Plant Question 2

[matthew.shelly]

I have a bunch of wisteria in my tank. its a 5.5 gallon. the wisteria has been growing very well and some of it is starting to reach the surface of the tank. ive noticed though that the top leaves are a lot more yellow than the lower ones. they dont look unhealthy or anything, just a lot lighter in color. i have a compact fluorescent light that puts out 60W of light (while only using 13W of power!) and was wondering if this could be causing the color difference. i switched back to a 15W incandescent bulb (at least temporarily) to make sure i didnt make it worse if that is the issue.
is the light causing the lighter colored leaves?

[robflanker]

No its because they are getting so much more of the light they are a different colour.

Least thats my $0.02

[rich311k]

You only have 13 watts, the equivalent in icandescent lighting does not matter. The leaves getting lighter is probably just a function of the light. As long as there are no holes and nothing is browning it sounds like the plants are happy.

[smaug]

Yes there is a difference in lumens between a 13 watt incan and a fluorecent.The real problem isnt the wattage but the k rating.Likely the bulb you are using isnt of the corect spectrum for plants.It needs to be between 5500 and 10000k to be of benefit to plants 6500 being ideal.The yellowing may be more from lack of nutrients such as iron or pottasium then a light issue.

[DrNic]

It could be as a result of being so close to the light, although I've never had that happen. When my wisteria get's close to the light it just starts growing out of the water with it's air type leaves.

It could be a lack of nutrients in the water. As the plants get closer to the top they will grow a lot faster and could be using up all the nutrients. Try adding some light doses of ferts and see if that helps.

Also in case you weren't aware, Wisteria can be pruned and replanted. Just clip the stems with your fingers and replant them. They will grow new roots and continue to grow. thumbs2: