Lights....for tall tank

[Black Hair Algae]

My tank is quite tall and my plants seem to not be getting enough lights.
Especially the stem plants which are losing all their leaves at the bottom.

I presently run compact fluo 4X96 Coralife, they are 6 months old.
Temp is 28c, ph 6.4, ammonia and nitrite 0, nitrate around 20 or so. and CO2 is dyi.

Any tall tank owners out there who would like to share tips?
Does anyone know where I could pick up replacement lights for cheaper then the roughly $52/light the lfs charge...?

Thanks for the help!

[BigDaddy]

What are the dimensions of your tank?

[BigDaddy]

so is it 18 inches tall or 24 inches tall?

[babblefish1960]

These dimensions sound like a 130 gallon. You haven't enough light to reach the bottom, and the stem plants are rushing to the top to get some, as a result, they get leggy and the bottom leaves are not able to be supported as there are some nutrients missing as well.

You technically have enough light already, in fact, a lot of light, nearly 3 watts per gallon, I would suggest that the plants are missing something crucial in their diet as well. Do you know what your kH and gH are at in there?

[BigDaddy]

Honestly, you could add more light, but more if of it won't get to the bottom of the tank.  You either need high performance reflectors, or you need to upgrade to metal halide, as only MH can punch through that much water effectively.

[BigDaddy]

If you have the 4 x 96 Coralife, and you find your stem plants are too "leggy"... then MH is your only option.  More compact fluorescent bulbs won't change that.

Now, even in high light tanks, the bottoms of the stem plants aren't going to look as good as the top... try to put your stem plants behind a bushier plant, some rockwork or driftwood... just some money saving suggestions

[charlie]

I presently run compact fluo 4X96 Coralife, they are 6 months old.

Hi there, the fixture you list , is it a 72 inch fixture , if so what are the bulbs in it. The reason for line of questioning, is that coralife 72 inch 4x96watt fixtures comes with Two 96 watt 10,000K and two 96 watt True Actinic 03 Blue lamps, if this is what you have i would suggest you change out the two 96 watt True Actinic 03 Blue lamps to two other 6700 or 10000K bulbs.
Regards

[charlie]

Yes I have the 72 inch fixture but had them replace the 50ab and the 10,000k<'s for 4 6700k bulbs when I purchased it, before you ask I got it from pets&ponds...good service/prices........but anyway.........problem remains.........still not sure what to do next.........looking into MH and adding another 2X96W...........

There goes that theory , what fertilizers are you dosing the tank, , how often & how much?
Regards

[jetstream]

What kind of stem plants you have in your tank?