Plant Tank

Currently I have an 18 W 5000K flourescent tube on my 36 gallon plant tank. Although my plants are not growing, they are not dying either. My plants are all ones who require low light.

I can buy a 10 000K / 75 watt aquasun flourescent tube. Would that do a better job in growing my plants ?

It is a discus tank. How would the stronger light affect them ?

 

No because the ballast on your current lamp can not drive the new bulb.

The Discus might be bothered at first but will adjust.

 

Are you using CO2? Did you use a good substrate like Flourite?

I have a 30 gallon planted with low light plants that is lit by a Coralife 6500k PC fixture. I use Seachem Flourish Excel organic carbon daily because I don't want to mess with injection. I also have a 3" deep bed of SeaChem Flourite and dose 30ml of Aqueon aquarium plant food once a week. All of my plants are growing like weeds.

There are other factors to take into consideration as well like pH and GH.

Hope you get it figuired out.

 

the carbon supplementation doesn't help very much in low light tanks.

 

I'm afraid that I am guilty of a couple of things. I do not test my water for PH as often as I should & my substrate is gravel.
I do use some Seachem products ( comprehensive, nitrogen & phosphorus )
I inject CO2.
My light is a Flora Sun 5000K / 18W flourescent plant lamp. I was told it was too weak to grow anything, even plants requiring low light. Some of my plants are growing very slowly or not growing @ all. ( @ least that is how it appears to me ) Perhaps I am just impatient. Others are growing very quickly.Maybe you're right. I should just leave it alone. Where it is a discus tank, I do have to do water changes twice a week. I also have to vaccuum the substrate lightly ( not deeply so as not to disturb the roots of the plants or the mulm ) to remove any uneaten food, etc., trim the dead off plants & wipe down the inside glass.
Any suggestions about my set up or ways I might improve ? How many hours/day do you run your lights ?
Thanks.

OceanSurf.

 

I would add one more bulb with a 6500K rating.

I run my lights 10 hours a day.

 

How do you add another flourscent tube, when you have a canopy made for one light ? Are there canopies made for 2 bulbs ?

 

I read that anything between 5000K & 6500K was good for planted tanks. What do you think of adding one 6500 tube ?