# Growth rate in new tank



## Booswalia (Nov 29, 2003)

Hi,
My tank has been planted for about a week now and I'm just wondering what the normal rate of growth is during the first weeks of cycling in a new tank. I have a few new leaves coming on the swords and stem plants but I'm not sure if they're growing at a fast enough rate to keep the algae from invading. 
For example. My rotala indica has grown maybe a 1/2 inch, Wisteria about an inch, Ludwigia repens about 3/4 inch, and two or three new leaves on my Amazon Swords. 
Does that sound like good growth or should I be wanting them to grow faster to get my tank cycled in? I don't see any algae yet but I ccould put more fast growers in there if I need to.


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## xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx (Jul 12, 2011)

Growth seems to be on a track, but I would ditch the 18,000k bulb for a 12,000k white actinic bulb, and I'd swap one of the 6700k bulbs for for a powerchrome aquaflora. The reason I'd swap out those bulbs is because plants utilize 2 chlorophyll stages that respond to a couple different wavelengths










and the white actinic utilizes these wavelengths...











Then here's the spectrum wavelengths provided by the Powerchrome AquaFlora











So by replacing those bulbs will you'll get a more unified and better growth rate, and the plants will look healthier. 


Now are you using any type of fertilizers for the tank? If so what kind? 

Some people will say some elements like lighting, or substrate, or fertilizers are more important than others for a planted tank, but in my opinion I believe all of them are just as important as the others. By going with the correct lighting, a good substrate, and fertilizers the major factors for a planted tank have now been addressed, and your plants will grow in lush, and healthy.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

I haven't had a sword plant in ages so I don't remember how they grow when starting out. But most plants don't grow during their first week at least in a new environ. They spend this time growing roots(mostly) and then
start their top growth. We can't expect plants to grow at a regular rate from day one even when you pull them up and move them in the same tank.
So you have two T5 bulbs, but over what size tank ? For how long ?
How far the lights are from the sub is important here.
Are you adding any carbon ?
What are you using for ferts ?
A picture of the whole tank would help in a couple of ways. The amount of plants in it plays just as important in the role of keeping out algae as does the speed at which they grow. And is there a fairly high percent of them which are faster growing types ?


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## Kosmonaut (Sep 21, 2014)

I have a thread here about my low tech, there you will find pics of the day that it was set up, a couple of days later and a week later. It's exactly the opposite of your tank I would say, for example the Ludwigia has grown by now a couple of centimeters of going emersed, I had to prune the cabomba. Well its a small tank, an my first, so I don't have much experience but maybe your tank is just fine and will need a bit more time, maybe your plants aren't fast growers. In your place I would leave the tank just like it is now, there are really no problems, and more light would maybe mean more algae.


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## Booswalia (Nov 29, 2003)

The tank is 33 gallons; 25" x 18" x 21" tall. Everything is brand new and has been running for 8 days. The lights are about 19 inches from the substrate and I have them on for 2 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the late afternoon/evening. What I have now is 2 Amazon Sword, 2 Java Fern, 6 Wisteria, 1 bundle of Rotala Indica, 1 bundle of Ludwigia Repens, some Micro Sword, and some Staurogyne Repens. I will probably pick up a few more stem plants today while I'm in town.

No carbon in the filter, just a sponge, bioballs, and some floss. I did add about 2ml of Flourish on day 3.

This is what it looked like on day 2.


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## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

I would remove the 18,000K tube, add another 6,700K, double the photoperiod and add glut.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

I would not increase photoperiod,but would just have some patience.
The two bulbs you have will grow plant's fine.


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## Kosmonaut (Sep 21, 2014)

Roadmaster, that's what I meant to say, less tinkering, more patience... 😊


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## Booswalia (Nov 29, 2003)

Thanks. It's not that I want them to grow that much. I just want to know if I'm headed in the right direction or if I'm headed for algae. I read in a few places that you need to plant heavily with fast growing plants and get them growing quickly in the first four weeks.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Booswalia said:


> Thanks. It's not that I want them to grow that much. I just want to know if I'm headed in the right direction or if I'm headed for algae. I read in a few places that you need to plant heavily with fast growing plants and get them growing quickly in the first four weeks.


 Does help to have as many fast growing plant's as you can, and you can swap out for other's after a few week's/month's.
Keep lighting subdued while plant's are transistioning to new environment.
In my experiences ,,algae problem's are largely a result of too much light for too long in young tanks or old ones,where plant's are struggling for CO2 which is always driven by the light.
Some substrates also leach small amount of ammonia , and this combined with too much light for too long will also bring the Algae.
So long as plant's have sufficient nutrient's,and not too much light,they can adapt to low CO2 over time.
Add CO2,or supplement's like excel,glut,metracide, and you can increase the light but will also need good nutrient dosing routine.


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## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

roadmaster said:


> I would not increase photoperiod,but would just have some patience.
> The two bulbs you have will grow plant's fine.


since when is 18000k fine for plants?


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## brooksie321 (Jul 19, 2014)

Okedokey said:


> since when is 18000k fine for plants?


I agree.. seems far far out of the realm of useful spectrum..


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

Flourescent bulbs are not as much single spectrum as LED are. The listed K value
is the primary one, not the only one if you want to perceive it that way.
The Hagen Power Glo bulb produces more algae in any tank I've used it in than any other bulb. But when I did use them, I had no knowledge of ferts/photo periods either so the plants couldn't keep up in those conditions. I actually have one over two Cypress trees which I have growing in my house right now for their "Plant light". They only get direct daylight from 2:30 till 4:30 P.M. each day.
Stemmed plants like Rotala should not be planted in those bundles they come in; rather separated instead.


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

I'm used to seeing 6500K as the optimal temperature for a planted aquarium light (The visual temperature of the Sun)(power and physical dimensions would vary). What I don't know is how you arrive at 6500 as the spectral output of a bulb, and what's the relationship to wavelength in nanometers. Blue is around 440-460 nm. 6500K might be the average amplitute of all of the wavelengths present. Anyway.

When I started my latest tank in 2012 I didn't know anything about planted tanks except that I needed to do one if I wanted to do a "Silent Cycle by heavily planting stem plants and letting them take care of the ammonia.

I thought that the stock light fixture and bulb were exactly what's right for the tank, but I found out much later that a height-adjustable or dimmable light can make your job a lot easier. Right now I've got 2 10W Compact Fluorescents raised over 20" or so, and that's still a lot of light.

More recently I have gotten into ferts. Since I switched to potting soil, the plants have been growing much faster and more lush. I think it's because of the ferts in the potting soil. Prior to that, I was using Flourish Comprehensive and Root Tabs. So I thought, "Why not use the Estimative Index method for low-tech tanks and fertilize the tank?" That's where I am now. Today I am going to do a 50% water change and dose macros. This may turn out to be beneficial or not.

Steven


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Okedokey said:


> since when is 18000k fine for plants?


 
Since when ain't it?
I have used power-glo 18000K T8 bulbs in the past which grew plant's.
Bulbs are bright white and heavy in the Blue spectrum.


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## Clear Water (Sep 20, 2014)

I would go the other way and use a 5000K. I have been using 6700K and 5000K bulbs. Love the colors of the bulbs together.


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