# question?



## Hawk1018 (Apr 12, 2012)

in my low light 55 gallon tank the plants on the left side grow faster and better then the plants on the right side. My filter hangs off the back of the right side...could that be the reason why? The plants on the right side are growing...just at a much much slower rate.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Hawk1018 said:


> in my low light 55 gallon tank the plants on the left side grow faster and better then the plants on the right side. My filter hangs off the back of the right side...could that be the reason why? The plants on the right side are growing...just at a much much slower rate.


Could be.

also could be something else different on the right side.

Perhaps you could move the filter to the left side and see what happens.

justa thought

Worth at most 


.02


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

or perhaps you just have a left handed tank.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Do you have a single light fixture or two separate ones?


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## Hawk1018 (Apr 12, 2012)

I have 2 ...both puchased at same time. they are zoo med bulbs for plants....


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I would guess that one bulb may be a little stronger than the other. Have you looked at the printing on the bulbs to verify they are the same?


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

Another thought. Does the light (not fixture) span the entire tank? 

Different plants grow at different rates.

Are the plants on one side of the tank in *shade* from other taller plants?


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## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

another reason could be that when the bulbs age they get dimmer. Could be one bulb dieing at a quicker rate.


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## Hawk1018 (Apr 12, 2012)

yeah...they are the same bulbs and if anything there is more shade on the left side due to the faster growth of the plants. I also have the same plants on both sides...for instance I have some vals ....started out with two on on the right and one on the left the one on the left is now 3 different plants and the one on the right is still just one. Could it be that due to the current there are more nutrients on one side as opposed to the other?


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## Hawk1018 (Apr 12, 2012)

bulbs are maybe a month old ...


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

How strong is the flow from the filter? It could be stunting plants, rather like wind in the garden. How about the substrate, is it the same depth on both sides? Do you use root tabs or anything like that?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Hawk1018 said:


> Could it be that due to the current there are more nutrients on one side as opposed to the other?


It is a possibility maybe. Flow is one of the most important things in a planted tank. Nutrients are not the same in one area in the tank as any other. You can even take reading in a tank in different areas of it and get different readings for some nutrients. Do something like take away all flow and you'll have a tank that will have a big variation in readings throughout your tank. The nutrients cannot naturally disperse and fish will not adequately move them around. Flow is critical if doing things like adding CO2 or ferts.

You could try a different position for the filter. If the plants are healthy I wouldn't worry about it too much though.


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## Hawk1018 (Apr 12, 2012)

ok... I will try and redirect the flow out of the filter...on my next water change or just move to the other side and see what happens... the flow is pretty strong...


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