Please Help I Think My Plants Are Dieing!!

[dogturd]

I just added plants to my 55 gal aquarium about a month ago, but I think im having some problems better worded I know I am. My Plants don’t look that lively, they have brown spots, yellow leaves and poor roots and now they have some kind of white stuff growing on them. I have and 80 watts of light but its ODNO lighting so I should have about 2 watts per gal. I think? I use all of the flourish products according the directions on the back of the bottles but I just started them about 3 days ago. Also I have a DIY co2 going into my Aquaclear filter intake. I know everyone on here says that DIY co2 inset good for a 55 gal tank but I use 1 and half teaspoons of yeast and about 10 cups of sugar to keep it all going for a month and my waters ph is 7.0 and my kh is 4 so that should give a co2 level of around 12. Right? I also have those fertilizer tabs in the gravel. Some one please tell me what im doing wrong or what I can do to save my plants. O ya this is the link to the plant pack I have in my tank... The pictures show what the plants look like... at this point… Thanks for any help!
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=2146

[RISK2123]

on plants where the leaves are already grown, many times the leaves will die off before new ones grow in. just trim the dead/yellow leaves and see if you get soem new growth. you really dont need to add co2 unless you are at around 3 WPG. but are u sure that 80w comes out to 2 wpg? (i know its different type bulbs) that could be the biggest problem. what spectrum bulb are u using also?

[dogturd]

Ok... this is how I figure I have 2 watts per gal... I have 2 bulbs 40 watt each both are doubled up once so I added 25 watts per each bulbs plus the original 40 watts... ya I don’t think I even understand that maybe like this...
40 + 40 + 25 + 25 = 130... and the one is 2800 k and the other is 5700 k

[RISK2123]

are u getting alot of algea growth. i dont think the 2800k spectrum bulbs are really helping ur plants. 5700k is getting better. i dont like 10000k bulbs because of the "yellow" color they give off. 6700k would be ur best bet for the look of the fish and the growth of ur plants. i have 50/50 bulbs (10,000k/actinic), it basically turns out being around 6700k. it really cuts down on the watts that i could have but i like the look.

[dogturd]

Well the only reason I chose these bulbs is because it recommended on the back of the package to use them together... lol I think the white stuff on the plants may be algae because it’s on my gravel to... I don’t know if im getting a lot or not because a scarp off all the algae like every other day... is that a lot? Would changing my bulbs help?

[RISK2123]

i would definately consider changing the bulbs. wait to see if anybody else has any other suggestions though. but yeah, wattage/spectrum sounds like the problem

[dogturd]

ok thanks alot

[phanmc]

It sounds like you're going the right path with the Flourish ferts, you only really need Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorus, and Flourish. Flourish Excel will add carbon and can act as algaecide but it isn't as critical as the ones listed above.

You CO2 level is a little low, you can add a second bottle to increase your output.

As for the lights, while you don't need to replace them the 2800k are very yellow. Switch them out with some full spectrum (5000k-6700k) bulbs and your tank will look alot brighter and clearer.

[loaches r cool]

If your lights are 48" then you could get the Phillips Daylight Delux T8 bulb at Home Depot (if you have em near by) they are usually sold in 2-packs for like $7 I think. They are very bright, 6700K, and heavy on the green spectrum peak but seem to do just as well as the more expensive plant bulbs I have tried. Not sure what other sizes they are avialble in I have only every purchased the 48" ones. If you want a nice plant bulb that isnt dull in color like orange or pink then try the Lighting Rod Aqua Flora Plus T6 bulb. It has a deeper purple/bluish tint that looks very much like the 18,000K Power-Glo bulb and looks much better than most any other plant bulb I have tried IMHO.

[RISK2123]

If your lights are 48" then you could get the Phillips Daylight Delux T8 bulb at Home Depot (if you have em near by) they are usually sold in 2-packs for like $7 I think. They are very bright, 6700K, and heavy on the green spectrum peak but seem to do just as well as the more expensive plant bulbs I have tried. Not sure what other sizes they are avialble in I have only every purchased the 48" ones. If you want a nice plant bulb that isnt dull in color like orange or pink then try the Lighting Rod Aqua Flora Plus T6 bulb. It has a deeper purple/bluish tint that looks very much like the 18,000K Power-Glo bulb and looks much better than most any other plant bulb I have tried IMHO.

yeah plant bulbs are useless. im not sure of the spectrum but i dont like the color and i notice better growth with full spectrum bulbs.

[dogturd]

Ya I haven’t had the flourish stuff long thou, but I do have all you motioned. I heard that you shouldn’t use lights that aren’t made for fish tanks because others ones can cause algae growth. I think I readied it on doctor foster and smith’s site but im not sure... So to some it all up I should just cont what im doing and change out that low spectrum bulb?

[phanmc]

I heard that you shouldn’t use lights that aren’t made for fish tanks because others ones can cause algae growth. I think I readied it on doctor foster and smith’s site but im not sure... So to some it all up I should just cont what im doing and change out that low spectrum bulb?

A type of light causing algae is BS, probably used by stores to sell the more expensive bulbs. Only reason I brought up switching lights is because it will probably look much better to you, I doubt it will make a big difference in terms of plant growth.