Would fluorescent suffice?

[Voragg]

Would a double bulb 48'' fluorescent strip light be enough light for most aquatic plants to grow in my 75 gallon,20 inch deep aquarium? I wish i could find this out on my own but all the sites i visit do not give a straight answer on the matter and try to sell compacts and metal halides by making fluorscents sound insufficient for plant growth. I am just looking for enough light for around 8 plants to grow in my community fish tank

[aquak]

What type of plants do you want? If you stay with the ones that don't require a lot of light you should be fine. I have 2 23" full spectrum lights for my new75 and expect them to do fine. If not, I'll have to get another strip, but I'm sure yours will do as well as the single 24" does in my 30 gallon. Anubias, java fern, java moss, and amazon swords do fine there.

[waruss]

Make sure you use FULL SPECTRUM lights, as Aquak said. You will need at least 1 watt per gallon for low light plants, 2 watts/gallon would be better.

[Voragg]

Those are about the types of plants i was thinking about. I was also thinking about madagascar lace plants, do you think that would be enough light and if not would a triple bulb 48'' fluorescent strip light work for them?

[phoenixshade]

So you want to grow a Madagascar Lace plant?

I have grown these, but let me warn you that you, your fish, and your other plants will go through a lot of stress. These plants need a lot of pampering. About half die soon after acquisition; about a quarter make it for a season, go dormant, and never return; about a quarter survive beyond the first season. (That is WITH proper care... without it you won't get past the first season, period.)

I'll start with the basics...

Substrate: You'll need a very rich substrate. Pot this plant in a mixture of laterite, sand, and composted manure. You may be able to use peat instead of manure, but this is probably not sufficient if you want to keep the plant alive beyond the first season. Layer very fine gravel over this mixture, to help keep the stuff from leaching out and destroying the water quality. Some aquaculturists have reported better luck if there is a companion plant grown in the same pot; some have suggested a Cryptocoryne species. I did not do this with mine, and I've had one live for five years. (This is not a plant you can just stick into the gravel...) It is important that you pot it rather than enriching the tank substrate, as you will need to transplant it and you don't want to disturb the bulb. (More on this later.)

Nutrients: Besides the substrate, you must use a CO2 generator, and you must add trace elements such as potassium and magnesium. Most fertilizers contain these.

Light: Standard 3 watts per gallon full spectrum fluorescents should do, 12 to 14 hours per day.

Water: The temperature should be fairly cool; not above 75 degrees. Fortunately, this plant prefers water of around 7 dGH, so your tap may be fine. You do not want softer than 4 or harder than 11. Your pH should be between 7.1 and 7.5. As with fish, the larger the tank, the better. They do better with moderate current, such as a powerhead directed near (but not at) the plant.

This plant is susceptible to bacterial and fungal disease, therefore a UV sterilizer is not a bad idea.

Here's the interesting (read: difficult) part... This plant requires dormancy periods in order to survive. When it stops making new leaves, it is time to rest the plant. In nature, this happens once per year. Transplant the whole thing, pot and all, into a tank with cooler water, around 60 to 65 degrees. (No heat, near a drafty corner is the best you can hope for, unless you want to spend a hefty mint on a chiller! Make sure this drafty corner doesn't get any direct sunlight, either.) Reduce the light level to about 1 1/2 watts per gallon for only 10 hrs per day. Keep it in this state for about 6 weeks, then return it to its regular home. With luck, it will come out of its dormant state and begin producing leaves again.

Some aquaculturists will argue that the dormant period should be emersed, with the bulb kept wet in a small amount of tank water and kept in the refrigerator for about a month. I have never done this, as my girlfriend would toss me and the fish if my hobby started to encroach on the food storage space. She barely tolerates the frozen discus foods...

If you are ready to go through this, then make sure you select a bulb that is relatively large and firm. Thinner bulbs tend to not make it past the first dormancy.

For further assistance, Google for "Madagascar Lace." There are a number of very specialized message boards out there, and it's always good to consult others who have grown them.

Best of luck to you! Let us know how it goes.

[Voragg]

Thank you for that lengthy response but now I dont believe that i can have one in my tank. I personaly found it to be the most attractive aquatic plant but between all of my fish I doubt that plant would have any chance of survival in my aquarium and I am just not willing to invest that much effort in one plant that could die anyway. Furthermore with that many requirements I am left to wonder as to how such a plant could survive in the wild.

[phoenixshade]

Well, in the wild they grow in Madagascar. The waters in which they are found are subject to monsoons, so they have about half the year of submersed growth, followed by a half year above water. They grow in areas with lots of vegetation, and the decomposition of dead vegetable matter supplies the CO2 levels necessary.

The "dry" season is cooler and is not really all that dry. This is when they naturally go into the dormant cycle.

This is a plant that has evolved to fit in its natural environment. In order for it to flourish in the aquarium, we need to recreate that environment complete with annual cycles. (It can be coaxed out of dormancy earlier in the aquarium, though.)

Many tropical plants are used to constant conditions year round, but Madagascar is not really tropical; it's kind of borderline between sub-tropical and temperate. Just about every plant that grows in temperate regions has similar seasonal requirements.