# new plants in. help, please.



## mszumins (Feb 8, 2008)

Hello,

I received a shipment of low ligth plants from Mgamer yesterday. planted them in my newly set up tank and now cant wait for them to start growing.
The problem is that they spent the extra 2 days floating around CT on USPS trucks and they seem a little beat up because of it.

when I tested the water this morning i had pH of 6.8, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0.

my fish that are listed in my signature were moved into that tank from the 10g where they were housed temporarily. water parameters in that tank were exactly the same just before I moved everything.
i also moved the HOB filter, heater and a coconut shell that I had in the 10g so the bacteria should be there and there should be no issues with cycling. I also figured it wouldnt hurt to add some water from the old tank so I did (about 5 gals).

the question is: without any nitrates present will the plants have any nutrients? is there anything I can do to give them a boost?

I am planning on adding more fish soon so that should help. Also I am considering DIY CO2 unless you dont think its going to help me any.

the lighting currently is 50W total of 6700K bulbs. I hope it will be enough to grow these low light plants. 
substrate is pool sand.

Najas guadalupensis (guppy grass)
baby java fern 
vals 
Dwarf Sag 
crypt

java moss - came from the 10gal 

All your help is greatly appreciated.
__________________
MIKE

TANK: 45 gallon - newly planted, HOB Emperor 280, 50W 6700k lights, Pool Sand substrate
FISH: 1 female Angel, 1 Silver tetra, 2 Panda Corys
PLANTS: Guppy Grass, Baby Java Fern, Vals, Dwarf Sag, Crypt, Java Moss


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

With 50 watts of light on a 45 gallon tank you will see very slow growth, if any, of those plants. At that _*slooow*_ growth rate you can rely on the fish to fertilize the plants.


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## mszumins (Feb 8, 2008)

I was afraid of that. dang.
do you think any ferts would help give them a boost?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Additional fertilzing would do very little good. It is the light intensity that drives the growth rate, and the fertilizing just allows the plants to grow at that rate.


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## lauraleellbp (Jan 31, 2008)

If you want faster growth from these plants you're going to need to up your light wattage. I'd shoot for about 2 watts per gallon, or approximately 90 watts. Yes ferts would probably help as well- but see Hoppy's post.

The point of low light tanks, however, is usually to try and keep plants that grow more slowly and minimize the complexity and higher maintenance that comes with higher tech setups. So it seems that maybe you just need to decide what your ultimate goals are before you start changing your setup? If you're not up for more $$ invested in this setup and much higher maintenance, my advice would be just be patient and wait for what you have to grow.


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## mszumins (Feb 8, 2008)

that was the idea initially. I was hesitant to go with 96watts over this tank because I was afraid I would be forced into ferts and CO2.
I can live with slow growth but wanted to see if there is anything I can do at the current setup to give the plants a boost since they suffered a little during shipping.


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## lauraleellbp (Jan 31, 2008)

How deep is your tank? 45 gal is an odd size. If it's a deep hex aquarium, you might be able to get away with 96w and still be in the low light catagory?


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## mszumins (Feb 8, 2008)

its 24" deep
36x12x24


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

What Flourescent bulb is 50 watts? I have heard of 20s, 40, 55s, but never 50. I hope you have flourescent and not incadescent, because incadescent is about 5 times LESS bright per watt than flourescent. Vals will be the first to go. They melt from poor light very quickly. I wouldn't call them a low light plant. "Guppy grass" is a pretty thin leaf plant, I've never had it so I don't know how sensitive it is, but in general plants with very little body mass are the first to go. Java fern and the Cryptocoryne are the ones most lkely to hold on. The Sag is iffy. Under low light and no C02, Sagittaria will stay small, short, and very thin leaf... basically under developed. You have less than low light. If it looks translucent, floating it won't really help.


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## mszumins (Feb 8, 2008)

its two bulbs, 24" 20w and 36" 30w. definitely fluorescent.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Those are standard T12 fluorescent bulbs, I think. They rarely have effective reflectors, if they have any at all. So, the 50 watts you do have is less effective than AH Supply lighting kits, which have very good reflectors. Effectively I suspect you have less than one watt per gallon.


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## mszumins (Feb 8, 2008)

no question they are nowhere near the AH supply kit as far as effectiveness goes.


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## lauraleellbp (Jan 31, 2008)

Yup- seems general consensus is that you're going to have to upgrade your lighting to keep just about anything alive.


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