# Temporary Wattage Increase



## LittleTinGod (Sep 15, 2015)

Background Story:
I have a Aqueon 10 gallon with 2 Clamp Lights(8.5" reflectors sitting 5.5" above the Rim). Currently I have 2 13-watt 6500k Spiral CFL's. It is about 2 1/2 weeks old right now. My goal ultimately is to run this as a low light tank, no co2. My substrate is Miracle Grow Organic Choice Partially Mineralized/Safe-T-Sorb 50/50 Mix caped with 2-4mm gravel.

Plants: Sagittaria subulata, Echinodorus quadricostatus, Rotala rotundifolia, Limnophila sessiliflora, Microsorium pteropus, Echinorodus bleheri 'Compacta', Staurogyne repens, Anacharis, Water Sprite, and Duckweed

The plants didn't get off to the best start, some are doing ok but there are obviously some issues. The Limnophila pretty much all melted, have 1 decent stem left and a good part of the Dwarf Sag and Rotala melted away. The Sword has some holes in leaves and browned edges. The Duckweed grew like the weed it is and I thinned it out significantly for now. The S. repens is doing very well, not growing that fast, but it's healthy looking. I was well into the cycle showing decent amounts of Nitrite and starting to show Nitrates. I added an Amano Shrimp(obviously too soon), but he didn't make it. I have decided to finish my cycle out fully(I have some pure Ammonia to use for bacteria food as well though with the soil I might not need much, I just put a few squirts in when i use it). I have some basic testing stuff to make sure i don't get too much Ammonia and hurt my plants.

I decided I have to do something to get these plants off to a better start now before I lose any species. I have to get plants mail order and its expensive so I really don't want to lose anything now. I obtained Seachem Flourish and Excel, some Flourish Potassium, and Flourish Iron will be in on Friday. Today I dosed 5ml of Flourish and 5ml of Excel. I will continue Flourish 3 times a week and plan to continue Excel daily and the Iron when it comes in for now and maybe some Potassium once a week. I hope to eventually only dose Flourish occasionally and maybe a little Potassium but I want to get this growing better now, then taper down to that later.

Question:
Sorry for the long background story, here is my question. I have 23-watt and 20-watt 6500k Spiral CFL's available to use, while I'm on this faster growth regimen right now do you think it would be ok to replace my 13-watt's for now with some of these and go back to the 13-watt's later? I'm using the Siesta period lighting scheme. 5 hours morning, 4 hour break, 5 hours evening.

Thanks for the help.

Here's a few pics showing what's left of my Rotala, Dwarf Sag, and Limnophila sessiliflora and a few of the other plants doing ok or better:


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## AKnickolai (Nov 30, 2007)

I can't see the plant pics for some reason. Did you mineralize or rinse the soil before use in the aquarium? The only dirt tank that I've had no do great was a tank where I skipped both of these steps. 13w CFLs should be plenty of light, I had that two clamp lights with 13w CFLs on an 28g bowfront and it did great as a low light dirt tank. If you didn't mineralize, it might tank a little bit for the tank to get started. The organics need to break down into something the plants can use.

Check the nutrient deficiency section of this website and see if what you are seeing looks like any of those. From the description is sounds like a potassium deficiency is possible in your sword. How is the Java fern looking? Are you measuring the ammonia levels with a kit or have you done some concentration calcs to determine what ammonia levels you're likely inducing? A little goes a long way with pure ammonia:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/11-fertilizers-water-parameters/176321-ammonia-killing-plants.html

Adding ferts is okay if you see deficiencies in the leaves, but I would make sure you have ammonia levels in check first. As far as plants, learning the hobby often involves some losses or just finding out that some plants just don't like the conditions of your tank. Where do you live? The cheapest and healthiest plants you can get come from sales and trades with other members on this forum.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I use a CFLs on several on my tanks, and I think that 2 13w is plenty. Increasing to 20w+ will probably trigger an algae outbreak.

The tank is only 2.5 weeks old. This is too soon for nutrient deficiencies to show up. I suspect your plant problems come from shipping damage and general environment change.

The plants in the photos don't look that bad, and all have a decent chance of recovery. That said, AKnickolai is right--not all plants thrive in all tanks, and you are likely to lose a few species before the tank stabilizes.

I don't think you need to add any fertilizers (Flourish) or carbon supplements (Excel) at this time. MGOC is notoriously rich, and the 100% organic matter content will produce plenty of CO2 for months at least. Mixing it with Safe-T-Sorb was a very good idea, but it still will produce plenty of ntrients and CO2 for a new tank.


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