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[APD] Minimum Light Threshold.....



In the web forums I participate in the discussion has come up many times about how much light you need on a certain size tank to grow plants. Many times the tank in question is a 10 gallon tank. People have 20-30 watts of light and are having problems with plant growth and go on to refer to the watt per gallon rule, which while being a lousy rule does work for most tanks but not larger or smaller tanks. I feel this is due to a little explored or understood "Minimum Light Threshold", the idea behind this is that every plant requires a certain amount of light energy that is not clearly defined in the watt per gallon rule. Extreme example: We mostly agree that 4 wpg on a larger tank is a lot of light. But if you take a gallon of water and a 4 watt light you can't grow plants. Why not? You have 4 wpg. True, but you have not met the MLT for the plants. I see it all the time in my terrestrial garden. There are plants that do well in deep shade and others that require full sun. Light is a nutrient. Some plants require more of some nutrients that others. And all plants need a certain amount of light energy to function. This amount varies from plant to plant.

So now, please tell me either I'm totally nuts and should put the closely fitted canvas jacket with the long arms back on or maybe I'm actually on to something here.

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