Plants dont photosynthesise

[hadjici2]

Hello people....greate forum. After the following setup I donnot see any significant change in the health of my plants after 3 days of doing so. Not many bubbles on my plant leaves indicating photosynthesis.

My setup: I had this tank for 4 years and neglected it the last 3 years due to overseas studying. Now that I am back I am reviving it.

30 gallon tank
added tropiflora fertiliser
900l/h filter
DIY CO2 bottle
no fish yet, just a few snails
two 25 watt each plant promoting fluarascent lamps (red)
one 25 watt blue marine fluaroscent lamp
=> therefore 3 flueroscent lamps of total 75 watts
gravel and substrate (don't know what kind) which is 4 years old.
tank dimensions 75cm long, 45cm deep, 40cm width

During the years I neglected the tank, I made water changes and the filtration was always on with no fish in the tank.
The plants in my tank are of 2 kinds only which I don't know the name. One is short and has brown leaves and the other grows long green leaves. It seems they both have minimum requirements because they are the only plants that servived these years.

What do you reccomend for me to do in order to start the growth and repopulation of my tank with healthy green plants?

PS: I didn't buy any other plants since I would like to make sure that I Know how to treat these first. If these plants grow well then I will buy more "spectacular" ones.

Thanks people sorry for the long message.

 

[George Farmer]

Welcome to the Forum!

My first consideration would be your filter. The flow seems very powerful for a 30G tank. Ensure your output is well below the surface to minimise CO2 loss through excessive surface agitation.

Secondly I would review your lighting. If it is fairly old (more than 12 months) then it will have lost a lot of output. I would replace it with full-spectrum, high-output tubes, preferably designed for planted use. If this is not an option then use reflectors if you don't already to increase intensity. The marine tube is not ideal for a freshwater planted set-up, it will encourage more algae than plant growth.

Thirdly, ensure your CO2 is running effectively. You will need a pH and KH test kit to measure this using a pH/KH/CO2 table. Aim for a minimum of 20 mg/l. Here's a link to a table.

http/www.floridadriftwood.com/page.asp?id=16

Last and most importantly, to acheive an algae free tank (which we all want) you will need to plant heavily with fast-growers initially. Once your set-up is established then you may switch to more demanding, slower growing species.

Bear in mind that fertilising is also very important. Read this thread for a quick insight.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=96511

I hope all this info doesn't put you off. Feel free to ask more questions. There's a lot of experience on this forum, all of which is there to help you if so required.

Good luck.

 

[hadjici2]

In my petshop there are only Arcadia lamps http/www.arcadia-uk.com/en/120fluorescentlamps.html Could you please reccomend me what to use? three 25 watt plant promoting lamps? The lamps are brand new.

 

[George Farmer]

If you are limited to 3 x Arcadia only then I would go for 2 x Freshwater Lamps and 1 x Orginal Tropical Lamp. Use reflectors to maximise effeciency,

 

[hadjici2]

I am not limited to 3 lamps.....how many 25 watt lamps will I need? Also why use 2 clear lamps and only 1 tropical lamp which is suited for plants?

 

[George Farmer]

why use 2 clear lamps and only 1 tropical lamp which is suited for plants?

The Freshwater Lamps are high-output, full-spectrum and will promote growth more than the Original Tropical tubes.

The Original Tropical are based on old technology from the 1970s (Gro Lux) and lack the intensity of modern tri-phosphor tubes.

However, if used in combination (Freshwater and Original Tropical) they will provide suitable light for plant growth.

 

[hadjici2]

I have the choice to have as many lamps as I wish. What would be the recommended setup for my 120 litre tank (30 gal) ? I can only have 25 watt lamps each to to the length of the aquarium....

 

[George Farmer]

2 FW and 1 OT should do fine. More light than that and you will need to dose lots of CO2 and fertilisers.

 

[hadjici2]

Thanks gf225....

What plants do you recomend that need minimum requirements and grow fast?

Do you know a shop in the uk that will ship live plants to Cyprus?

 

[zig]

Ok these plants were recommended to me for a startup situation and they grow fast given the right conditions, if you go with the tubes that have been suggested these should do ok and dont forget your co2, DIY co2 is fine.

Hygrophila species plants particularily Difformis and Polysperma.

Egeria Densa, Red Ludwigia.

and plants i have found myself are of the species Alismataceae, fast growers include, Echinodorus bleheri (paniclatus), echinodorus palaefolius, Echinodorus ozolet.

Most Vallis will also grow fast and is widely available.

As regards your question on UK suppliers that will ship to Cyprus, i cant even find one that will ship to Ireland, let me know if you have any luck on that one.

Best of luck...........