Why does my anacharis grow so thin?

[Dejitaru_Davis]

because you have no light

a 15w CFL bulb is 15w of light.. that equivillency thing means nothing.. incadescent light is useless to plants.

when we way 1wpg or 2wpg were referring to 1WATT of flurescent (CFL) light


anyway the reason it is growing thin is because it is stretching itself to get closer to the light... using all its mass and energy to group UP instead of OUT

Thanks, but it's been covered at this point. I'm in the process of looking for a higher wattage bulb -- hence my previous reply.

 

[kj5kb]

What wattage do you use? I'm trying to find a 23 watt bulb but the Walmart I've been to doesn't seem to have one...hops from 20 to 26. There are two options for 23's, but one is a Sylvania and is only available in 2700 K. The other is Greater Value or some-such and has no Kelvin value indicated on the box. I'm gonna guess it's a "soft white" or something.

Have a look at Home Depot, etc.
DIY stores tend to have a better lamp selection. I know H.D. has the nuvision lamps in "daylight" in several wattages. FWIW, Nuvision is HD's brand made by TCP. Some of the nuvisions are wet location rated too...not really necessary if you have glass btwn water and light, but doesn't hurt.

26W would be fine if it fits...but I'd hold out for a higher color temp than 2700. Daylight is typically 6500-6700K.

Physical size/shape of the bulb will probably be a limiting factor before wattage will.

 

[Dejitaru_Davis]

Home Depot and Lowe's were, surprisingly, a no-go. While their selection was wider than Walmart's, everything was either higher than/lower than 23 watts or 2700K.

The good news is, I found some Feit Electric "Daylight100" bulbs at Walgreens. 23watt, 6800K -- and the single packs were clearanced, so it only cost me $5.33 for the two of them.

They technically fit in my fixture, but they just barely stick out, preventing it from laying flat on the glass. I built some makeshift legs to hold it up until I can build something more aesthetically pleasing (and light blocking).

I'm already noticing some light pearling on the anacharis.