Whats wrong with my plants?

:iagree: to make things easy i'd stay between 1-2 watts per gallon (40-80 watts) of 6500k-6700k bulbs. that should give you a decent starting point for a 40 and should keep the dosing and testing down.

btw, k=kelvin (color)
 
yes... i might not know about the rest.. but i agree with the lights.. Im still looking for a new one... but even so.. the plants are still very low light.. it shouldnt be like this...
 
That is very low light. 8w bulbs don't put out very much useful light at all. Low light plants or not.
 
desk lamps? clamp lamps? watcha got? walmart sells ge cfl's (spiral bulb replacements) daylight 6500k for less than $10 for a 2 pack that work great for me. the actual wattage is 10 watts for a 40 replacement and 27 for a 100 to give you an idea. one 27 should give you about 1 wpg but won't spread too well. the 10's seem to be too little imo even for 2. not sure actual watts on the 60 replacement but one on each end should do it for now. if you have to use a lamp with a shade take that into consideration.

i would look for something permanent soon though or your temporaries might be a little more permanent like mine. :)
 
First, you probably don't have 16W of light, more than likely you have 36W. You said you're lights were 60cm, and since most light fixtures arrange their lights parallel to each other and not end to end, you've got two of the 600mm lights, not two of the 300mm lights, right?

Second, before you start going out and buying a lot of stuff, you have nothing but Java fern in that tank, which would do fine even if you do have only 16W of light. If you plan on getting some more demanding plants in the future, then by all means do your upgrades, but I don't believe you need anything more for it than what you're providing. You can grow Java fern in a bucket in your basement.

The problem you're having is more than likely the plant getting acclimated to it's new surroundings. Some Java ferns do this when the conditions they are introduced to are greatly different from the ones they were used to. It doesn't happen too quickly because these guys don't grow quickly. Just trim off the dead leaves and be patient. New growth should appear that's more acclimated to your tank.
 
oh no .. its 15W 450mm so its actually only 15 x 2 = 30 watts for 40 gallons!!

Im going to make a revelation that will most you you helpful folks want to ban me..

I had forgotten about the fact that I moved the light and used it for my OTHER cichlid tank !! tt's why the plants were not doing well!! its when you guys tell me about the lighting that I remembered!

hahaha this thread shouldnt have been started in the first place... hahahaha

apologies...

anyways, I have 1/20 bleach soak the plants and put it in the cichlid tank for the time being..

heh...
 
AquariaCentral.com