Mushy Plants

[pat3612]

Hi I have a 10 and 20 gal tank both are planted a bit my 20 gal is thriving but my ten gal which has only been planted for abou 3 day the plants are going mushy any ideas Thanks.

 

[Mikaila31]

How much lighting do you have on the 10gal? Have you added any meds that contain copper, or anti-algae stuff?

 

[pat3612]

I have 50 watts its an older tank no meds or anything it cycling with media in it from my 20 gal no fish the bulbs were burnt out and when I went to the lfs they told me to get the blue bulbs as their good for fish and plants. ps Id like to nib this as I have alot of plants being delivered tommorrow.

 

[Mikaila31]

What kind of bulbs are you using(fluorescent/incandescent)? Do they have a kelvin rating on them?

 

[pat3612]

Sorry I dont know threw out the packaging they dont say any thing on them but their not tubes just bulbs if this helps Iam new at this. Should I buy a new hood or rewire the old one so I can put tubes in also when you put the light hood on there is glass there does this make a difference. Thanks

 

[Mikaila31]

Oh, I think I know what you are talking about, Are they from Walmart, called aquarium plant growth bulb, and kinda a blueish-purple color, and screw into the hood? If so, someone just dropped of 10 of those at my house the other day. I was like "what in the world are these?" None of my tanks can run them. They are incandescent, and if you take yours out of the hood and look on the metal end it should say "120v 15W CHINA". Is that right? If so then they are going to be pretty much worthless for growing plants. You will want fluorescent lights, so you will need a different hood. I am guessing it is a standard 10gal tank, so it would be 20" long, right? I will find some better hoods.

 

[pat3612]

Acually from petsmart but same thing Ill try to pop up to to the lfs as soon as I can meanwhile I have all these aquascape plants arriving luckly I orded low light plants lol do you think they will be allright in a bucket in front of the window for a couple of days thanks.

 

[lljdma06]

I have 50 watts its an older tank no meds or anything it cycling with media in it from my 20 gal no fish the bulbs were burnt out and when I went to the lfs they told me to get the blue bulbs as their good for fish and plants. ps Id like to nib this as I have alot of plants being delivered tommorrow.

Methinks you have incadescent bulbs. You are probably roasting your plants as they give off quite a bit of heat. Take a look at your bulbs. The low light plants should be alright for a few days in a bucket. If you are indeed getting low-light plants, try to find a 15w flourescent fixture for your 10g. There should be fixtures readily available at PetsMart. Ideally, you should aim for between 20-30W for a lower-light 10g with standard T8s. Big Als sells a very nice Coralife twin T5 fixture for about $30 or less. It'll jut a bit on a 10g, like 2 inches, but it's a great light. If you can find a twin T8 at 15W each bulb, that would be more than adaquate, especially if you add CO2.

Sorry for the rambling, I have the flu.

llj