What to expect from plants in a dirted tank?

On 12/23 I converted my 110 tank to dirt. I planted Jungle Val, Java Fern, Anubias Nana, Rotala, Dwarf Sag, and Anacharis. All of the plants are doing well (new growth and green) except the Java Fern and Jungle Val. I am not seeing Algae and the Trumpet Snails are gone or hiding. Did a 75% water change yesterday and about 3 times to clear the water up after I added dirt. My lights are 2 48" 32W 6500K I leave on for 6 hours a day. I have some Flourish Excel and some tabs and I am thinking about using them.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel89 on January 12, 2012 at 6:45pm

I think u should give the Val and fern a little more time I'm sure they'll flourish.

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Permalink Reply by brosaquaticuniverse on January 13, 2012 at 4:27am

yeah those plants are slow growers until they are bigger and well established chances are though that you'll see some runners from the jungle val quite soon. i strongly suggest not using the tabs or the excell. since your tank and dirt are young they have alot of nutrients in them maybe even too much but probably not but if you do the root tabs it could overload the plant with nutrients which is harmful. also excel can be a dangerous product if not used right. excel can be extremly harmful to plants when you just start using it. you have to start them on it very very slowly. and i highly suggest not using it in a tank with jungle val unless the val is doing very well as it seems to be the most sensitive to excel. and when u say java fern i think you mean java moss same thing but that stuff grows slow so no worries there. anyways good luck.

p.s. 75% can shock a tank if there's fish in it i would stick to 50% or less to be safe

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Permalink Reply by Oz "Mr.Chain Sword" on January 15, 2012 at 9:07am

you need a lot more light on that tank,110gallon you need something like a 216wT5HO fixture 6700K/Pink,u would be surprised the difference within one week...

try this www.aquatraders.com

Hope this helps,look me up,3 dirted tanks,have a AquaTraders Fixture(stand by it-high quality for chceap price)...

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Permalink Reply by Connor on January 16, 2012 at 1:03pm

give it time and also try up grading your lights and then leaving them on for 8-10 hours a day... check our my vid on DIY light setups and see how you can make it work for your tank

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Permalink Reply by battlescooter on January 17, 2012 at 2:10am

I agree that you should have those lights on for 10-12 hours instead of 6. Also if you can afford more light then by all means....

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Permalink Reply by millard_jackson on February 1, 2012 at 12:19pm

I just got back in town yesterday been gone for two weeks. I changed my lights to run for about 10 hours a day and upgraded to T8 bulbs and ballast from the T12's before I left. Every thing looks good except still no growth on the Jungle Val. It is just melting away I did pull one up and the roots look like they are growing but no leaves. The Java Fern is starting to get new growth and I am excited about that. I am seeing more Snails and Brown Algae.

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Permalink Reply by Jason DuBois on February 1, 2012 at 3:47pm

I tried some flourish in my 90 and 30 gallon and it has started to kill my Anacharis so I have stopped using it.

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Permalink Reply by brosaquaticuniverse on February 14, 2012 at 2:06am

yeah its one of things that you really have to ease your plants into. flourish excel should be slowly added over weeks other wise plants can have adverse reactions.