plant help please

Fcarpman

AC Members
Feb 22, 2007
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Hi everyone, im having a move around at the moment and my two oscars are going into their new 150g next week, so my 30g is going back to a planted aquarium, hopefully. The thing is ive never been able to keep plants alive, they last a couple of weeks, then just go brown and die. where am i going wrong. last time i had plants the setup was fairly standard, two 36w grow lux tubes, external power filter, average sized gravel, ph around 7.1, temp around 26, and fairly high phosphates. I tried various plants, from the supposedly indestructible types to ferns and swords. :help2:
 
What was the Kelvin temp. on the bulbs,the watts,and how long did you leave them on for?
 
What specifically were you using for substrate and how deep is it in your tank?
 
12 hours a day is a long photo period.8 hours is plenty.That may have something to do with it.Your lights are 4 feet long? And these are over a 30 gallon,3 foot tank?
 
1) Need to REALLY know the K rateing on the bulbs (6500 to 6700 is best).
2) 8 hours of light is fine, keeping lights on for 12 hours is OK too==this did not kill the plants.
3) Swords and ferns is too general===there are some non-aquatic swords and ferns out there too.
4) Your gravel is fine.
 
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