# What am I doing wrong?



## Martina (Oct 11, 2005)

I have around 5 plants in my 10 gallon tank, which I have since two months - my plants just look "bleached out" - should I get som CO2 equipment or fertilizers? TIA


----------



## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

It could be anything. What is your setup? All we know is you have a 29 gallon tank. What kind of plants? Lighting? Substrate?


----------



## Martina (Oct 11, 2005)

I have a 10 gallon tank with 5 plants ( I am not sure how they are called -sorry) So substrate means gravel, right? So I have gravel in my tank and as I have bought a set with everything - the lamp is a "All Aquarium Glas" bransd heatlamp 5 Watt - if thats the right prescription :withstup: TIA


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Well, first and easiest question...do you have a test kit for your water parameters? If the pH is high, it can damage some plants, and if you have too much ammonia in your water, it can damage others.

http://www.aquabotanic.com/abstore/index.html is a good place to ID your plants if you feel like finding out what kinds you have. Sometimes that helps us figure out what's up. Otherwise, if you have a digital camera and could take a pic or two that would work also. You don't HAVE to ID the plants (I don't want you up all night studying them), it just makes figuring the problem out a little easier.

Lol, and I don't mean to sound like a forum mod...I'm no expert. Just the more info you have, the better.


----------



## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

the problem is the ligthing, or lack of. 

heat lamp? i dont know about that, but "all glass" is the standard bulb that comes in the fixture. its not the right kind of light for plants, its "crisp white", having many lumens but doesnt help plants much.

Is it 18 inches? sure its not a 15 watt bulb? I'd replace it with a "plant growth" bulb. something like a sun-glo or something-glo makes an 18 inch 15 watt bulb.

edit: ok, maybe "heat lamp" is an incandescent? in that case you really need more lighting since fluorescents put out more light than incandescents.


----------



## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

It would still help to know what plants are in the tank but shev is right. Without more information we can only speculate, though I'm sure lighting is the problem. Over a 10 gallon tank the bulb should be 15 watts which will grow easy plants. (Anubias, java fern etc...)


----------

