I recently switched from a 15W standard canopy (flourescent grow bulb) to 2 x 18 Jebo compact flourescents on a standard 10 gallon glass (20 x 12) The tank is much brighter and easier to see details... but more than that, I hoped it would encourage better growth of my plants, which consist of java moss, a small amount of cabomba, java ferns, an anubias nana, several amazon swords (apparently), and a couple of large-leafed variants of the Petco kind.
The java moss does well and grows under what seems like any conditions. The anubias is being taken over by green algae (slow grower), so I moved it under the shade of the leaves of a bigger plant. The java ferns are doing okay, though the leaves slowly seem to turn yellow and die. Some do better than others. The amazon swords seem to have done the worst since the light change, turning black at the tips and withering away.
Funny, with the 15W, I seemed to have more algae problems, particularly of the hard green spot kind on the glass. With the new lights, the spots seem to have gone away, though I still get some grey hair algae on the heater.
The 15W light was on a timer for up to 10 or more hours a day. I tried similar times with the new lighting, but had to dial it back to around 6 hours a day, which seems to work better.
The tank has a fairly fine sand substrate that is mature. The tank inhabitants consist of three otocinclus catfish, one male betta, and three amano shrimp. They get along well with very little aggression. The betta ignores the shrimp altogether.
Filtration is a Marineland penguin with a stated 100gph flow rate. It is on constantly. I change the water once a week, usually 25-30%. I try to keep nitrates below 20ppm, down to 5ppm after a water change. Ph is kept at around 7.0, though it has fluctuated in the past and tended to drop after time (nitrification at work?), presumably due to soft water. Occasionally I add small doses of baking soda and/or calcium/mineral block specifically made for aquarium use and that seems to raise the Ph. Ph out of the tap will vary significantly as well, though I always regulate before adding it.
I have Flourish, though I am loathe to add anything more than a very tiny amount on rare occasions. I do not add CO2, and I want to avoid doing so. I keep the temp around 78. Could the temp and increased lighting be inappropriate for some of my more slow-growing plants? Anyone with any suggestions given my parameters?
The java moss does well and grows under what seems like any conditions. The anubias is being taken over by green algae (slow grower), so I moved it under the shade of the leaves of a bigger plant. The java ferns are doing okay, though the leaves slowly seem to turn yellow and die. Some do better than others. The amazon swords seem to have done the worst since the light change, turning black at the tips and withering away.
Funny, with the 15W, I seemed to have more algae problems, particularly of the hard green spot kind on the glass. With the new lights, the spots seem to have gone away, though I still get some grey hair algae on the heater.
The 15W light was on a timer for up to 10 or more hours a day. I tried similar times with the new lighting, but had to dial it back to around 6 hours a day, which seems to work better.
The tank has a fairly fine sand substrate that is mature. The tank inhabitants consist of three otocinclus catfish, one male betta, and three amano shrimp. They get along well with very little aggression. The betta ignores the shrimp altogether.
Filtration is a Marineland penguin with a stated 100gph flow rate. It is on constantly. I change the water once a week, usually 25-30%. I try to keep nitrates below 20ppm, down to 5ppm after a water change. Ph is kept at around 7.0, though it has fluctuated in the past and tended to drop after time (nitrification at work?), presumably due to soft water. Occasionally I add small doses of baking soda and/or calcium/mineral block specifically made for aquarium use and that seems to raise the Ph. Ph out of the tap will vary significantly as well, though I always regulate before adding it.
I have Flourish, though I am loathe to add anything more than a very tiny amount on rare occasions. I do not add CO2, and I want to avoid doing so. I keep the temp around 78. Could the temp and increased lighting be inappropriate for some of my more slow-growing plants? Anyone with any suggestions given my parameters?
