Meltdown of Crypts with change in lighting

[looloo]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone can enlighten me on this issue. I have a 2 feet tank (15W FL) full of crypts (wendtii 'Green', wendtii 'brown', balansae and beckettii), when I switched to 36W PL, everything started to rot and fortunately new leaves are growing.

I heard from my friend that crypts will melt with any slight change in tank conditions.

Now my question is, what if i change from 36W back to 15W once all the leaves have melted and new leaves have grown? What would happen next?

Any comments?

[budak]

It happens, but there's no hard and fast rule. Crypts can be really touchy to changes, but can also care less. I think if your plants were growing well before, they should recover with some time. One thing though, if you are doubling your light, you should ensure that CO2 (if any) and fertilisation is upped as well. Otherwise, algae may be a problem.

I would like to see how tank (then and now) looks like too.

[looloo]

Thanks for the comments : )

Unfortunately I do not have a before photo, right now its ermmm kind of bare with a few leaves growing here and there. And you are spot on about algae problems, but I think its due to ammonia from the rotting debris rather than the lights, will still increase CO2 and fertilization though...

DesmonD