Top Fin 29 Gallon Light

I have a 3 months old 29 Gallon Top Fin starter Kit Aquarium that is cycled and has the following:

Fish
2 Angle Fish
2 Albino Catfish
2 JuniI Catfish
3 Guppies
1 Black Molly
1 Mickey Mouse Platy

Plants
Wisteria
Anunibias
and Java Fer

The Fishes are settled in, but the plants are not doing too well with the light bulb that came with the starter kit. I have brown algae even though my water parameters are stable, 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite and 0 Nitrate. I do weekly 25% water changes.

I am dozing CO2 and Leaf Zone per manufacture recommendation, but my wisterias are not doing too well. The lower leaves keep getting brown and die off. I've read on the internet and learned that it is a sign that the light is not efficient.

Has anybody been in the same situation like me and changed the bulb for the better? And if you have, what kind of bulb did you get?

What LED light are you using that your plants love?

 

Fish1lover, Welcome to fishlore!

How committed are you to the wisteria? An alternative to consider is that some plants require lower light than others, and thus instead of changing the light to higher, you might consider keeping low light plants - just an alternative solution.

You could of course look into getting stronger light bulbs as well, for that you would need to find out how strong but also how long your light bulbs are and what type, for example are they T8 (from manual or manufacturer), for example I found out that my aquarium has two 2 fluorescent light bulbs which are both 18 watt T8 24" long. Now, I researched and found out that I could find stronger bulbs 20 watt T8 24" long instead. However, would that be an adequate improvement? I don't believe so. The light level is calculated by adding the watts and divinding them by the number of gallons. Since I have a 29 gallon tank like you, and I now have two 18 watt light bulbs, that means (18x2)/29 = 1.2 watts per gallon - which is low light. If I bought the 20 watt light bulbs, then I would have (20x2)/29=1.38 watts per gallon, which is still low light. I believe moderate light starts at 2 watts per gallon, so for a 29 gallon tank, I would need 58 watts of light, and I don't think they manufacture 29 watt light bulbs that fit my light fixture. So I would need to buy a completely new light fixture to increase light significantly. I decided to either stick with low light plants, or get some plants that prefer moderate light, and if they work out for me great, but if they do not, I will get rid of them and replace with low light plants.

Java fern is a low light plant. How is your Java Fern doing? If it is also doing poorly, then consider an alternate explanation that maybe it is not an issue with light.

I have Java Fern with low light and it is doing great, except for some leaves that are brown but the reason why my leaves are brown is because I had diatoms and failed to wipe my plants properly, but now new leaves are growing which are remaining green.

Btw, you say that your fish are doing well, but I wonder about your stocking. I am still a newbie myself, but from what I have been learning a 29 gallon is not big enough for even a single angelfish once it grows up; Cory catfish need to be in a school of at least 5 total and 4 per species of Cory catfish (or 3 per species at a minimum); platies while not a schooling fish prefer other platies for company - and while I do not know about mollies for sure but I think they are very similar to platies and also shouldn't be kept just one - of course maybe I am wrong about this and maybe the single platy and single molly would be happy enough in the company of the guppies (someone more experienced than me ought to respond to that perhaps?). Anyway, I think it may be good to reconsider which fish you have in which numbers in there, is all I am trying to say here.

I hope some of this helps! As I said, I am still a newbie myself, but I have been researching into some of these issues already myself.

Best! Joanna

PS: Another factor to consider with lights is how many hours they are on per day. I keep mine on for 4 hours in the morning and then another 4 hours in the evening, which is probably on the low side. I read somewhere that 10-12 hours of light is ideal for plants. The reason why I am keeping mine on only for two shifts of 4 hours each has to do with my transformer at the end of the lights' power cord (or whatever the box is that one plugs into the electricity is called) overheating if I leave them on too long - and I was worried about fire hazard. Thus, I really do have a low light situation. However, maybe yours does not overheat, and if you leave your lights on for less time than 10-12 hours per day then consider leaving the lights on longer. However, both fish and plants do need night and day, and I think 12 hours of daylight is maximum recommended.

 

The only Led light I have that will grow anything is my marineland doublebright fixture, but even that will only grow low light plants, my java moss does expescialy well under it.

I have sevral marineland single bright fixtures, they don't grow anything.

 

Ah yes, Lexi, I forgot the option that the original tank may have come with a light not adequate to grow even low light plants, yikes! I was lucky to get a tank with a light fixture that is quite adequate for low light, but you are right that fish1lover may not have been so lucky. Some aquarium kits and hoods are not designed with plants in mind. Really need to find out what the original light bulb type is, how many bulbs (double or single) and what intensity.

 

That tank kit comes with a weak 15-watt tube. I completely removed mine and attached two double-socket light fixtures into the light cover. I filled the 4 sockets with 13-watt CFL bulbs (I had to get a "new even more compact" CFL to get them to fit). This boosts it from around .5wpg to about 1.7wpg (rough estimate).

If you have the electrical/DIY skills to do this, I'd recommend it as a cheap way to get 3.5 times the light you have now. If not... it's a good way to learn first hand about the dangers of not understanding circuits, so I'd recommend getting someone with a little experience to work on it.

 

That tank kit comes with a weak 15-watt tube. I completely removed mine and attached two double-socket light fixtures into the light cover. I filled the 4 sockets with 13-watt CFL bulbs (I had to get a "new even more compact" CFL to get them to fit). This boosts it from around .5wpg to about 1.7wpg (rough estimate).

If you have the electrical/DIY skills to do this, I'd recommend it as a cheap way to get 3.5 times the light you have now. If not... it's a good way to learn first hand about the dangers of not understanding circuits, so I'd recommend getting someone with a little experience to work on it.

Aylad, where did you buy the new bulb for your 29 gallon tank?

 

@JoanneB
Yes, my tank mates set up is a little out of wack. Thanks for your info about the light. As Aylad stated, I believe the light bulb that came with the starter kit is not good meant for plants.
I will take up on your suggestion to let go of the wisteria if they don't thrive in the new light that I will get (have not decided on which yet). I am looking for something that can fit into the extisting hood that I have.

 

Aylad, where did you buy the new bulb for your 29 gallon tank?

They're just standard 13-watt CFL bulbs from Walmart's hardware section.

 

Wisteria is a beautiful plant if it has enough light. It needs at least medium to bright light or around 2wpg.

As the plant gets taller the new leaves shadow the bottom leaves from the light. Wisteria needs trimming to keep it in check. It then starts to branch out and can form a canopy. Again blocking light. Lol

You may need to get a new fixture or pull it out as suggested.

That brown algae sounds like Diatoms. It's common in newly cycled tanks and very low light setups. Stronger light is known to make it decend. It will eventually go away on its own but stronger light will help. What you need to do is wipe it off your plants as it blocks the light and have lots of patience.

Edit: wanted to add that it can be left floating too.