I'm new in planted aquariums and I'm probably doing something wrong.

[Rudesindo]

Hello friends. I'm having trouble keeping plants in my 120x60x60 aquarium + 70x50x50 sump. I fully cycled the aquarium for 62 days, and after parameters like ammonia and nitrite were zero, I did a 50% partial water change. A week later I introduced the following plants: 6 Microsorum Pteropus in vitro, 2 Echinodorus Amazonicus in vitro, 6 Bucephalandra sp. sintang in vitro, 3 Anubia barteri Nana in vitro, 2 Taxiphyllum barbieri in vitro, and 1 Hygrophila Polysperma Rosanervig in vitro. My light is a Chirihos Universal WRGB, with a 7-hour photoperiod and a Bucephalandra setting. I don't have CO2, and my substrate is Aqua Soil Amazonia Ada covered by a layer of white sand with a not very fine grain. I fertilize every other day with 5ml of potassium and 5ml of micronutrients (Magnesium 0.55%, Manganese 0.04%, Boron 0.007%, Copper 0.0005%, Molybdenum 0.0003%, Zinc 0.002%, Cobalt 0.006%, Phytohormones 0.003%).
All the plants are turning brown and dying, and since this is my first experience with plants, having always had a mbuna aquarium, I'm completely lost.
Does the Bucephalandra setup provide less light than my 60cm deep aquarium needs?
Am I using too much light? Am I fertilizing incorrectly?
Sorry for my Neanderthal English.

 

[Administrator]

1. Reduce lighting intensity.
Try 30-40% intensity and 6h photoperiod.
2. Start dosing a complete fertilizer.
3. Consider adding CO₂ injection.

 

[Rudesindo]

Hello again!
I thought that because they were turning brown, including the Echinodorus Amazonicus, the problem was brown algae and I needed to increase the light output. Luckily, I waited until I spoke to you.
I didn't start macrofertilization because the setup is new, have low-demand plants, and in my mind, rich substrate, food and fish would do the trick.
So, if I understand correctly, even though they are turning brown, do I need to reduce the light, which is already in the bucephalandra profile? Isn't this BUCE profile the weakest? Shouldn't I use this profile or manually adjust all channels to 30%? Should I start with nitrate and phosphate right at the beginning of the setup, with a fertile substrate adding nutrients to the water column and with slow-growing plants? Wouldn't that just make more algae appear? Do in vitro plants also shed all their leaves when they are raised in an immersed environment in the same way as emerged plants when they are placed in an aquarium?
Sorry for the many questions; I want to make as few mistakes as possible.
Thanks for your help, friends!

 

[Rudesindo]

Thanks for the reply! I'll start daily water changes immediately.
My current setup is as shown in the first photo. Should I reduce it to the one in the second photo?
I thought the light was too low because the aquarium has a water depth of 60cm.

 

[Administrator]

Try 30-40% intensity and 6h photoperiod.
You can slightly adjust the WRGB colors.
Add 5% 1-2 weeks for growth.

Monitor for algae but don’t avoid fertilization out of fear.
Accept melting as part of plant adaptation, especially for Buces and in vitro plants.
Be patient — Bucephalandra and slow growers can take weeks to fully establish and start thriving.

 

[Rudesindo]

Try 30-40% intensity and 6h photoperiod.
You can slightly adjust the WRGB colors.
Add 5% 1-2 weeks for growth.

Monitor for algae but don’t avoid fertilization out of fear.
Accept melting as part of plant adaptation, especially for Buces and in vitro plants.
Be patient — Bucephalandra and slow growers can take weeks to fully establish and start thriving.

All the plants seemed fine at first. I used one of those cheap LED lights to which I attached 1-meter LED strips. The colors were one royal blue strip, one 6500k white, one 10k white, one full spectrum, and one green.
The bucephalandras started to close on the second day after being introduced, but the others were quite green. I decided to buy a Chihiros Universal WRGB light, thinking the bucephalandras were dying due to the cheap lighting. I adjusted the light to the "Bucephalandra" profile precisely to help these plants. To my dismay, the substrate started turning brown, the trunk even browner, and the plants started showing brown spots. Obviously, I'm not blaming the Chihiros, but I'm probably adjusting the light's power incorrectly.
My system (aquarium + sump) holds approximately 600 liters. Do you think that 5 ml of potassium and 5 ml of micronutrients (every other day) + fertile substrate isn't enough? I had read not to fertilize too much at first precisely because the plants are still adapting, and since my aquarium doesn't have many plants, I wanted to avoid overdosing.

 

[Rudesindo]

Test day: pH 6.6, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, silicate between 0.25 and 0.5 (I don't know if it's a lot, I'll research), nitrate between 0 and 10ppm (great for fish, I don't know for plants)

 

[Administrator]

Bucephalandras often close or melt when transplanted due to stress, this is normal. New leaves will regrow if the conditions are stable. Don't make frequent changes to light/ferts right away. Choose a baseline and observe for 2-3 weeks before adjusting.

5 ml K and 5 ml micros every other day on 600L is likely too little. (Or switch to a all-in-one fertilizer)
Brown algae/spots suggest imbalance (esp. low NO3/PO4, possibly silicates), not necessarily overfeeding.

pH 6.6: Good.
Ammonia/Nitrite 0: Excellent
Silicates: 0.25-0.5 ppm is not high for freshwater, but can contribute to brown diatoms, especially early on.
Nitrates 0-10 ppm: For plant health, you should aim for 10-20 ppm NO3 consistently. (Make sure you're not nitrate-limited. If NO₃ = 0, plants stop growing, and algae takes over.)