10 gallon not so noob

flipnap · 05-13-2008, 10:34 PM

Hey all, first post here. So quick rundown. I have maintained a 20 gallon saltwater coral and fish, a ten gallon freshwater for two years now.. i have recently started trying to keep live plants in my freshwater but they are dying after a month. I bought a co2 fizzfactory box and changed out my standard 15 watt single bulb to a 2800 k floraglo bulb but they are still not doing good. Ive succesfully kept corals but i cant get these plants right.. is it the spectrum or the wattage thats failing me. I think i need to get up to at least around 30 watts for strength but i dunno.. i dont need a heavily planted aquarium but i like some live plants (amazonian sword, etc) just for decoration.. any help would be appreciated.

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orion2001 · 05-13-2008, 11:08 PM

Hey there. Firstly 2800K is not going to work for plants. You need to go to 5500-6500K ideally. Pick up some GE CFL Daylight (6500K) bulbs from Walmart. Also I'd atleast get 30 Watts of lighting on the tank. However if you are using CFL spiral bulbs...you should go a little higher as they are quite inefficient. So maybe 2x20Watts of spiral CFLs. In addition try sticking to more of the low-mid light type of plants. Java ferns, Anubias, Hornwort, etc. You might be able to get away without any fertilizing even. I'm sure others here can chip in with some more help and comments. Good luck!

05-13-2008, 10:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
flipnap Newbie (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: May 2008 Location: dallas Posts: 1	10 gallon not so noob Hey all, first post here. So quick rundown. I have maintained a 20 gallon saltwater coral and fish, a ten gallon freshwater for two years now.. i have recently started trying to keep live plants in my freshwater but they are dying after a month. I bought a co2 fizzfactory box and changed out my standard 15 watt single bulb to a 2800 k floraglo bulb but they are still not doing good. Ive succesfully kept corals but i cant get these plants right.. is it the spectrum or the wattage thats failing me. I think i need to get up to at least around 30 watts for strength but i dunno.. i dont need a heavily planted aquarium but i like some live plants (amazonian sword, etc) just for decoration.. any help would be appreciated.

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05-13-2008, 11:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
orion2001 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: USA Posts: 33	Hey there. Firstly 2800K is not going to work for plants. You need to go to 5500-6500K ideally. Pick up some GE CFL Daylight (6500K) bulbs from Walmart. Also I'd atleast get 30 Watts of lighting on the tank. However if you are using CFL spiral bulbs...you should go a little higher as they are quite inefficient. So maybe 2x20Watts of spiral CFLs. In addition try sticking to more of the low-mid light type of plants. Java ferns, Anubias, Hornwort, etc. You might be able to get away without any fertilizing even. I'm sure others here can chip in with some more help and comments. Good luck!