Plants wont grow in dirted tank

So I have a 20 gallon long. Dirted. I have a bunch of java fern, an anubias, and a couple red melon swords in there. Filter and heater obviously running and am using florapride. Lighting is two 13w, 2700k, 120v, florescent bulbs. (not an expert on lighting) No fish yet but ive had this tank set up for like a year now. I just cant get the plants to grow. They just slowly die off. There will be new growths and leaves but they are dieing faster than they grow. I have had problems with algae and it grows on the leaves of the plants, but it's not to bad right now. Any help?

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Permalink Reply by Peter on February 27, 2014 at 12:49am

might be ur light. plants prefer 5500k-10000k rating

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Permalink Reply by william cooledge on March 23, 2014 at 8:26am

check you nitrate ammonia ph,

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Permalink Reply by Xavier on March 26, 2014 at 11:24pm

pH is around 7. I changed the bulb to a higher k rating.... More blueish light, and that has helped the plants grow a little better for the past couple weeks. But they are still dying faster than growing. And there is still algae growing.

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Permalink Reply by Peter on March 27, 2014 at 8:35pm

Cus u jst changed bulbs the plants are going to readjust again to the new light so after they adjust u should see leas algae

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Permalink Reply by Cire Loknok on April 13, 2014 at 6:57pm

Do lots of frequent, large water changes. The heater could also be a problem, plants like it colder than warmer. If you don't have any fish in the tank, I would take the heater out. You don't really need to worry about the plants getting too cold. You only need about half an inch of dirt. If you have over an inch, it could be producing aerobic conditions, which will kill your plants.