Lighting?

[brunettebaby4571]

Ok so about a week or 2 ago I bought a new light fixture for my tank.
I got a zoo med aquasun T-5 HO double light linear fluorescent hood along with that I got the ultra sun super daylight and flora sun max plant growth bulbs. Are these good lights for my plants? I have a sword, melon sword, anacharis, java fern, frogbit, duckweed, cardamine lyrata, and rotala rotundifolia (I think that's all) oh and I have some giant hairgrass I believe it is and there is another that looks similar but it has like curly blades? My sword and melon sword seem to be having the worst time. I got some root tabs the day before yesterday I believe and put them in. I am hoping they get better. Their leaves are very transparent and the two new leaves from my sword are like black and transparent?? I have been using flourish twice a week and I am not using any co2 at the moment. I don't really have the money to set it up right now. So I am hoping that doesnt mess them up too much. I leave the light on anywhere from 10-12 hours a day. Is there anything else I should do to make sure the plants thrive? Sorry for how long this is! I just love how the plants look and I don't want to have them die on me and have to keep getting more! Thank you!

Ps does anyone know what those last two grassy types are? Like I said one is straight and the other is curly/wavy. Thanks again!

 

[Coursair]

How big is your tank ?
How many watts are your lights ?

HO (High Output) lights can be Medium to High Light depending on wattage and how far they sit from the tank. What is their Kelvin rating ?

I'm sure they'll grow plants but you may need to up your ferts and add CO2 or Algae will outcompete your plants in High light

The root tabs will help. Just trim off the bad leaves. Plants have to adjust to new tanks and may look shabby till they settle in.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

The tank is a 40 gallon. The one (plant growth one) is 39 watts and 5500k (not sure what the k means) The other one is 39 watts and 6500k. How should I go about upping the ferts? Also both swords have been in the tank for a good while and they were doing good and then I had some algae everywhere (including on the leaves) and ended up having to cut a few because they were so bad.

 

[Coursair]

The tank is a 40 gallon. The one (plant growth one) is 39 watts and 5500k (not sure what the k means) The other one is 39 watts and 6500k. How should I go about upping the ferts? Also both swords have been in the tank for a good while and they were doing good and then I had some algae everywhere (including on the leaves) and ended up having to cut a few because they were so bad.

Your lights sound fine then. The Kelvin rating is the spectrum. How Blue or Red the light is. Most plant people aim for around 6,500K. Other ratings will grow plants. That's just what is closest to sunlight and most of us like the look also.

Once you get the root tabs, soon your Swords will really perk up. My Chain Swords went crazy !!!

As far as ferts, there are deficiency charts on the web with pics that may help you pinpoint what you're missing. Or see if the root tabs fix it.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Ok what would my lighting be? High low or medium? I have the root tabs in so I am hoping they start doing better. My other plants havent been in there too long so I am not sure how they are doing yet. Hopefully they do well. The swords are constantly putting out new leaves...just not good leaves? lol I am definitely going to check out the ferts. Thank you for all the help!! Also do you happen to know what those last two grassy looking plants could be? I believe the one is hairgrass (I might be totally wrong) but like I said the other one is curly/wavy so Im not sure what it is. Thank you again!

 

[Coursair]

Just under 80 watts for a 40g sounds like Low Light to me. But if it is a 40breeder they are a shorter tank which helps the light reach the bottom. I have about 2watts per gallon on my small tanks and grow lots of stuff. Super high light plants like Erios won't make it, but my stems are fine. I don't have a lot of red, but I do get some color.

High Light tanks need CO2

 

[Coursair]

There are some sticky Threads about lighting and ferts on this forum.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Ok it is a 40 gallon breeder.

 

[blert]

Ok it is a 40 gallon breeder.

Because that tank is so short that would be high light. You will need CO2 and ferts or that tank will turn into an algae farm. Bring down your photoperiod to about 8 hours, 12 is way too much. Expect to see the Rotala bend under that light and maybe even end up creeping in the substrate.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Well the whole co2 thing is out of the question right now because it is just too expensive. I have been using the flourish twice a week. Also what do you mean the rotala will bend or creep in the substrate?

 

[blert]

Well the whole co2 thing is out of the question right now because it is just too expensive. I have been using the flourish twice a week. Also what do you mean the rotala will bend or creep in the substrate?

Under intense light Rotala may tend to bend instead of grow straight up. I have some in a 40b under t5ho (2x 6700k bulbs) and it turns very red but never grows straight. When transplanted to another tank with lower light it straightens up.
Any shoots that sprout off near the substrate may grow across rooted in the substrate instead of up. Had this happen a couple of times and it makes for wonky looking stems. Leaves on one side of the stems and roots on the other.

 

[James_in_MN]

I just recently switched from a Marineland double-bright LED to a ZooMed T5HO light on my 20g high, and also just recently added Flourish root tabs. I like the change, and my plants seem to be responding to it as well.

Since you don't want to go with a CO2 system, I recommend that you dose with Seachem Flourish Excel along with the Flourish Comprehensive. Excel is a liquid CO2 substitute that should both help your plants and reduce the possibility of excessive algae growth.

I concur with reducing the time the light is on. I don't have any of my tank lights on for longer than 9 hours.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Yeah it is kind of bent over (has been since I got it) and has little pinkish/purple flower type things on it. And for ferts should I stick with using the flourish ferts orrr find something else?

 

[James_in_MN]

Flourish is what I use. I have both the Flourish root tabs and Flourish Comprehensive. You'll want both because any floating plants or plants with rhizomes will use ferts in the water column rather than extracting it from the substrate.

I would still buy some Seachem Excel to add to your tank as well. Make sure you follow the directions though, because some inverts are sensitive to Excel.

 

[blert]

Yeah it is kind of bent over (has been since I got it) and has little pinkish/purple flower type things on it. And for ferts should I stick with using the flourish ferts orrr find something else?

I've found that the purple flowers die off when submerged. When I first bought mine all the stems had pretty purple flowers on them, after a couple of weeks they turned black and broke off. Have not seen one grow since.

Dry ferts are much less expensive.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Its not that I don't want co2 its just that at this time I cant afford to get it sadly :/ I meant to order some of the excel when I bought the flourish comprehensive but I totally spaced and forgot...I heard excel will melt some plants...What is it known to melt? And way to rain on my parade blert I thought the flowers would stay :/ lol I will just keep buying new ones haha are there any other plants that will get similar flowers or something colorful like that?

 

[blert]

Its not that I don't want co2 its just that at this time I cant afford to get it sadly :/ I meant to order some of the excel when I bought the flourish comprehensive but I totally spaced and forgot...I heard excel will melt some plants...What is it known to melt? And way to rain on my parade blert I thought the flowers would stay :/ lol I will just keep buying new ones haha are there any other plants that will get similar flowers or something colorful like that?

Sorry. Some plants will flower submerged but I don't know which ones.

You can do DIY CO2 on the cheap but in a 40 gallon tank it may take two or more bottles to get a good result.

Some folks have experienced Vals and Hornwort melt while using Excel. SeaChem's website even warns of it. If you have these then just start slow, don't follow the directions on the bottle. Don't dose right onto the plant and maybe take a cup of tank water and add the Excel to that to dilute it and then slowly add it to the tank.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Yeah I was told for the 40 gallon the diy might be a little bit of a pain in the butt. But I will definitely get some of the excel. Will I see improvement?