enough light?

[DownDogKate]

CI recently upgraded to a 36g bowfront and was, at first, quite pleased that it came with florescent lighting. Then I looked closer... and I've got a single 20" T8 17w tube. Considering the 2w/gallon rule of thumb, this isn't nearly enough. My wisteria, which had thrived in my previous 10g, is now getting transparent leaves.

The tank is an Aqueon 36g bowfront (pic below), planted with Dwarf Sag, Wisteria, an El Nino Fern, Cryp. wendtii, 3 small Amazon swords, an anubias nana and a small bunch of Java moss. I'm getting my Celestial Pearl Danios today and plan to plant a couple of taller plants for them to hide in, but lighting needs to be addressed!

Can anyone give me some ideas on how to bring my lighting up to match my plant needs?

Do I need to buy another strip light? Find a higher wattage tube? still new to planted tanks...

Thanks in advance!!

 

[DownDogKate]

Here's the tank. I dose API Co2 booster daily and Flourish 2x week

 

[jwh0818]

Here's the tank. I dose API Co2 booster daily and Flourish 2x week

Your definitely gonna need some light boost. Some of those plants you mentioned are high tech plants. You will need to find something in the T5HO range with 6700k bulbs

 

[Zimmanski]

Being that the 36BF is a deep tank you're definitely in the low light range, but I wouldn't be so quick to point the finger at your lights for the transparent leaves. I have a 25" tall 65 gallon tank with just a single standard t8 that is growing wisteria really well. What are your nutrient levels? How long has it been in the tank and was it emersed growth before you put it in?

The only plant that may need more light would be the dwarf sag.

 

[DownDogKate]

Honestly I don't know my nutrient levels. (can you recommend a kit?) They were immersed in my 10 gallon for 2-3 months. They were tube plants from my LPS. After immersingin my 10 g them and the initial browning of a few leaves, they flourished. I moved them to the new tank last week and during the transition they floated in tank water - about 16 hours.

side note - the dwarf sag is as new as the tank and is doing well so far. All other plants have been with me for a while.

 

[jwh0818]

Honestly I don't know my nutrient levels. (can you recommend a kit?) They were immersed in my 10 gallon for 2-3 months. They were tube plants from my LPS. After immersingin my 10 g them and the initial browning of a few leaves, they flourished. I moved them to the new tank last week and during the transition they floated in tank water - about 16 hours.

side note - the dwarf sag is as new as the tank and is doing well so far. All other plants have been with me for a while.

Its gonna be because they arw further from the light. Looking at your pic, the light is too yellow. You can goto lowes and buy a temp t8 6500k color temp bulb and they will survive some. This would be temp until you can upgrade it to a better light. Id get some root tabs as well

 

[Zimmanski]

Honestly I don't know my nutrient levels. (can you recommend a kit?) They were immersed in my 10 gallon for 2-3 months. They were tube plants from my LPS. After immersingin my 10 g them and the initial browning of a few leaves, they flourished. I moved them to the new tank last week and during the transition they floated in tank water - about 16 hours. side note - the dwarf sag is as new as the tank and is doing well so far. All other plants have been with me for a while.

You should have a master test kit for your tank, it will come in handy for more than just your plants, and picking up a liquid phosphate test would be good to have too. It may be just transitioning to the new tank but my first guess would be that since you got a larger tank and had the same fish in it that the wisteria isn't enjoying the lower nitrates, but I can't say for sure without knowing the parameters.

 

[DownDogKate]

My parameters yesterday were:

pH - a steady 7.5
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate ~20 (hard to tell sometimes)
GH 4
KH 5

but that's all I have a kit for. I did a pwc and will be testing again in an hour or so when I'm done with work.

 

[jwh0818]

My parameters yesterday were:

pH - a steady 7.5
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate ~20 (hard to tell sometimes)
GH 4
KH 5

but that's all I have a kit for. I did a pwc and will be testing again in an hour or so when I'm done with work.

So you do have a kit. Those look fine. Maybe a small water change in need but looks good. Lighting is the problem and my suggestions are above!

 

[DownDogKate]

will do!

The water is a bit yellow from the tannins. Though I soaked the wood for a few days it's still leeching. I'll still get a different bulb, and thank you!!

 

[Rivercats]

You have very easy plants that honestly don't need a lot of light. The would like if you could add a second bulb but give them time and if they do fine don't worry. In a low light tank the use of liquid carbon actually helps greatly.

For your lighting the ferts your using are fine but you could also use API Leaf Zone which is potassium and iron. Your swords and crypt will greatly benefit from root tabs as they are heavy root feeders.

As for the transparent leaves... remember they are having to acclimate to a different tank which is deeper which means they are getting less light compared to what they were used to. Are they actually getting transparent as in you can see through them or are they melting? Either way most likely the plant is trying to acclimate and you will have to wait it out or upgrade your lighting.

 

[DownDogKate]

As for the transparent leaves... remember they are having to acclimate to a different tank which is deeper which means they are getting less light compared to what they were used to. Are they actually getting transparent as in you can see through them or are they melting? Either way most likely the plant is trying to acclimate and you will have to wait it out or upgrade your lighting.

They are getting see-through. I had plants melt on me before but this is different. It's one or two leaves of a couple of different plants (older leaves, too)

I'll have to wait at least two weeks to upgrade my lighting, so I'll wait it out to see how they fare. If need be then I'll add a strip light.

If I do add a light, is there one that you would recommend as far as brand & wattage? I don't plan to add high-light plants (but I can be impulsive about these kinds of things )

 

[jwh0818]

They are getting see-through. I had plants melt on me before but this is different. It's one or two leaves of a couple of different plants (older leaves, too)

I'll have to wait at least two weeks to upgrade my lighting, so I'll wait it out to see how they fare. If need be then I'll add a strip light.

If I do add a light, is there one that you would recommend as far as brand & wattage? I don't plan to add high-light plants (but I can be impulsive about these kinds of things )

Your gonna need to cut those leaves off so the plant doesnt focus on healing those see through ones and instead focuses on adjusting to your tank and light. Sounds dumb but its true. Plants are living

 

[DownDogKate]

No, to me it totally makes sense (I worked at a plant nursery for years as a teen). Trim the damaged leaves and the energy will go towards growth instead of repair!

I'll do that during my pwc later today.

 

[jwh0818]

No, to me it totally makes sense (I worked at a plant nursery for years as a teen). Trim the damaged leaves and the energy will go towards growth instead of repair!

I'll do that during my pwc later today.

Okay great! That should help a bit. Make sure the temps match up

 

[Rivercats]

I like 2 bulb T5HO lighting by AquaticLife but you might want to look into LED's. PM Brian_Nano12g as he can tell you which LED fixture would be ideal for a planted tank, as there are only a few that work well for planted tanks.