Hey

[Derek015]

I have a 55 gal tank and right now i just have some small grasses growing in it. i sometimes put some anachris in the tank but it doesnt grow the leaves just fall off and i dont know what to do about that.

I had some amazon sword but that started to die off. Only 1 plant started to grow. but when i had to take them out(because all their leaves were brown) the roots were EVERYWHERE in the tank i didnt think they were growing since they were all brown and dead.


i have this light bulb http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113345 in the freshwater 48" on my 55 gal.

Please throw in ideas and all my tank specs are good. all levels are low

Nitrates 10 ppm
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrites 0 ppm
pH 7.01 (i bought a pinpoint pH meter )
Alkalinity pretty high (how do i lower this?)
Hardness its pretty soft because we have a water softener

[malkore]

You don't have enough light. 40w over a 55gal is well under 1wpg. You'll have to stick to java fern, anubias nana, and low light crypt species if you want yoru plants to survive.

double, triple, or quadruple your lighting if you want a 'fancier' planted tank.

The water softner isn't helping you either...but softened water should have very low alkalinity. with a 7.01pH , i think you alkalinity test kit is bad...a natural 7.0 pH would have little to no alkalinity (a.k.a. carbonate hardness).

[Derek015]

well i have 4 65 watt lights so i have like 260 watts of lighting in my tank i dont think that was accurate -_- but i tried lolz

i think i have like 4.7 wpg

[Lonewolfblue]

If they are CF lights, you have a bit more than 4.7w/g. More like 6.38w/g I believe, if I have the correct calculation.

[Derek015]

is that good :P

[nitrous]

yes more light the better but do you dose any fertilizers or have co2? because ur plants may be suffering from nutrient deficiency

[Lonewolfblue]

More light is better, but that's extremely high lighting, like my tank. I had to cut back on my lighting til I get everything back on track. You will definitely need several things:

1. CO2 injection
2. Nutrient dosing
3. Constantly check parameters and dose accordingly
4. Buy sunglasses for your fish.

My recommendation. Til you catch on, run only 1 bank of lights (130W). That is where I currently am. On my 75G, I'm only running 130W in the rear and 130W up front. Then I run 130W actinics in the middle and the other 130W is off for now. And yes, I have 2 260W fixtures on my 75G (Insane lighting).

[Derek015]

What kind of nutrients should i put in my tank??

because i know there are alot (im not a plant buff if you guys can tell)

this is my first attempt at a planted tank and im trying my hardest LOL

i just dont know what to do really :-/


agh! im trying to convince my dad to get these things for me like the CO2 injector and he says that they are a waste of $ and do nothing for the tank

[Lonewolfblue]

For the nutrients, you have macros and micros. The macros are Nitrogen, Phosphates, and Potassium. The micros are like Iron, magnesium, and a bunch of others. Weekly water changes help replentish micros, but may still need extra dosing with your lighting.

To learn more, go through the dosing stickies in this forum. Also look at the stickies on lighting, and plants. You will get a lot of valuable info.

[Derek015]

ok i read them the lighting i have i believe i have PC lights because the tubes are bent like a U shape and i have 4 of those bulbs they are 60 or 65(dont remember eek im a bad fish keeper) and i can turn off 1 strip or both.

is there a thing as too much filtration? because these are my filters

Canister Filters
Fluval 404
Magnum 350

HOB
2 Emperor 250 (i think its 250)