Algae on plant leaves.....

[e burna]

I have a plant (my apologies, no pic, and the petstore doesn't have a name for it either-I checked) that is a stem w/leaves all up and down the stem. The leaves are smallish, and I cut the plant in half as it was nearing the top of my tank. Then I replanted the halves. The halves I cut sprouted new tops, but none of them seem to be growing taller anymore. I also have some red ludwegia (weeds, right?) that I've cut in half and they've sprouted new stems I've cut off, etc. etc., but they don't seem to be getting taller anymore. I have a 29 gallon tank, and 1 bulb just for plant growth, and 1 black light in the tank. They are both I believe 20w bulbs (the normal type for a tank that size). Am I doing anything wrong? The leaves on the first plants I was describing are slowly (over a period of months) disintegrating for a lack of better word. It is the leaves on the bottom of the plants, as the leaves near the tops seem much healthier. Thanks for reading.

 

[greenmaji]

Are the bulbs NO florescent or incandescent?
A blacklight would not be good for the plants.. wrong type of light..
You would be better off with two 6500K or Plant and Aquarium bulbs..
If you get two florescent 20 watt bulbs that are good for plants you should be able to do low light plants.. If you want more demanding plants youll have to get brighter lights or overdrive the NO bulbs that you have (bigger ballast basically).
HTH

 

[e burna]

I wanted to get the brighter lights, but couldn't find any at the local pet store that would fit my tank. Suggestions anyone? How would I "overdrive" the bulbs?

 

[malkore]

blacklight = useless to plants. So you have under 1 watt per gallon of generic flourescent spectrum. You'll only be able to grow java fern, java moss, anubias bartari, and some species of crypts. Anything else will pretty much wilt and die.

Overdriving means you replace the cheap magnetic ballast with a nicer electronic ballast that pushes more wattage to the bulbs. Typically you drive 4x the normal wattage, and get about double the intensity. This does cut bulb lifespan in half (6 months) and they will be hotter, so you do have to watch the tank temperature.

I'm a fan of power compact lighting fixtures, since they produce more light intensity per watt than NO or ODNO fluorescents, and are smaller bulbs (hence power 'compact')

 

[greenmaji]

25 dollars and some wiring would produce alot more light thats all I was trying to say
you use the regular bulbs with ODNO and a electronic ballast..
The Fuham Workhorse 5 is highly recommended for ODNO here is a link..
http://www.prolighting.com/wo5elba12loc.html
Power Compacts are slightly (lumens per watt) more efficient but the Workhorse is used for most of them as well.. Not to mention that the Power Compacts are more expensive and the bulbs are alot more expensive.. When cooled the ODNO is actually reported to last for a year before needing replacement..