Lighting Help?

[GoldenRoses]

Hello,

Lighting is one thing that I've always struggled with. It seems that I just can't get it right! I would really appreciate some guidance regarding lighting in one of my tanks, so hopefully I won't have to go through these troubles again.

About a year ago, I set up a 10 gallon heavily planted dirted tank, topped with play sand. The tank came with a full hood and slots for two small bulbs. I "upgraded" to two 15 watt Colormax bulbs, which I thought the plants would do well with. However, plant growth never really took off like I had hoped, and I believe this is due to the lighting.

I've read that bulbs loose their effectiveness after about 6 months anyway, so I figured now would be a good time to make a change. My beautiful tiger lotus is even beginning to whither away.

The only problem is, none of the bulbs that the hood can hold seem like adequate choices for a planted tank. Actually, the Colormax was probably the best choice at the time.

So, what can I do? I'm on a fairly low budget, but I guess getting a whole new hood is the only option? The tank is home to incredibly jumpy female bettas, so the new hood would have to be pretty sturdy.

I am completely lost when it comes to new lighting. Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Byron]

Lighting is the single most important issue for planted tanks, but not the only one.  First issue to look at is the present lighting.  Can you detail this more?  Or perhaps post a link to the manufacturer's (or a retailer's) data?  For example, are these screw-in bulbs, or fluorescent tubes of some sort?  While lighting does weaken in intensity over time, it should be OK for about a year, or longer with some of the newer types.
 
Aside fro the light, what plant species do you have?  And what is the GH of your tap water (this is the prime source of the "hard" minerals like calcium and magnesium.  I assume you are not fertilizing (having soil), but if you are, specify what and how often.
 
Do you have any algae issues?  This can be an indicator of balance (having algae, or not having, either way).
 

Byron.

 

[GoldenRoses]

Thank you for the reply, Byron.

The bulbs are small, screw-in, incandescent I believe. This link shows a picture of what it looks like, I couldn't find much else on it: https/www.vetdepot.com/aqueon-incandescent-aquarium-lamp-bulb-colormax-15-watt.html

I've had tons of different plants throughout the years (many of which have died-- again, I think due to lighting), but I've had a huge green tiger lotus and some anubias stick through the whole time. Currently in the tank is along with them is an ozelot sword, crypt wendtii, crypt spirallis, crypt parva, jungle val, and lots of rotala indica. Growth from all these plants is sporadic and none of them look very lush. The tiger lotus leaves have been dying recently, when before I had so many I was constantly pruning it back. I haven't had a lily pad touch the surface in quite some time now. The vals have just a few long leaves, and the rest continually melt. I'm afraid I just keep loosing the plants before they can recover!

I used to not use ferts, but recently got Flourish Excel for another tank, and decided to try it out in there. I've only used it a few times, but didn't see any noticeable difference, so discontinued the use.

Really not a whole lot of algae. A few patches here and there, but not anything that I would be concerned about. It's usually brown algae towards the bottom near the sand.

 

[Byron]

OK, first on the light.  With two incandescent (screw-in) bulbs, your best bet are two CFL (= compact fluorescent, those spirally bulbs) Daylight bulbs, in 10w.  I happen to use GE, but other brands will work just as well.  Just make sure of the colour (the Kelvin rating), 6500K, although 5000K can also work; I have both, but I would say the 6500K are probably better.  Two of these, in just 10w, will be ample; I have this over both my 10g and 20g tanks.  These CFL bulbs will produce more intense lighting, and are much less expensive than a new lighting fixture which in the end will be no better light.
 
I asked about algae because this can be an indicator if things are out of balance, so not having problem algae likely means you have a fairly good balance that may need some tweaking.  So that brings me to the plants.  Not all plants have the same requirements with respect to lighting and nutrients in balance, so the more different species you attempt the more likely you will have some that do better than others.
 
Vallisneria does better in moderately hard water (the GH or general hardness...any idea what it is?) but can manage in softer but the minimal calcium may hamper it.  However, another problem here is the Excel; this is a so-called liquid carbon supplement that is made from glutaraldehyde and water.  Vallisneria almost always melts and dies when Excel is used, so that may have been part of the issue with the Vall.  If this was the smaller corkscrew Vallisneria, and depending upon your GH, it might be worth trying this again (if none are left now).  It is a lovely plant, suitable for a background in a 10g.  The other species are all too large for a 10g.
 
The Tiger Lotus really needs a much larger tank; I have two in my 90g and they are immense.  However, if you continually remove the leaves that reach the surface, the plant will eventually discontinue producing surface leaves, so this may be happening here.  The "constantly pruning it back" probably sent the signal and the plant has ceased trying.
 
The crypts should do well in this tank, with the soil and better lighting.  The Rotala indica is something I would probably leave out in so small a tank.  Being a stem plant, it naturally is fast growing, which means brighter light and more nutrients.  Given the other plants (which are somewhat the opposite of this) I would be prepared to remove this if it does not improve with the new CFL bulbs.
 
BTW, as for replacing the CFL bulbs...so far I have only done this when they actually burn out.  I've not noticed any decline in plant response like I do with fluorescent tubes after say 12 months, and algae has not increased like it will when the intensity of the lighting becomes too low for the plants.  I've no idea if CFL bulbs lose strength like fluorescent, perhaps not.  Anyway, I've had mine for about five or six years now, and I've had to replace two of the four that burnt out.
 
Hope this helps.  Don't hesitate to question anything.
 
Byron.

 

[GoldenRoses]

Thank you so much for the information, Byron. Incredibly helpful to finally get a solid answer on the lights.

Apologies, I forgot to add the GH in my last post! My water is quite hard and alkaline, GH is around 150ppm, give or take a bit, and pH hardly drops below 8.0

I did notice that the corkscrew val died after the dose of excel, the jungle val is still hanging on. I really like it, so hopefully once the new lights at installed it can take off again.

I absolutely love my tiger lotus, the betta girls do too. They each have their own spots within the leaves where they rest each night. So it's not going anywhere. That makes sense about the lack of tall lilies, but the whole plant just seems so damaged now. Before a new leaf even has the chance to open up, it's yellow and beginning to rot away. Could lighting play a factor in this or is there another problem?

If the rotala would be best removed, is there another, more suitable plant that could take its place? Something tall and bushy is nice, as it helps to break lines of sight between the bettas, since all the other plants are fairly low to the ground. I had mermaid weed in there before. It looked so gorgeous for a few weeks... then all died within a matter of days.

When I first started keeping live plants, I would have never expected they'd be more difficult than the fish!

 

[Byron]

Once you replace the bulbs, the corkscrew Vall should be OK (the Jungle will get too large for a 10gh though, this plant will grow leaves well over 2-3 feet).  The Rotala may do OK with better lighting too.  Same with the Tiger Lotus.  If the suggested lighting does not improve these, and you need to give them a few weeks to adjust to any changes, then it will be the nutrients.  With soil one is not supposed to have to add fertilizers, but soil does give out in time, and if this tank has been set up for a year, that time may have come.  A complete liquid fertilizer may be helpful, something like Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium (make sure it is this one, they make several products under the "Flourish" name) or Brightwell Aquatics' FlorinMulti.
 
Floating plants are ideal with Betta, and any anabantids; instead of the Rotala or Tiger Lotus you could try Water Sprite (Ceratopteris cornuta); this plant will get large (diameter) but it produces daughter plants rapidly from alternate leaves and it is easy to keep a few of these and discard the plants when they get large.
 
Byron.