[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: Low light experiment
Hi Tom,
I've managed to grow quite a wide range of plants in very low lighting, and
I find that I am dosing now, per gallon, as much as in medium light tanks -
the plants seem to adapt to lower light okay, if everything else is there
for them, and you don't have to stick to crypts, anubias or valisnera.
>I've often said and many others have as well that one needs the high
>lighting to remove much of the nutrients. Low lighting is not enough etc.
>My lighting is PC's but they are at less than 1 watt per gallon. I had a 55
>gallon tank with 2 x 40 watts or about 1.6-1.7 watts a gallon and had the
>same experience. I dosed it at slightly less than the other high light
>tanks. Color type of all tanks are similar(5200K and 6700K mixes). I would
>certainly get bushy denser growth if I had more light.
So long as you don't try to grow green Cabomba without some additional
light, eg a bit of sunshine on that part of the tank, I find by pruning I
can get bushy growth, eg in bacopa, hygrophila, ludwigea palustris, and the
micranthemums, micranthemoides and umbrosum. Have just got some ludwigia
inclinata as a "red" plant, and some didiplis diandra, will see how they go
in my med light tanks. My ozelots have sent out several flower stalks,
getting ready to divide off a couple of plantlets, one set in a low light
tank, the other in a medium light tank, so they must be happy!
>But my point is that algae doesn't appear at low light levels even if you
>keep the nutrient levels the same as the high light tanks.
I rarely have algae in my low light tanks, almost never, apart from a bit of
green spot sometimes on anubia leaves - I do get a bit of green water
occasionally in my highest light tank, and some hair algae from time to time
in another,
>Also, there's not a herbivore in the tank
>except for perhaps 6 -10 ramshorn snails.
That's all I have in mine - way too many now, luckily I found another shop
that will take them! except some Otos and now 3 albino corys in the 80 gal,
gee those guys zoom around!
Kind regards,
Susi