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<no subject>

>Hi all,
>
>Haven't posted to the list in a year because I sorta drifted off aquariums.  I
>have 5 freshwater aquariums.  1 is a 35 gallon, and the other 4 are 10
>galloners.  The 35 galloner has 3 100-watt halogen bulbs and two 30 watt
>fluorescent bulbs.  It has regular, non calcium, brown gravel.  Plants grow
>great.  It is doing so well, that I have seen so many flowers sprout from my
>bacopa caroliniana that grows above the surface.  The other four aquariums
>only have fluorescent bulbs.  OTOH, the wattage is not too shabby on them.  My
>very first 10G aquarium has 45 watts of fluorescent light and has regular
>gravel.  It houses about 50 youth Kribensis which I bred (I love Kribs).  The
>other two have about 4 inches of FLOURITE (Which I paid a hefty price for) but
>30 watts of fluorescent lighting.  The very last one has about 3 inches of
>Hartz kitty litter and 4 inches of regular gravel.  
>
>The problem is that I cannot grow absolutely any plants in the 10 gallon
>fluorescent aquariums.  Anything I put in there fails.  Even the most hardy
>plants such as Java fern.  They never do well long term.  I was thinking that
>since three of my four ten galloners are in a row, I should get a halogen
>track for them just like my 35 gallon.  Does anyone have any advice for me?
>
>Thanks,
>-Moishe
>

Do you use CO2? Which 10 gallon are you referring too? All 3? Your lighting
won't solve this problem. The red color in the Halogens cause many plants to
grow super/flower but they are not good for light/lumens per watt ratings.
Both work but it's not the problem. You may have gotten "use" to a QTL set
up and are having problems switching over to the much more lumens per watt
FL's(I think for example that the FL's(60watts) in your 35 put out about
4000 lumens or compared to the QTL's which put out about about 5000 lumens
for 300 watts). If the CO2 and lighting is good, then what's left? Nutrients
right? Test the NO3 to see if there's any. Consider adding jobes sticks into
the gravel. Maybe KNO3 if you like. Make sure CO2 is in there before going
on to nutrients.

I also have a 10 gallon with 4 inches of Flourite, 30 watts of FL's( a
daylight and a triton) a 
Hagen mini filter set at it's lowest setting and CO2 added to the filter
intake(DIY yeast -2liter juice bottle + 1 cup of sugar+1/4 teaspoon yeast
every two or three months). The tank gets nothing except fed heavy once a
day. No fertilizers at all. No water changes for months(two months usually).
No trims for months. Tons of plants, no algae at all.....even on the glass.
Nice red A. reineckii, not even any Green spot algae anywhere. 2 SAE's, an
otto and some snails. Great tank.
There should be some nutrients in the gravel in your tanks even if there's
nothing in the water(like NO3) unless the tanks are very new.
FWIW,  
Regards, 

Tom Barr