# Java Fern leaves turning brown...



## Al G. Sucker (Oct 9, 2014)

Hello everyone!

I recently bought a Java Fern plant and placed it in my 16 gallon aquarium. I have read that they prefer subdued lighting, so I placed a few layers of paper under the light in that section of the tank to dim it down a bit. The leaves are slowly turning brown in patches on the entire plant(s). Has anyone any idea what could cause this or what I could do to save it?

Thank you in advance!


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## Marshall (Jul 8, 2013)

is it planted in the substrate, or tied to a rock?

you will not need to dim the light if it is the stock light thqat came with the tank.

also remember that the optimal lighting range for plants is 6500k, check to see that your bulb is in that range.


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## Al G. Sucker (Oct 9, 2014)

It is attached to a piece of wood. The light is a hood with two compact florecent light bulbs which I believe are equal to either 60 or 75 watts...


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

You should remove the paper. Standard fluorescent lighting, especially with no reflectors, is low lighting at best anyways. I've grown java fern under 48 Watts of T5HO over a 10 gallon before.


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## Al G. Sucker (Oct 9, 2014)

Ok, thanks! Here's a pic of the tank...



And a close up of the browning of the leaves...

 (Please excuse the neon tetra trying to steal the show!)


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Yep, light issues for sure. You could look into a Beamswork or a Finnex LED light and a glass Versa-Top if you'd like to spruce it up a little, but otherwise I'd stick with the T8 fluorescent you have and make sure there's as little between the light and the tank as possible. If there are calcium deposits cooked onto the glass in between the fixture and the tank, scrub with vinegar and get it nice and clean to get some good light transmission into the tank. Your plants will thank you.


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## Al G. Sucker (Oct 9, 2014)

Ahh...I see. It a lack of light issue rather than an issue of too much. My bad!*r2

Thanks so much for the help!


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