[TigerLilly]

I recently purchased a potted glosso plant thinking it was baby tears. It's in a 10gal with two 15watt light bulbs above it and plain sand as substrate. I want to keep this plant alive. I know it needs very high lighting. What lights would I need to keep it alive and how much do they cost, roughly?

 

[spypet]

direct light > 2.0 wpg will keep it alive.
direct light > 3.0 wpg to grow & spread.

 

[original kuhli]

He has 30 watts, so what's wrong?

 

[eklikewhoa]

What kind of bulbs are they? How old are they and is just two 10g fixtures set on top of the tank?

If it's what the above is then I think it's barely enough to keep it alive.

 

[TigerLilly]

What kind of bulbs are they?

other than what I already stated I have no idea.

How old are they ?

old. don't know exactly. The lights were given to me with the aquarium by my relatives who got the tank from a garage sale. I don't think they are standard 10gal lights from a regular hood. They over lap the tank a little on each side. They're 15watts each. They are two individual fixures sitting on top of a peice of glass that seperates them from the tank.

 

[epicfish]

Uh, pictures would help...but I'm guessing they're regular fluorescent fixtures.

For a 10 gallon tank, I'd get the 1x36w AHSupply retrofit kit. But that would require you to either buy a canopy or make on yourself.

I recently acquired a 2x36w Finnex fixture and it's great so far.

 

[eklikewhoa]

Yeah, I think your lighting is probably worthless in the terms of growing plants.

probably look into upgrading

 

[TigerLilly]

 

[TigerLilly]

this is the plant that I'm worried about keeping alive. It was suggested in another thread that it was glosso. I originally thought it was baby tears. What is it?

 

[PAINKILLER1009]

You need to separate the individual stems out of the big bunch you have planted together. Its a time consuming task.
I use my glass table in the basment, and break it apart. Put them out on the table one by one.
Plant them one by one. Helps them to spread.
I to have two 18' 15 watt bulbs over a 10 gallon but I have them overdriven x4, I think. I'm using an ADVANCED 4P32-SC ballast, having them wired in series. There is a thread here in the swap shop with the same ballast for sale for real cheap.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/swap-n-shop/41722-advance-ballasts-f-s-odno-time.html

Here's the thread that helped my out with my light project.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/21257-odno-measurements-power-consumption-vs-light.html

Hope this helps.

 

[TigerLilly]

You need to separate the individual stems out of the big bunch you have planted together. Its a time consuming task.
I use my glass table in the basment, and break it apart. Put them out on the table one by one.
Plant them one by one. Helps them to spread.
I to have two 18' 15 watt bulbs over a 10 gallon but I have them overdriven x4, I think. I'm using an ADVANCED 4P32-SC ballast, having them wired in series. There is a thread here in the swap shop with the same ballast for sale for real cheap.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/swap-n-shop/41722-advance-ballasts-f-s-odno-time.html

Here's the thread that helped my out with my light project.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/21257-odno-measurements-power-consumption-vs-light.html

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much Painkeller. Those were very helpful, but now my head hurts.

 

[TigerLilly]

You need to separate the individual stems out of the big bunch you have planted together. Its a time consuming task.
I use my glass table in the basment, and break it apart. Put them out on the table one by one.
Plant them one by one. Helps them to spread.

Wow! I didn't realize these needed to be planted individually. I'm very very new to aquatic plants.

 

[PAINKILLER1009]

Yea I am also very new. But I purchased a pot of glosso just like yours, and went through the same procedure. I think the glosso is grown hydroponicly. Thats why its so vertical. Once you get more light it spreads horizontal very easy.
My head hurt to for a little while. Then I just went to lowes and bought a new ballast and gutted my 2 old fixtures like yours and used the end caps. made a crapy wood hood (temporary), and bam it's spreading all over the floor. Very low I might add. There is still a couple of subborn stems that like to stay up right, but most 90% is laying down.