Re: rude treatment of sleepy old men

[Roger Miller <rgrmill at rt66_com>]

On Sunday 14 July 2002 01:48, George wrote:

> When did the Rule of Thumb (Lighting) go from "2-3 watts/gallon" to "2-4
> watts/gallon"?  (Yes, yes, I know w/g sucks as a useful measure but, as
> others pointed out, it's about the only thing most people can use).

I think the upper range went up because it became more practical, not because 
people found that plants needed more light.  Given the increased quality of 
modern lights it seems like the RoT should have gone down, not up.

On the other hand, I can think of two other possibilities.  One is that the 
upper end increased to cover people trying to grow glosso in 36" deep tanks.  
The other is that is was increased to account for very small tanks, which 
commonly get more light than larger ones.

My tanks (even the ones with modern lighting) have 1.6 - 3 watts/gallon and I 
have no reason to increase that range.

Roger Miller