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hey guys,

2 weeks into having my planted discus tank running, i;ve noticed a few of the plants are starting to lose there green,

i'm running 2x 38W power-glo fluro from miday to 830pm.

what can i do to bring back the green? more light? or leave the lights on longer?

i don;t wanna use plant food as i'm keeping discus and i need the water quality to be as stable as possable.

thanks

If you mean NOON to 8:30 pm.. That's 8.5 hours of light in a south american tank.

What plants do you have ?

South American plants like an 11 to 12 hour day.
That would be the first thing to adjust

Also need to figure how many gallons your tank is for the wpg. How tall is your tank. And how many K are your powerglo bulbs ?

Last edited by DaFishMan at 04-Nov-2005 19:53

The Amazon Nut...

yeah sorry noon to 830.

i have servral jern fern, hydros, umm an unnamed one, same grass.

its 55g, i'm prbably 1 globe under the reccomended lighting,

for now i'll up the lighting to 12 hours a day

Hi,
There are a couple of reasons and some possibilities.

First, you have less than 2 watts per gallon (wpg) which
places your tank in the "low light" area.

Second, the grass and the hygro are considered high and
medium light demand plants respectively.

Third, whenever you put plants into a new environment,
they use their stored reserves of nutrients while they
try to adapt to the new tank (sometimes even new parts
of a tank) and during that time they grow new roots,
shed old leaves and grow new ones.

The Java fern is considered a slow grower taking a month
or more to do what some stem plants will do in a half a
day.

You will need to increase your light to at least 2 wpg, or
move the hygro and grass in elevation to nearly just under
the surface. The latter is patently impractical.

Your photo period (lights on) should be a minimum of
10 hours. Most actually use ten but some go as high
as 12.

Personally, I would look at the various sites such as
Tropica, Arizona Gardens, etc. for plants that are
considered low light plants such as the crypts and other
ferns, and purchase only them...as long as you have that
light.

I would also replace the bulbs with a set from the local
hardware store. Purchase a pair of bulbs that are labeled
DAYLIGHT or SUNLIGHT. NOT something that says WARM or COOL.
The daylight or sunlight bulbs are 6700K bulbs that are
ideal for plants and viewing fish and are far less
expensive than the so called "plant" bulbs.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

do you really think that sun-glo or simular are better for plants than powerglo?

i have a standard hardware bulb, but i never use it, makes the tank look gritty and unnatural..


i will be getting a 48" twin reflector soon, i'll load it with sun-glo tubes if they are more benifical,

i've also uped the lighting fomr 7am to 7pm

thanks guys

Hi,
I'm not sure what you mean by the "gritty look" that
the bulb gives you.

IMO, I refuse to purchase some of the many "glow" bulbs
that are on the market. To me, they give off a pinkish,
or purplish glow and, again, to me, they wash out the
colors of the plants and fish. Perhaps the biggest reason
is that I can go to Home Depot or the like, and purchase
a same size flourscent bulb in their lighting section
that is marked DAYLIGHT or SUNLIGHT, is rated at 6700K,
and is far less expensive.

On my personal tank (30G), I have two 22 inch, compact
flourscent bulbs rated at 65 watts, 6700K and are
labeled "SunPaq DAYLIGHT" To me, the plants look more
natural with their various shades of greens, and the
colors of the fish are true and vivid.

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 06-Nov-2005 09:45

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

you might be onto something.

at my local hardware store they always give you the cool white fluro tube, but i might go look for others now!

thanks man!