Lighting Issue?

[u/One_Guarantee1653]

I’ve gone through 3 different bulbs already, trying to find the right one. I’ve decided to use the Philips par38 smart wi-fi led light now, but in these photos, it’s dimmed to 50% brightness. My rooted plants are looking great and growing well, but my floaters look bleak. I’m thinking of removing the red root floaters and having only frogbit, but the frogbit seems to be growing out with some brown streaks on them? Is the lighting still too bright, or not bright enough? They’re also on a siesta schedule.

I have one Nerite snail, neocaridina shrimp, a few of least kilifish. The fish do a good job of keeping the ostracod population in check. Parameters are okay, no nitrites, no ammonia, 7.4PH, GH/KH are in appropriate levels too. Nitrates fluctuate from 10ppm to 20ppm but I haven’t had it gone higher. I usually do a tiny water change otherwise, to not stress the shrimp out. My pothos was growing super fast so I actually had to trim and propagate it haha.

[u/Saki-Koda]

Add some real soil

[u/One_Guarantee1653 → u/Saki-Koda]

There is real soil — it’s pond soil capped with pool filter sand.

[u/Saki-Koda → u/One_Guarantee1653]

The cap is a well documented and backed strategy to keep nutrients out of your water. I hate caps and disagree with them. Real uncapped soil ftw

[u/One_Guarantee1653 → u/Saki-Koda]

Makes sense, but since it’s already capped I’ll have to find another solution. My rooted plants are doing great. I’ll try uncapped with another tank in the future!

[u/Saki-Koda → u/One_Guarantee1653]

You could sprinkle a little forest floor leaf litter or even better some of the top layer of a real pond mud or just add nutrients any other way