[LPan82]

AHHH!
Ok, I'm new.. so please excuse. Here's the background info: 6 gallon tank, 8 watts (1.2 WATTS/ gallon), with 2 plants, one a moneywort and a gold fish.

Ok, so after 3 weeks of putting plants in my tank, things are not going so good. First of all, my leaves are turning black! What's up with that? Could it be because of the acidity? (It was around 6.2--> now back up to 6.8-7.0). I feed it plant food once a week too. The plants are in a little bit of Lariete (sp?).

I've also heard about an issue with Plants and BIOWheels. I have one running, so is it, or is it not depriving my 2 plants of CO2? If so, what should I do? Should I just remove it? But then, wouldn't my fish not get enough oxygen? (I'm using the goldfish as a starter for Nitrogen cycle--> soon to be replaced with more "sensitive" fish). Also, 1.2 WATTS/ gallon seems low, but my plants were considered "low" light requirement. Is 1.2 too low?

Thanks in advance,
AHHH!

 

[Sir_BlackhOle]

You might need to add more lighting first and see how they do.

 

[LPan82]

Ok, someone told me to get this: http://www.ahsupply.com/twox.htm

Is that recommended? That would give me 13 watts per 6 gallons. Or I can even go up to 26 watts? Is that waaaay too much? Please advise. Thanks!

Lawrence

 

[mm12463]

Lawrence -

There are a few things to consider in my mind.

What kind of plants do you want to grow? If you want to stay with the lower light your choices are fewer but you can still have an excellent tank. Higher light and you have a lot more options.

At the same time high light tanks require more work on the hobbyist part. Supplementing CO2 and ferts and what not. But if done right the plants will grow fast and look great also. With lower light things move at a slower pace. You won't necessarily need to add CO2 or dose the tank with fertilizers as often. And mistakes you make won't be as instant like an algae bloom that appears over night from bad dosing or sloppy attention on a higher light tank.

If you plan to upgrade your lights I would go with the 13 watt kit from AH Supply. It's a fair amount of light and you can grow a variety of plants. A few more then you could with the current 8 watts. Things will move a little faster but not as fast as they would with the 26 watts. And you would have a little more room for error with the 13 watts. Granted you still need to be attentive.

Anyway just my thoughts and I hope others will give you some feedback and make any corrections to mine.

 

[Sir_BlackhOle]

I would stick with the 13 watt kit from ahsupply. That should get you started off right and you can go from there.