Lighting

[Craig Brye]

I have a 75 gal. tank, as many of you might already know due to previous posts. My plants are starting to grow slightly better. It's been about 9 days since the tank was started, and this will be the fifth day of fertilization.

One thing I'm starting to notice is some of the plants are starting to grow more horizontally than vertically in the water. Plants like H. Micronthem. and Hygro. Polysperma are showing some serious horizontal growth. A few of the other plants are also showing some minor sideways growth like my Diandra. The B. Carolina, Swords, Lotus, L. Sessiliflora, Cabomba, and a few others are displaying "normal" growth.

I have 260 watts of PC lighting suspended above the tank in one fixture (two separate switches each control two sets of lights). The lights are currently 21" above the substrate and about 3-4" above the water line. If I removed the suspending device they would be at about 18" above the substrate and about 1/2" above the water line.

Do I generally have too much light? Could I do something where I have 130 watts on for 12 hours, and the other 130 watts on during the middle of the daily cycle for a shorter amount of time?

Thanks,

--
Craig Brye
University of Phoenix Online

[Greg G.]

Craig Brye said:

>I have a 75 gal. tank, as many of you might already know due to previous posts. My plants are starting to grow slightly better. It's been about 9 days since the tank was started, and this will be the fifth day of fertilization.
>
>One thing I'm starting to notice is some of the plants are starting to grow more horizontally than vertically in the water. Plants like H. Micronthem. and Hygro. Polysperma are showing some serious horizontal growth. A few of the other plants are also showing some minor sideways growth like my Diandra. The B. Carolina, Swords, Lotus, L. Sessiliflora, Cabomba, and a few others are displaying "normal" growth.
>
>I have 260 watts of PC lighting suspended above the tank in one fixture (two separate switches each control two sets of lights). The lights are currently 21" above the substrate and about 3-4" above the water line. If I removed the suspending device they would be at about 18" above the substrate and about 1/2" above the water line.
>
>Do I generally have too much light? Could I do something where I have 130 watts on for 12 hours, and the other 130 watts on during the middle of the daily cycle for a shorter amount of time?
>
>Thanks,

Flatted growth is *generally* a sign of too much light.
Like African violets, too little light results in the plants leaves
"reaching" for the light, but too much and they flatten out to the
point they wrap under the pot.

My God, 260 watts of PC lighting? I only have 192 watts of evenly
distributed T-8 on my 75G, and it's too much for some plants. I had
128 watts and most everything but certain elocharis grew like weeds.
Added 64 more watts, and my anubias bleached light green and my
beautiful crypts all melted... :( Oh, well...
Oh, yea - The algae loved the additional light!

I have a lovely red sword that grew from 1 leaf to a huge centerpiece
in 6 months under 128 watts of T-8.


Greg G.

[Craig Brye]

Here are my lighting options for the 75 gal. tank without spending another
dime...

1) leave the current set-up going as is (260 watts of PC)

2) Leave 2 of the four bulbs on for 12 hours (130 watts) and leave the other
two on for a shorter amount of time (130 watts at let's say 4-6 hours a
day). The two halves are on independent switches, so this would be easy.

3) Use 1 switch of my current PC (130 watts) plus add my NO 40 watt light
for a total of 170 watts.

What would everyone recommend. I would very much appreciate a few
suggestions/ideas, as I would like to have a good looking/growing tank!

Thanks again everyone!

--
Craig Brye
University of Phoenix Online

<Greg G.> wrote in message
...
> Craig Brye said:
>
> >I have a 75 gal. tank, as many of you might already know due to previous
posts. My plants are starting to grow slightly better. It's been about 9
days since the tank was started, and this will be the fifth day of
fertilization.
> >
> >One thing I'm starting to notice is some of the plants are starting to
grow more horizontally than vertically in the water. Plants like H.
Micronthem. and Hygro. Polysperma are showing some serious horizontal
growth. A few of the other plants are also showing some minor sideways
growth like my Diandra. The B. Carolina, Swords, Lotus, L. Sessiliflora,
Cabomba, and a few others are displaying "normal" growth.
> >
> >I have 260 watts of PC lighting suspended above the tank in one fixture
(two separate switches each control two sets of lights). The lights are
currently 21" above the substrate and about 3-4" above the water line. If I
removed the suspending device they would be at about 18" above the substrate
and about 1/2" above the water line.
> >
> >Do I generally have too much light? Could I do something where I have
130 watts on for 12 hours, and the other 130 watts on during the middle of
the daily cycle for a shorter amount of time?
> >
> >Thanks,
>
> Flatted growth is *generally* a sign of too much light.
> Like African violets, too little light results in the plants leaves
> "reaching" for the light, but too much and they flatten out to the
> point they wrap under the pot.
>
> My God, 260 watts of PC lighting? I only have 192 watts of evenly
> distributed T-8 on my 75G, and it's too much for some plants. I had
> 128 watts and most everything but certain elocharis grew like weeds.
> Added 64 more watts, and my anubias bleached light green and my
> beautiful crypts all melted... :( Oh, well...
> Oh, yea - The algae loved the additional light!
>
> I have a lovely red sword that grew from 1 leaf to a huge centerpiece
> in 6 months under 128 watts of T-8.
>
>
> Greg G.

[Greg G.]

Craig Brye said:

>Here are my lighting options for the 75 gal. tank without spending another
>dime...
>
>1) leave the current set-up going as is (260 watts of PC)
>
>2) Leave 2 of the four bulbs on for 12 hours (130 watts) and leave the other
>two on for a shorter amount of time (130 watts at let's say 4-6 hours a
>day). The two halves are on independent switches, so this would be easy.
>
>3) Use 1 switch of my current PC (130 watts) plus add my NO 40 watt light
>for a total of 170 watts.
>
>What would everyone recommend. I would very much appreciate a few
>suggestions/ideas, as I would like to have a good looking/growing tank!
>
>Thanks again everyone!

Don't misunderstand my previous post/opinion. You can certainly run
260 watts on your 75, and grow *almost* anything you want, but certain
low light plants will probably object. IMHO, CO2 becomes a necessity,
and nutrients must be carefully balanced to avoid algae at high light
levels. Although I mentioned that my Crypts melted under higher light
levels, they will probably recover - and adjust - to the new higher
levels. They are prone to melting with changes environment.

Here are a few of my suggestions:

I stage my lights to come on for differing intervals, so you might try
this first. Use timers for consistency and vacation feasibility.

As your tank grows in, shady spots will naturally be created. Simply
plant those plants that object to the higher light levels in these
shady spots - under the center tank support, and at the sides, where
light is less intense.

Place a few floating plants that love high light in your tank.
I used to grow water lettuce, native to and collected in Florida, in
my tank. It multiplied fairly quickly, and I got tired of culling it
out every few months. Avoid duckweed!!!

I still have hornwart growing in the tank, it seems to possess a
natural algaecide property, and provides a nutrient sink. I have to
remove several feet of this stuff every few weeks.

Grow only high light plants.

Run only one lamp, with a good reflector, and enjoy the lowered costs
of operation. ;-)

FWIW,


Greg G.

[Craig Brye]

I decided to go with the 170 watt plan for now... I've grown plants before
in 29 gal. tanks, so I'm familiar with the whole process fairly well. I'm
not used to larger tanks, however! I have a CO2 tank and dose my own
chemicals daily. I'm going to see how this new system works for a few days.
I've had Hygro before, and I've never seen it grow sideways before! Some of
the other "lower light" plants were also displaying new growth that was very
"faded". I should know rather quickly whether or not the new 170 watt plan
is working or not!

Thanks

--
Craig Brye
University of Phoenix Onlin

<Greg G.> wrote in message
...
> Craig Brye said:
>
> >Here are my lighting options for the 75 gal. tank without spending
another
> >dime...
> >
> >1) leave the current set-up going as is (260 watts of PC)
> >
> >2) Leave 2 of the four bulbs on for 12 hours (130 watts) and leave the
other
> >two on for a shorter amount of time (130 watts at let's say 4-6 hours a
> >day). The two halves are on independent switches, so this would be easy.
> >
> >3) Use 1 switch of my current PC (130 watts) plus add my NO 40 watt light
> >for a total of 170 watts.
> >
> >What would everyone recommend. I would very much appreciate a few
> >suggestions/ideas, as I would like to have a good looking/growing tank!
> >
> >Thanks again everyone!
>
> Don't misunderstand my previous post/opinion. You can certainly run
> 260 watts on your 75, and grow *almost* anything you want, but certain
> low light plants will probably object. IMHO, CO2 becomes a necessity,
> and nutrients must be carefully balanced to avoid algae at high light
> levels. Although I mentioned that my Crypts melted under higher light
> levels, they will probably recover - and adjust - to the new higher
> levels. They are prone to melting with changes environment.
>
> Here are a few of my suggestions:
>
> I stage my lights to come on for differing intervals, so you might try
> this first. Use timers for consistency and vacation feasibility.
>
> As your tank grows in, shady spots will naturally be created. Simply
> plant those plants that object to the higher light levels in these
> shady spots - under the center tank support, and at the sides, where
> light is less intense.
>
> Place a few floating plants that love high light in your tank.
> I used to grow water lettuce, native to and collected in Florida, in
> my tank. It multiplied fairly quickly, and I got tired of culling it
> out every few months. Avoid duckweed!!!
>
> I still have hornwart growing in the tank, it seems to possess a
> natural algaecide property, and provides a nutrient sink. I have to
> remove several feet of this stuff every few weeks.
>
> Grow only high light plants.
>
> Run only one lamp, with a good reflector, and enjoy the lowered costs
> of operation. ;-)
>
> FWIW,
>
>
> Greg G.