lighting help, plants not doing so well

[clb2196]

5500k -10000k are acceptable for K ratings. the daylight just specifies spectrum.

Ah. All the CFL daylight bulbs always = 6500k (and "bright white is 5500 and "soft white" is 3500 or something), maybe not for other bulbs?

I agree that more light and/or higher spectrum may help. I had 10,000k power compact fluorescents in my old tank, I don't remember them being too expensive and they're smaller so you could fit more easily.

 

[Star_Rider]

Ah. All the CFL daylight bulbs always = 6500k (and "bright white is 5500 and "soft white" is 3500 or something), maybe not for other bulbs?

I agree that more light and/or higher spectrum may help. I had 10,000k power compact fluorescents in my old tank, I don't remember them being too expensive and they're smaller so you could fit more easily.

CFL are one of the few where they give k ratings.
some bulb, not CFL, may only specify soft, bright, plant ,warm etc. and give spectrum ranges.

at the rating for these bulbs for wattage I would suspect florescent bulbs T-8 or T12 ? this is where I have found that issue.

 

[kelly82]

mg: i understood next to nothing of all that lol! will get hubby to read up what you guys have said as he works for an electrical wholesalers and he knows whats what when it comes to lighting. i will try searching for the excel, see what i can come up with. thanks for all the other info on here though.

 

[Star_Rider]

mg: i understood next to nothing of all that lol! will get hubby to read up what you guys have said as he works for an electrical wholesalers and he knows whats what when it comes to lighting. i will try searching for the excel, see what i can come up with. thanks for all the other info on here though.

it can get you a bit overwhelmed :nilly:

but really it's not that difficult.

just takes time to figure out.
you have a pretty large tank so lighting is a bit different but still the rule of thumb is wpg and it will suffice to keep it simple.

shoot for about 2 wpg so a 100 gallon tank would need about 2oo watts of light. (in reality it can get by with less, but we want to try and keep it simple )

also knowing what plants you have will help but at this lighting you should be ok.

more light will basically mean more maintenance.. ie: CO2 fertilizer etc.
in your case some plants became leggy..dropping off lower leaves as they reach for more light. this usually is a tell tale sign of not enough light.

really in large tanks you do have some DIY option or fixtures using t-5 .

just really depend on how much time and $$ you want to invest.

 

[THE V]

in your case some plants became leggy..dropping off lower leaves as they reach for more light. this usually is a tell tale sign of not enough light.

This could be the the right answer. The Watt per Gallon "rule" breaks down with tanks over 60 gallons. Watt actually matters to the plant is the light intensity per sq area. I actually think that you have pretty good lighting in your tank as is. Only if you plants are showing signs of being long and stringy should you think about increasing the light.

You could also be looking at a nutrient deficiency. Lower leaves dying is a classic sign of moderate nitrogen deficiency. What are your nitrogen levels in the tank? The successful growth when the plants are small then followed by a die-off on mature plants are more indicative of a missing nutrient.

Getting the right balance of lighting and nutrients for your tank is sometimes a little difficult. Unfortunately trial and error and experience are the only true ways to figure out what will work cause everybodies tank is a little different.

 

[SMinNC]

Disclaimer first: IDK jack(plants). But I've read alot about him. And been hanging out with him for a few months now.

Like its been said, the lighting could be just a little low. But your having some good growth for a while, so it could be better to start somewhere else.

Sooo... going off of what THE V just said.
If its a nutrient thing kicking in. Here's how I see it happening...

The plants do good when shorter, because they're getting less light and smaller.
But once they get taller, they are getting bigger(more plant mass) and using more nutrients. Add to that, they are now closer to the light and growing faster. Using up even more nutrients.

If this is the case. Adding more light could make the problem worse. As everything would grow even faster and bigger, using up the nutrients that much quicker.

Something that could work out for you. Would be to get the background plants raised up to start with. As in, some re-scaping the back of the tank somehow. Stuff like little containers full of flourite or whatever you use for a substrate. Basically, potting the plants with rocks or wood in front of them, to hide'm, etc.

With this, you'd be able to keep the background plants trimmed at a decent height. Like 15" compared to 20".

 

[timwag2001]

you have about 1 wpg. not ideal but it can work. you should really really consider co2. read up on it you can do it safely with enough research. it will help you out tremendously.
my guess is that you're not fertilizing enough. what type of plant food are you using? i bet you're not dosing the water column with enough or with all of the proper nutrients. you need to have nitrate, phosphate, potassium, iron, and trace elements present in your water column. if you can tell me what products your using it might help.
here is a website that gives a description of nutrient deficiencies.
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm

 

[kelly82]

you have about 1 wpg. not ideal but it can work. you should really really consider co2. read up on it you can do it safely with enough research. it will help you out tremendously.
my guess is that you're not fertilizing enough. what type of plant food are you using? i bet you're not dosing the water column with enough or with all of the proper nutrients. you need to have nitrate, phosphate, potassium, iron, and trace elements present in your water column. if you can tell me what products your using it might help.
here is a website that gives a description of nutrient deficiencies.
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm

thanks for this link, according to this my plants are showing a lot of signs of not enough nitrogen. its mainly my crypts and vals that show this yellowing and dying off. ive now pulled out most of the wisteria, ive replanted all of the smaller new growth, it grows pretty fast so it wont take long to grow out again. i use different products each time for the fertilizing, but i have run out now so i need to buy some more asap. i will have to start paying attention to what im buying, i just figured they were all very similar so it didnt matter