Plants won't grow

[CarlClassen]

About 3 weeks ago i put 130watts PC commercial fixture over my 29 gal tank. I thought for sure my plants would grow like crazy, or at least algae! I dose weekly with flourish. But so far its like i hadn't added anything at all. Even the algae isn't growing anymore then when i had 40 Watts over my tank. Any ideas? It's a 10,000K and 6,500K bulbs.

[Nelson]

About 3 weeks ago i put 130watts PC commercial fixture over my 29 gal tank. I thought for sure my plants would grow like crazy, or at least algae! I dose weekly with flourish. But so far its like i hadn't added anything at all. Even the algae isn't growing anymore then when i had 40 Watts over my tank. Any ideas? It's a 10,000K and 6,500K bulbs.

That's odd Carl.  I never had any real success with standard lighting although I never had 4.5 wpg (excessive) as you do.  Once I converted my tanks to CF lights my plants grew very well.  I can't offer any immediate solutions to your problem but I would look at the lighting on/off schedule - it may not be giving the plants sufficien lighting and I would also consider adding CO2.  I'm sure BigDaddy will jump in at some point and provide his assistance.

[BigDaddy]

I'm assuming this is a 2 x 65 watt unit from Coralife or some other brand, and that it has a moderately good reflector.

Are you dosing CO2?  At that wattage, you HAVE to be.  As well, at that wattage, you NEED to make sure your tank always has AT LEAST 5 to 10 ppm of nitrate.

What kind of substrate do you have?  Standard gravel, florite, soil?

Also, what kind of plants are we talking about.  If we are dealing with anubias and java fern, then you won't likely see any difference for a while.  But you would with stem plants like hygro, rotala, pennywort, etc...

Let us know.

[CarlClassen]

That's odd Carl.  I never had any real success with standard lighting although I never had 4.5 wpg (excessive) as you do.  Once I converted my tanks to CF lights my plants grew very well.  I can't offer any immediate solutions to your problem but I would look at the lighting on/off schedule - it may not be giving the plants sufficien lighting and I would also consider adding CO2.  I'm sure BigDaddy will jump in at some point and provide his assistance.

I realized when i bought it that there would be too many WPG but since there is two bulbs i figured i would either have one on at a time or stagger them to only get 4.5 WPG at certain short times in middle of the day. The schedule is from about 8am to 10pm. I also knew i would need CO2 but i figured i would cross that bridge when i got to it. But i figured I would get some growth first.

[CarlClassen]

I'm assuming this is a 2 x 65 watt unit from Coralife or some other brand, and that it has a moderately good reflector.

Are you dosing CO2?  At that wattage, you HAVE to be.  As well, at that wattage, you NEED to make sure your tank always has AT LEAST 5 to 10 ppm of nitrate.

What kind of substrate do you have?  Standard gravel, florite, soil?

Also, what kind of plants are we talking about.  If we are dealing with anubias and java fern, then you won't likely see any difference for a while.  But you would with stem plants like hygro, rotala, pennywort, etc...

Let us know.

That's right. Not that brand but the same thing. It definitely a brighter tank now!
after a couple of weeks i bought a nitrate testing kit and got 5ppm.
I'm using gravel but have thought about converting to florite if i need to. I could hate to change half way as the current plants have extensive roots but i would if it is needed.

I have Hygro, pennywort, giant twisted val(new), hairgrass(new), amazon sword of some type, java fern,and hornwort. The hygro has changed colour from green to a purple. I was wondering if the plants were "low on energy" and are recharging before a growth spurt

I know i have a calcium deficiency because snails don't live in the tank and you mentioned that low calcium was probably the cause. But i figured flourish would help that.

As an aside i have learned a lesson. Yellow lab cichlids and hair grass do not mix. They have been pulling it out strand by strand ever since i got it. what a mess. they seem to like the "seeds" on top.

[BigDaddy]

Believe it or not... with the lighting you have, you are actually UNDERfertilizing.

The dosages for flourish are for the standard lighting aquarium... (i.e. low light).  In an extremely high light tank like yours, you will need more... much much more.  To give you an example, my 75 gallon (which is 3 WPG) gets 45ml of trace element mix (equivalent to flourish but much cheaper  :wink: ) per week.

And yes, you absolutely will need CO2 at those lighting levels.

Keep your NO3 between 5 and 10ppm at all times.  That's priority 1.  Priority 2 is to ensure you have CO2 between 15 and 30ppm while your lights are on.  Then you can work on traces, and potentially even adding phosphate (yup... you actually WANT to add phosphate in a high light tank).

With that type of lighting, CO2 and the right fert schedule, you should be pruning a few inches of hygro a week out of that tank!

Hygro and hornwort are HUGE nutrient suckers.  Don't be afraid (once N and CO2 are right) to start increasing your dosage of Flourish.  When you start seeing green spot on the glass... that's your cue to back off to whatever your last dosages were.

[CarlClassen]

Thanks again!

What will happen if i don't use CO2? At this point i wouldn't mind seeing lots of algae just to know something is happening!

[dannypd]

Hygro and hornwort are HUGE nutrient suckers.  Don't be afraid (once N and CO2 are right) to start increasing your dosage of Flourish.  When you start seeing green spot on the glass... that's your cue to back off to whatever your last dosages were.

Wouldn't there be a reddish hue starting on the leaves after high nutrition and growth?

[TBarb]

I  recall once in some thread (and probably from Big Daddy) that once you reach 2 watts per gallon you need CO2. Not optional! The good thing though is that it is super easy to make. Search the site for "CO2". There has been lots of talk on it.

I think that is your biggest drawback. My two cents.