Lighting Question/ Plant Stocking Advice

Tigris

The best bulb that I could get was a Philips 15W Daylight Bulb rated for 5000K @ 15 W and 590 lumens so I'm at the low end of low light....I couldn't find anything better :(

Anyone else find a better bulb for this small of a fixture

fish monger

I bought a 6500k daylight tube at my Home Depot two weeks ago. It was an 18 inch Phillips tube also.

Byron

The 5000K will manage, a bit "warm" in colour, but if this is all you can get it will work. The "cool" Daylight with 6500K is probably better both for plants and colour rendition.

Tigris

I got lucky, I went to Lowes and got a GE 15W rated for 700 lumens and 6500 K
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fish monger

Great. Glad you found it.

Byron

Yes, that's a good tube. I have a couple. GE's Daylight CFL bulbs 6500K are also good for screw-in fixtures.

Tigris

Anyone know what kind of plant this is? All I know is that it is an assorted sword. Currently buried in a tank mixed with silca and play sand....


Also is there a way to restrict the amount of bubbles coming from an air pump?

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fish monger

Maybe echinodorus 'rose' (Rose Sword).

They sell bleeder valves that let you reduce the air pressure by releasing some of the air before it gets to the tank. If you already have a two gang air valve, you can control the air flow by opening the valve that is not in use until you get the rate you want. Restricting air flow can damage your pump. It's better to let some of the pressure bleed off.

If this is a photo of one of your plants. It would be a good idea to pull it up until the crown of the plant is exposed. This is true for just about all plants with a crown.

Tigris

What is the crown?

fish monger

The crown is basically where all the leaf stems meet above the roots. Many plants will rot if the crown is buried. I plant mine so that you can just barely see a tiny bit of the roots. With stem plants, water sprites, and some others you can just stick them in the substrate and they will sprout roots...kind of like tomato plants.