[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Light/? Problems
Hello, I've been reading the list for a few weeks now and I've finally got
my own aquarium up and running. I really want to have a lush aquatic
jungle of plants, so I've done a lot of reading in books and on the web.
Before I go any further, here are the stats on my setup:
45 Gallon High tank (36Lx24Hx12W)
Whisper Power Filter
DIY CO2 Injection (Yeast Method)
1 All Glass Aquarium single tube 36" strip light
-with 1 20 watt Gro-Lux tube
1 All Glass Aquarium double tube 36" strip light
-with 2 30 watt tubes that came with the striplight
Substrate combo of gravel and DuplaRite (Dupla's Laterite)
Temperature: 75 degrees
Water: pH=7.5; Hardness=~30 ppm; Ammonia=0.06 ppm; Nitrate=<10 ppm;
Nitrite=<0.1 ppm
Are there any other water tests I should be doing that could effect
plant growth?
The first problem I'm having is getting plants to grow. I bought a very
healthy looking Amazon Sword at the fish shop, brought it home, and within
2 days it's already starting to look sick. The edges of the leaves are
curling in and it isn't nearly as green as it was before. My first
thought is I don't have enough light. Although most sources say to have 2
watter per gallon, I only have 1.7 (added to the fact that the aquarium is
much taller than your standard 55 or 20 gallon). Even though, I
don't think having a little less light should make a plant go bad that
quickly, or am I wrong? I'm very new at this. If the problem is in
fact not enough light, does anyone have any suggestions of how I could
add more? I've got two striplights on top now and can't fit anything
else on the top because the filter takes up space in the back. I've
looked at several hardware stores for shop lights, but the only models
I've seen come in 48". I could use 48" but 6" would hang off the
side, plus I couldn't find any models that have somthing to hold the
tubes off the aquarium glass top. The tubes would sit directly on the
aquarium and I don't think that can be too safe. Anyone have any
ideas?
My second problem is my water is moderatly cloudy. When I first mixed
up the Duplarite (which is BTW, Dupla's version of laterite; I
couldn't find any laterite around here) and added the water it was so
cloudy and clay red I couldn't see 2 inches into the water. Since
then I have done *several* water changes and it's helped but I can't
seem to get it totally clear like the tanks in the fish shop. The
substrate seems overly fragile. Any time I move the gravel to put a
rock in or pot a plant, red clouds ooze up like some horrid ghost from
the dead (perhaps a little too much duplarite? hmm I DID follow the
instructions). The substrate is 2/3's (about 2 inches) mix of
Duplarite and fine gravel, and 1/3 (about 1 inch) plain fine gravel on
top. Do I just need to keep doing water changes or what? I've
considered removing everything and starting over with a fresh mix of
Duplarite (using less this time) but that would really be an
inconvenience.
Jeez this got long, sorry about that... but I'm out of ideas here.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Matt Kowske
xc at innocent_com