# best temperature to grow plants at?



## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

78 is a good temp... most of the plants like the water on the cooler side then the warmer. I keep my tanks at 76-78.

The yellowing is "generally" an iron or pottasium defiency... 
I say generally because you havent given much to go on...plant names showing these symptoms would be helpful...
What are you fertilizing your plants with now?


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Same question, two different forums. 78c is way too hot for plants. 78f is fine.


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## Ptahkeem (May 5, 2003)

oops i meant 78f. haha sorry.
as for the plants i have some
sunset hygro, rotala somethingorother, anubis nana?, am hoping to get some glosso going in this tank, and i dont really know the other names of the other plants in there.
so far i havent been using ferts ive been trying to figure out my other parameters first like co2 and light.
as far as light goes im using 2 55watt power compacts from ahsupply and i will be setting up my pressurized co2 system very soon. this is a new tank and i havent really finalized anything yet. the reason i ask all this is because i had everything in a 20 gallon just as a temporary setup until i got my 40 gallon ready to go. thanks again for the suggestions and sorry for the lack of details. oh one last thing you think 74f would be ok for the plants?


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## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)

74f is just fine for plants. Plants generally prefer temperature on the cooler side anyway. We keep our tanks warmer for the fish, not the plants. You should be fine!


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## Steve Hampton (Jul 22, 2002)

This isn't meant to correct, but rather to share additional information. Temperature is probably the biggest misunderstood element about planted tanks. Every plant has an optimum temperature range. Outside that range to either side and the plants metabolism and photosynthesis slows down. This also explains why plants don't flourish year round in their native environments. Many mistakes are made to increase/decrease nutrients, increase CO2, and/or increase lighting to solve issues caused by wrong temperature slow growth.

Accordingly, Kasselmann devotes three sections and the first Appendix to defining optimum temperature. As a general overall range she gives 75F to 80F as optimal for the vast majority of hobbyist kept plants.

Certainly I'm not trying to suggest that 74F is going have a big effect on slowing plant growth. But is certainly is another factor and should be considered by anyone wanting optimum growth. Problems come in when the temperature is adjusted outside the optimum range without decreasing lighting and nutrients to compensate. Personally, I'd keep my tanks at lower temperatures than I do (about 80F), but the heat generated from my lights keep the temperature that high.


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## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)

I know the feeling! My 135 gallon wont get any cooler then 86 degree's. I've been having a devil of a time trying to find plants that can survive in the heat. So for my Hygro seems to do the best...


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