I'm having problems with my aquarium plants!!!

[lukebridges]

Hello guys. I recently took my friend's aquarium because he is going out of the US and I offered to take care of it. I don't know what he did and what kind of fertilizer or other stuff he used, but I do not like what I am seeing. The plants are not as they were supposed to be, and I have never seen something like this. Personally, I use fertilizers I buy on Amazon, Green Leaf Aquarium, and NilocG. The last one is the most used one by me, and my other two tanks are looking great. Now, this tank is a freshwater one, and I do not know if I am supposed to use any aquatic plant product at this point or change all the tank's setup. I am attaching some pictures, hopefully, they are clear pics that I took the moment I received the tank. Don't worry about the fish, they are moved to another tank, a smaller one, temporarily.

Did anyone of you have this same problem? How did you resolve this? Do you suggest me investing in improving this actual setup, or maybe changing it completely? What is the most logical, less time-consuming, cost-effective solution?

If the pics are not very visible, note that the rocks are turned black and the plants, brown shade! Also, the pressure of the switching pump was not proper, and I changed it. I know that this does impact, but I am not sure about the fertilizer stuff.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Shmollica]

Looks to be really close to a window/outside. The natural sunlight is probably growing the algae in that tank. Try adding more plants because you probably have high nitrate and phosphate. Try moving the tank away from the sun and using an aquarium light. Just so you know this is a saltwater forum so you may not get many answers here. Good luck!

 

[dedragon]

were they using Co2 or dosing carbon in a bottle? best to just ask your friend how they took care of the tank and just emulate it. Freshwater fish forums would probably help more

 

[Waters]

Really tough to tell by the pictures. Looks like, at least some of them, are low light plants. Also can't tell what type of substrate it is.....might be possible that it wasn't using any ferts other than root sticks. Goldfish tanks usually use anubias, java ferns, etc that aren't as palatable to the fish....they are all low tech, low light plants. Based on the pics, looks like the tank is receiving too much light and/or ferts.