Is 220 watts enough light for an 80 gallon

[orangeangel]

I have been having issues with restarting my tank.
Many thanks to Hoppy and Tom for their assistance.
I have started to see the light in reference to my tank turning from brown to green. (low Co2)
Every day I am seeing improvements but I have a question in regards to my dwarf lilys. They are tall and I thought lilys stayed close to the ground with hi-light.
Check out how big the other lilys are getting. I would have put them more to middle or the back had I known. second pic.
I have 110 watts of light not turned on, all is doing well I am just wondering about the lilys. Maybe they are not dwarf lilys.
Thanks for any input.
Mike

 

[neil1973]

I have a lily that looks very similar to yours. Provided i fertilize well (especially phosphate) it grows fast and big. If i cut it right back it grows leaves underwater for a while then starts sending out shoots that reach the surface in a day or so. Supposedly if you keep trimming leaves that are heading for the surface you can keep it growing lower. I haven't managed this with mine but then i haven't really tried very hard either. Nice plant though.

 

[FacePlanted]

With the lillies that I grew, I just kept persistent with the cutting/trimming of the leaves that are too big. Eventually you will have a nice bush with smaller sized leaves. I also didnt vacuum the gravel around the plant. It is a heavy root feeder and grew better when I left the mulm at the base of the plant.

Just keep trimming away the bigger leaves and eventually you will get what you want. I found that the dwarf lillies like the ones purchased in packages at walmart grew smaller than the tiger lotus lillies. (Nymphea stellata vs. Nymphea zenkeri/lotus).

Good luck!

-Mike B-

 

[orangeangel]

Thanks I have cut them back.