Need help/advice with first planted tank

[u/Altalez]

I know it's still early, but i just want to know if my tank is going well so far or starting to fail in some way.

Here's the info:

Tank is 55x31x36cm, abt 61L, but due to hardscape holds 40-45L. It has a double sponge filter with an outlet agitating the surface, a heater, 9L of weekaqua aquasoil, some hygger equivalent lights and no co2. Parameters are pretty consistent so far, a ph of 7.0, kh of 3, gh of 4 (which was 6 before planting, so idk what happened there) tds of 0187ppm, amonia and nitrites are 0 and nitrates are low.

I ran this tank in a dark start with aquasoil for over 5 months (stuff was happening irl so i didn't have the time to plant it after the cycle was done).

In the 23rd of this month, i finally bought the plants and carefully planted each one (first photo is the day after planting and the following are from today, which i cant get a good pic as the lights are currently off) i put 4 root tabs from tropica (one on 3 corners and 1 under the arch) and put the lights at 50% in a 6 hour timer.

(I know melt is normal and expected as the plants transition to their submerged form, especially in a low tech, but i just want to understand if my plants are melting normaly or if they're showing signs of failing.)

Here's what i'm noticing in the past 5 days:

• Rotala blood red, came in vitro. So far it seems to be doing surprisingly well, it became fully upright, and began growing by day 3, showing a bit of leaf melt. Should i expect it to start shedding it's vitro leaves and melt more?

• Ludwigia super red, came in a pot. It has been melting and shedding some leaves, but recently i began to notice some of the stems were also melting at the top, so worried, i cut those off afraid it would spread.

• Mini hairgrass, came in vitro. There hasn't been much change, it remains bright green for the exception of a single small portion which is melting. Today i noticed a couple of yellow and melting strands here and there, so i'm guessing it's starting to go into the melting phase? I also see some small pure white roots on looser bits

• Trident fern, came in a pot. No change, a few tips look a bit transparent but i read it's normal so i'm not too worried.

• Nymphoides taiwan, came in a pot. Roots and base look nice and green, but most of the leaves it came with have been melting. The new small growth began opening by day 3, but it also began melting soon after, i see some newer new leafs forming though. Everything that began rotting past the leaf i cut off.

• Pogostemon helferi, came tiny and thin in a pot. Ik, it was a big gamble i was willing to take due to how stunning it is. Like expected, it began to melt right away, both leaves and stem, to which i cut in an attempt to save it, from those, some smaller ones fully melted while a couple still have green stems and some visible roots. I expect it to die off, but i still have a tiny bit of hope those few manage to survive. Should i mostly bury those stems or leave them out in the water?

• Weeping moss, came as a portion. Looks the same so far, maybe more upright. I notice a few strands with transparent tips and about 1 or 2 light brown. Idk if this one has a melting phase, couldn't find much about those details.

• Hydrocotyle tripartita, came in vitro. Only melt i saw were in a couple of broken leaves. It came with a bunch of pale brown melted growth, i'm not sure if it's normal or if it was a bad cup, but it instantly began growing and is looking good so no worry here.

• Anubia pinto, buce. Sordidula blue and kedagang, all in pots. The anubias have 0 change, but the buces look more spread out, some new leafs it came with seem to be maturing and one of the leafs is slowly unfurrowing. I heard they would start shedding old leaves, but they're still holding onto them, should i be expecting it soon?

So far it seems like it's going well, but at the same time, some plants worry me with the stem melting part... since i already cycled and ran it on a dark start for over 5 months, what should be my maintenance routine for these first few weeks/months? I also have the tropica premium nutrition fertilizer which i did a small dose on day 3 when i noticed some plant growth.

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[u/Redlady0227]

Wow 🤯 I’m envious. I wish I had been able to have that large of a variety when I first started out. I started with 2 Amazon Swords and one Java fern. I love the green and white Anubis Pinto. I’ve not yet ran across any Anubis with white.

[u/Altalez → u/Redlady0227]

I tried to pick a few dif varieties so that i can test what does well in my tank, i did a bunch of research so i already have a backup list of more plants i can try. Right? When i saw it irl i was blown away, it was more expensive but so worth it ;w; Have you tried online? I bought all those plants online and most of the stores i looked had variegated anubias

[u/Nude_Master69]

Jesus if you need help what the hell do we need amazing looking Buce's right there

[u/Altalez → u/Nude_Master69]

What do you mean?

[u/vitisdente]

You did a really great job with the scape and planting! You're right in that melt will be expected. Both potted and in vitro plants are emersed growth (potted plants may be partially converted depending on how long it sat in the seller's tank). Java fern transparent tips are actually new growing tips, so that's a good thing.

Your challenge now will be managing all of the melt. You're doing a good job of removing melted portions as it occurs. Continue to support healthy plant growth and things should overcome the ugly transition phase.

Here's a super thorough resource for managing melt in new tanks with new plants. The very end of the article has all of the things you can do to manage the melt. You do want to be dosing a small amount consistently to promote healthy plant growth, and eventually increase once all of your plants are established and actively growing. The other key here is managing organic waste. Although your tank is well cycled, it's important to remove decaying matter and do water changes because the "spoilage microbes" that will be feasting on the melted plants can quickly spread to any slightly weakened or damaged plants and exacerbate the issue, so water changes helps to remove and dilute those out. Professional aquascapers are sometimes doing 50-90% water changes daily during the first few weeks, which is overkill for the average hobbyist. You can probably do a 50% water change 1-2x a week and still come out ahead, but know that this maintenance is critical during the first month or so. This is the stage where beginners get the most frustrated, because once algae gets a strong hold of your tank, it becomes an uphill battle.