the surface in my tanks is because the clown loaches, upside down catfish, bristle nose catfish and hump heads are always nipping at the leaves / searching the for food in them, so any leaves that are begining to die are knocked off the plant before they are completely dead.

I did not know that dried almond leaves could be put into fish tanks, I am going to look into this for my discus tank.

I currently keep the ph low and the water soft in my discus tank by having peat moss in the bottom covered over by a layer of fine sand. The plants grow like crazy when the roots hit the peat moss.

Also in my Tanganyika tank i have put some peat moss in a stocking buried the stocking the gravel, then cut a small slit in the stocking and inserted the plant stems. The plants also go quite well in this and the small amount of peat moss hasent effected the ph or hardness of the water.

you could use one of these two methods to keetp your plants a bit healthier and hopefully in turn reduce leaf lossage.


kempie
 
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Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2008 6:35 pm

by kempie

I routinely remove truly dead leaves (ie the ones that go brown and stink) from my tanks. They raise nitrate levels as does any decaying matter.
Certain plants' (eg java moss/crypts) detached leaves can indeed sprout new growth, it all depends on the species reproductive/resilience behaviour.

Never tried almond leaves. My sev would probably eat them anyway.

I have planted large swords in significant volumes of aquatic compost without a problem, normal compost is a problem.
I therefore suggest that aquatic compost could be used in moderation for substrate - it'll affect water acidity and may prove a challenging if you use a siphoning gravel cleaner...!

I'll wait for someone else to try that...

How important is it to remove dead plants?

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