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My plants were doing really well in a sand gravel mix I had. But over time most of the sand got sucked out during water changes and the plants started looking a little shabby. So I did a full substrate change to all sand, thinking the plants would really love it! Well, they are all starting to wilt at the ends. My crypt luteas almost look black and burned and are curling up. I added driftwood from my lfs (I don't know what kind of wood) which has been leaching tannins into the water, could that be it? I have been changing the water frequently to keep the water as clear as possible. My swords all seemed to turn brown where the leaves converge at the base, but I checked the roots and they still look strong and white. What the heck could be going on in there? The fish sure seem happy! It's been about 3 weeks since I did the change over. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! The only plants that seems to be unaffected are my anubias. Even my java fern is starting to show signs of distress!

Thanks a bunch!
Lauren

There are two big problems with sand that I'm aware of. One is that it contains little to no nutritional value to the plants and two is that it tends to compact enough to crush the roots. So you have an enviornment in which the plants gain nothing to grow with, at the same time that they want to push with the root system to find something good to eat. While yes, some plants get some nutrition from the water they've got a root system for a reason.
Sand is actually not a good substrate for plants without supplimenting (root tabs) and loosening (malaysian trumpet snails) it by hand.

^_^
[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

tankgrrrl

Again I am backing up what Babelfish has stated. Sand just does not have the basics to support plant life satisfactorly. Plant addatives must be added all the time.

Keith

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Thanks guys. That really sucks though, because the sand is in, and after all the work it took to get it in there, I'm just gonna have to live with it. It sure does look good though. Maybe I'll see if I can't find some of those snails...

Thanks again!
Lauren

tankgrrrl,
Look for other options for plants .
Go with ones that will happily be rooted to driftwood and stay green. Java Fern is often overlooked as just too "boring", but with tall and short and lace there's a bit of variety. Anubias species also do quite well on driftwood or stone.
For the plants you already have, try moving them to a different tank, or if that's not possible look to getting root tabs and some MTS.

^_^

[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

Thank guys. I bought some new plants, I guess I'll just keep them in their pots.
I'll see if I can find some MTS around here. It may be tough though, I live in a city that has a pretty pitiful selection of lfs(s). I'll try some root tabs too.
Thanks again!
Lauren

Keeping them in their pots is going to confine the root system...they'll be fine for awhile but the'll stunt just like fish (minus the internal organs of course ). You could try using a regular plant pot that has large enough drain holes, although I'd be cautious about herbacides, pesticides and fertilizers that had been used on and around them in the growing process. One option might be to look for an organic grocery store in your area. Mine carries a small selection of garden plants as well as foodstuffs. Their pots I'd immagine would have had less contact with things you don't want in your tanks.

^_^
[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

Ok im not 100% sure this will work long term, but ive done it on a short term basis.

Ive used plant saucers( the kind you sit the houseplants on,) filled with gravel, and planted in them, them buried them into the sand. I wash well with water,and boil, and havent had problems.

I would think gravel would seperate from sand over time. Eventually you will have little bits of gravel poking up out of your sand and the sand will still run in around the gravel compacting the roots. The sand will just fill in all the spaces between the gravel where the roots would grow.

Thanks for the suggestions y'all. I have also heard of people freezing flourite in cubes and shoving them under the sand. I guess if you did it a little at a time it wouldn't affect the temp too much. But I don't think I can get that around here, unfortunately. I did have some ceramic pots in there once and it made my ph go through the roof, but they were glazed pots, so I think that was the problem there. I am working on getting some MTS, we'll see if those help.
Thanks again,
Lauren

Not entirely sure what using frozen florite would do for you ...Florite is only a substrate it doesnt really help out all that much....after all you'd still have the sand filling up the gaps between the florite.

^_^



[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"