Partial sunlight tank

phanmc, Ulan, thank you. I understand better now. I love seeing my plants pearl and was just wondering if my bulbs needed to be changed already. Following your theory, does that mean I need more wattage in my 10g to equal the conditions of so called 4wpg in a larger tank (ie. 50w in 10g would not cause harm)?
 
Yep, more light will result in more photosynthesis and more pearling. It will also mean more CO2 and nutrient requirements, basically more work to maintain the balance or else algae will become an issue. After having maintained a 5wpg tank I personally wouldn't strive for even a 4wpg equivelent tank, too much work and hassle for me. Those 4wpg tanks look really nice in pictures, but they're a PITA to maintain longterm.

If you aren't already adding CO2 or Flourish Excel, you can try that instead. CO2 is the other major contributor to the photosynthesis process and increasing that may get you the desired effect without having to upgrade your lights.
 
I second the CO2 suggestion. In my 1.8 W/gallon tank, adding CO2 made a big difference for the plant growth rate.
 
An easy way to bust the WPG rule is to try growing a plant in a 1 gallon container with only a 4 watt bulb for light. Sure you have 4 WPG, but the plant won't do to well.
 
I have 2 DIY bottles, 1 going to the HOB intake, the other to a glass diffuser. My source ph is 8.4. After 1 DIY bottle to HOB intake, pH is 7.6. A 2nd DIY to a glass diffuser (on bottom of tank under HOB outflow w/ some bubbles hitting some broad leaves which act as mini bells) only dropped pH to about 7.4 if at all. What pH do you guys try to achieve ?

My plants:
Crazy growth: Stargrass, Red crypt, Downoi, Val Americana, creeping moss

So-so: Ludwigia repens (slow), Alternanthera (lots of new beautiful leaves but also quite a few gnarled ones), Ammania (slow)

Not well: Mayaca (hanging on, I really trimmed it back, still no growth), Val spiralis (shrunk), Dwarf sag (reproducing laterally, but each plant actually shrunk)

I'm dosing Flourish trace on alternate days with NPK. Not sure if I need to add iron for the alternanthera.
 
I try to keep mine around 6.8 (much easier with pressurized CO2). The source is around 8.2. The main thing isn't so much the actual pH, it keeping it constant. Nothing harder on fish than a big swing.

I have an iron supplement and toss some in every once in a while. You know that plants are iron deficient when the "veins" are green and the rest of the leaf tissue is yellowish.

I know some people will disagree with this, but I'm one of those people that don't really have a fert schedule. I toss some in when I think about it. I must be doing something right though because all my plants are going apes**t. I have to trim some of them twice a week cuz they grow so fast.
 
Fish don't mind pH swings. I don't know why this myth persists. My tanks swing as the CO2 is turned off at night and the fish don't care tuppence.

Rule of thumb is to aim to reduce the pH by 1 point. Regardless of the KH, this will correspond to c. 30ppm CO2.
 
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