# Planted tank doing well, but not great either :P



## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

So I have been having some good results with Kent's Plant Pro ferts, my black algae is nearly all gone and my plants do look for the most part healthier. 

I find that my Water Wisteria, Crypt Wendi and Java Fern are all doing great, but my Asian Ambrulia, Sunset Hydro and Italian Vals are not how I would like them to be.

The Asian Ambrulia use to be in my tank and would grow like a weed, I now find it to be very stringy and will uproot itself.

I find the Sunset Hydro is not as red as it once was, there seems to be small chunks out of some of the leaves, but other then that it is still growing.

The Italian vals once trimmed seem to stay at that length, begin to turn dark green and then send a side shoot that grows very quickly so I end up having one or 2 long shoots and the rest all looking not the greatest.

I been reading up on root tabs as an option, but I wondering if they are really necessary. I did start DIY CO2 and I didn't really notice that much of a difference, so I am not sure if I even need it.

Tank: 35gal
Light: T5 NO (36")
Substrate: Gravel

Any help would be great. (pic coming soon)


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)




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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

How old are your lights? If a plant starts losing it's red, it could be an indication that light intensity is diminished. Most tubes have about a 40% drop off in the first 6 months, which can affect plant growth.


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

BillD said:


> How old are your lights? If a plant starts losing it's red, it could be an indication that light intensity is diminished. Most tubes have about a 40% drop off in the first 6 months, which can affect plant growth.


They are about 8 months old now. What K rating would be best for plants?
I was looking at upgrading my lighting in the future to a HO fixture like so

http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-3ft--2lamp-aquarium-light.html

There are options for blue, white and pink lights and different K ratings, leavin me a bit confused.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

I seem to have the best luck with 5000K tubes althougth lots of people favour the 6500K. If you had good growth that has diminished, I would think the light is sufficient, although a new tube may be in order.
As for the Vals, they shouldn't need trimming in that tank.


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