# Planted Tanks > Beginners' Corner >  DYING monte carlo

## Say Hien

My monte carlo is browning and looks like it's not gona make it. My background plant hornworts are doing comparatively well.
Any solutions? 

Low tech tank(1 feet) is 2 weeks old.
Soil:Planta
Dosing: Excel(daily), flourish(every 4 days), potassium(every 4 days)
Lighting: 8 hours

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## yellowthresher

It could be because your tank is still "young" and your monte carlo is struggling to adapt to your tank. You might be intereseted in co2 injection as my friend told me that monte carlos needs a lot of co2.

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## thebaldingaquarist

noticed you do not have CO2 injected. this means
1. your monte carlo will take longer to adapt as what yellowthresher mentioned.
2. algae will start growing due to imbalanced nutrients : light : CO2

excel may be able to hold back the algae for a while. but moving on, i recommend you either stop ferting, or inject CO2.

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## Say Hien

> It could be because your tank is still "young" and your monte carlo is struggling to adapt to your tank. You might be intereseted in co2 injection as my friend told me that monte carlos needs a lot of co2.



Hi, plants generally grow faster and lushier with the inclusion of co2.
However, I also read that monte carlo can be grown wo the gas, abeit slower.
Still, I'm using excel daily.

I've read on seachem's website that if co2 gas has an absorption rate of 10, excel is 6-7.
Therefore, my aquarium still has the addition of co2 - liquid form.

I'm wondering whether it's a certain fertilizer that I'm missing??

Need more people to weigh in on this. :Smile:

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## WingCher

1. Temperature too warm.
2. Not enough current flow on substrate surface level.
3. Lighting not strong enough at substrate level.
4. Lighting spectrum is wrong.
5. Not enough CO2 during photosynthesis period.
6. Potassium not enough.

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## Urban Aquaria

Looks like your MC are still adapting to the tank conditions, you'll probably need to give them more time to establish roots and then they will gradually start producing new growth. 

As the MC transition to submersed form, the older emersed leaves will naturally brown and melt away, so in the meantime just trim and remove all the melting parts to reduce rotting matter in the tank.

Seachem's marketing claim of Excel being 6-7 on the efficiency scale (compared to Co2 injection) tends to be rather "optimistic" at best, from my experience comparing plant growth rates using both methods, i find it more like 2-3 on the efficiency scale. While Excel does help encourage plant growth, its far from the type of super accelerated growth rates like with actual Co2 injection. So just have to manage expectations.  :Grin: 

Btw, those background plants are not hornworts... based on the leaf structures and reddish tips, they are actually Rotala Wallichii. Those plants naturally grow very fast even in low-tech environments, good choice for background stem plants.  :Well done:

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## Mr TZY

I do face this issue in my tank. Just top up water after dry starting. My Monte Carlo is browning and showing transparent leaves. I has been 3 days and counting. Been adding excel daily. My lights are 24W and on for 10 hours! So what should I do next? Should I add in flourish? In addition , my Xmas moss are showing signs of blackening on my moss tree

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## Say Hien

> 6. Potassium not enough.


Yup, been dosing potassium DAILY ever since and I must say that my mc has improved so this is the missing key. Thank you.




> Seachem's marketing claim of Excel being 6-7 on the efficiency scale (compared to Co2 injection) tends to be rather "optimistic" at best, from my experience comparing plant growth rates using both methods, i find it more like 2-3 on the efficiency scale. While Excel does help encourage plant growth, its far from the type of super accelerated growth rates like with actual Co2 injection. So just have to manage expectations. 
> 
> Btw, those background plants are not hornworts... based on the leaf structures and reddish tips, they are actually Rotala Wallichii. Those plants naturally grow very fast even in low-tech environments, good choice for background stem plants.


Yup, experience trumps marketing bah.. :Very Happy: 
Thanks, I find the Rotala very fascinating, they awaken by opening their tips in the morning and close them in the evening to 'sleep'




> I do face this issue in my tank. Just top up water after dry starting. My Monte Carlo is browning and showing transparent leaves. I has been 3 days and counting. Been adding excel daily. My lights are 24W and on for 10 hours! So what should I do next? Should I add in flourish? In addition , my Xmas moss are showing signs of blackening on my moss tree


Flourish, excel n potassium are your holy trinity. I got that info from speaking to some experienced ppl. In this instance, add potassium and dose it daily.

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## Mr TZY

> Yup, been dosing potassium DAILY ever since and I must say that my mc has improved so this is the missing key. Thank you.
> 
> 
> 
> Yup, experience trumps marketing bah..
> Thanks, I find the Rotala very fascinating, they awaken by opening their tips in the morning and close them in the evening to 'sleep'
> 
> 
> Flourish, excel n potassium are your holy trinity. I got that info from speaking to some experienced ppl. In this instance, add potassium and dose it daily.


so your Monte Carlo have regained its greenery? So just potassium will do together with excel and flourish daily?

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## Say Hien

> so your Monte Carlo have regained its greenery? So just potassium will do together with excel and flourish daily?


I recommend you to follow the instructions on your bottles.
That said, my current regimen consists of daily dosage of excel and potassium and 2x dosage/week of flourish.

But it'd be good for other exp ppl to give their take..

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## Zep

I have the same problem. Patches of MC melting while the rest are growing good. It just sort of occurred without any change in the tank regimen. I am following the seachem's dosing chart except for nitrogen. Will be trying your recommendation of dosing potassium daily and see if this problem will go away.

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## Mr TZY

Thanks for the info. Shall try it out. Meanwhile did you remove those brown leaves or just leaving it? There are currently no fishes in my tank yet

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## milk_vanilla

Should remove, organics matter -> algae


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## ymk87

Just to share my experience, i started out as a low tech tank with just excel and flourish. After 2 weeks my mc turned yellow and started dying off one by one. 
I decided to turn to co2 and npk with trace ferts lol. With new mc planted, I noticed a huge difference in my mc. They started growing really well and in 2 weeks they were creeping all over.

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## Mr TZY

Looks like it's pretty hard to grow Monte Carlo in low tech tank

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## ymk87

I wouldn't say it's that hard but it takes alot of patience if you grow it in a low tech tank. I've a friend who has his mc creeping in a low tech tank with excel and flourish. The struggle with low tech is fending off algae attacks while mc is at its early stages. I've noticed that once your plants are healthy, algae attacks would be less frequent.
There is a noticeable difference in low tech and high tech. Mc leaves are bigger and they creed much much faster.
This is my 1st planted tank btw.  

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## Mr TZY

Looks really good! It is growing well in my dry start. But once water is added in. The browning occurs and leaves become transparent. Adding those recommended above. If no improvement seen in a week or two. Perhaps time to re carpet

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## ymk87

From what I've heard about mc is that when you do a dry start method, mc will melt or die off and new leaves will grow. This is a transition from emerge to submerge state. I guess you could observe for awhile and see how it goes. Good luck with your tank!

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