# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Symptoms of low light levels???



## girlthrower (Jul 15, 2003)

What are the symptoms of low light levels, to make sure its not too low light in my tank before I give it a complete overhaul!

I do have one leaf (yes, only one, out of a good number) that has faded from green to yellow, and the stem appears to have gone weak/flexible, as it has sagged. Leaf and stem are almost white, they are a very pale yellow. This sounds like low light to me but its the only leaf in the whole tank thats done it! The same plant has other leaves that are very green(sorry 4 the bad description) and it is growing new stems. Please give me common symptoms of low light levels if possible. Cheers

Brought to you by the 'Atomic Black Shower'


----------



## girlthrower (Jul 15, 2003)

What are the symptoms of low light levels, to make sure its not too low light in my tank before I give it a complete overhaul!

I do have one leaf (yes, only one, out of a good number) that has faded from green to yellow, and the stem appears to have gone weak/flexible, as it has sagged. Leaf and stem are almost white, they are a very pale yellow. This sounds like low light to me but its the only leaf in the whole tank thats done it! The same plant has other leaves that are very green(sorry 4 the bad description) and it is growing new stems. Please give me common symptoms of low light levels if possible. Cheers

Brought to you by the 'Atomic Black Shower'


----------



## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

you can't go wrong with the 2-3 wpg (watt per gallon) fluorescent method of determining the light. stem plant require 2+ wpg.

75 Gal, 3 WPG PC 10 hour, pressurize co2 /w controller 1 bps, Fluval 404, ph 6.8
A Canadian's Plant Traders website


----------



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

girlthrower,

We might be able to give you better answers if we knew just which plants you were trying to grow.

Generalizing broadly, many stem plants growing under low light will initially put out a burst of growth -- usually with a lot of stem and not very many leaves -- as they reach for more light. They only do that as long as they have energy stored to grow on. When the energy is depleted (or immediately, if the plants don't have much stored) growth stops. After that the stems usually rot off at the bottom.

Some stem plants that are grown under marginal light may grow slowly and produce undersized leaves. They too, usually stop growing and rot of at the bottom after a while.

Most "rosette" plants simple cease to grow, or grow very slowly and produce small, weak leaves. Most -- even crypts under very low light -- eventually die back, older leaves first. Some sword plants (E. cordifolius, for instance) will produce small leaves on unusually long petioles, then die.

The length of time that a plant can grow under very low light varies from species to species and it varies with the condition the plant was in when it was placed under low light. A robust plant may hold out for months before finally dying. A weak plant may die back immediately.

The specifics of just how the plant dies varies from species to species and probably from aquarium to aquarium.


Roger Miller


----------



## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

He has 20 watts over a 29 gallon tank and has asked this same question about a dozen times in different forums here. I explained in his initial post that his lighting was insufficient. But I guess he needs to be told multiple times my different people.

Moderator










American by birth, Marine by the grace of God! This post spell checked with IESpell available at http://www.iespell.com

See my Profile for tank details.


----------



## Dr.T. (Jul 23, 2003)

I'd be happy to say, need more light than that.

I have 3 x 24 " (3 x 30 watts, I think) fluorescent tubes over my 29 gallon, and that seems to do OK

Jeff (Dr.T.)


----------



## bebop (Jul 8, 2003)

how do u find out how many WPG do you have, X or multilpy what.


----------



## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

X/Y=WPG

X is total number of watts.

Y is gallons

Moderator










American by birth, Marine by the grace of God! This post spell checked with IESpell available at http://www.iespell.com

See my Profile for tank details.


----------

