In message , RedForeman ©®
writes
|| In message , RedForeman ©®
||||| I wonder if anyone can help me with a (very stupid, I think) query
||||| regarding artificial lighting and plants. Everything I read on the
||||| net tells me that planted tanks need artificial light. What I
||||| would like to know is why? If I have a tank in a position with
||||| bright natural light - a position where houseplants would do well
||||| - and some direct sunlight though not too much - why isn't this
||||| suitable for low light aquatic plants? (I have a couple of
||||| rosette-y things growing in a tank at the moment with no
||||| artificial light and they seem fine. they're not growing fast but
||||| they are growing - nice new leaves (coming out red when they
||||| appear) - and I can't see any real problems with them. I can see
||||| that high-light plants would require something close to the
||||| brightness of unfiltered sunlight, but for my situation, I'm
||||| puzzled as to the reasons for the additional lighting - and why
||||| isn't this actually counterproductive for plants which like low
||||| light which are already in a brightish position?
|||||
||||| does the requirement for artificial light assume that the tank is
||||| kept in a low-light area?
|||||
||||| I would be very grateful for any clarification at all...
||||| --
||||| sophie
||||| puzzled idiot.
|||
||| IIRC, Sunlight is nearly 20,000k, or kelvins, a rating for light's
||| 'power' or 'strength' Most freshwater tanks/plants, grow great
||| with that much light.. but what also grows wonderfully with that
||| much light is algae.... You would need to outcompete the algae just
||| to be able to see your plants, in your setup. To do that, you'd
||| need high outputs of CO2, and fertilizers.... and it's a risky
||| thing, because the sun can be here today, and cloud covered for a
||| week.... So the need for lights in the tank are two fold. To give
||| the plant adequate exposure to light, and the control-ability to
||| keep it from getting too out of hand.
|||
||| Since you are so 'new' to the hobby... Consider this. Start out
||| with the smallest, most basic setup.
||
|| that's kind of what I'm hoping for; the least technical set-up
|| possible! I wanted to understand the necessity for artificial light
|| and whether it is still necessary when the tank has good natural
|| light. I am very new, as you say and I want to make sure that
|| anything I set up is viable. What I want to avoid is a set-up where
|| I need to add CO2 and fertiliser (I'm hoping the fish will do the
|| second bit at the least!) So far I have plants but no algae - but
|| this has been over four months in spring/early summer, which is
|| hardly a definitive result. I think if I want to do it this way it
|| will be the winter that is the real test - that will be when the
|| lack of light becomes a problem, if I understand you correctly? --
|| sophie

From what I gather so far, you've got the tank setup, with a couple plants,
but no artificial light. The only light being supplied is from a direct
sunlight, tank facing a window type setup, correct?

Not quite, I didn't want to put it in or facing the window as I thought
that (a) the tank would heat up horribly (and horribly quickly) on hot
and sunny days, and (b) because I thought it would probably go green
very quickly. If you think of an L shape, the window is in the long side
and the tank is in the shorter side, the corner being empty. What
happens is that for a few hours in the morning the sun shines in at an
angle, lighting up the tank - it's never entirely lit; what happens is
that three or four rays move slowly across the tank. It's actually a
very nice effect and one of the reasons I don't want to put lights in; I
like the tank being as "natural" as possible, and the shifting light is
part of that...

thanks very much for your help, though; I'm starting to understand the
whole thing a little better. I'm going to persist without the light for
a while - I think in the end I would rather have the kind of light
quality I have now and no plants, if that's what it boils down to, than
a strip light and plants. I can satisfy my gardening urges on
terrestrial plants if necessary - I also want to add weather loaches,
and I think getting to attached to aquatic gardening would be a big
mistake under those circumstances! g.

many thanks again, I appreciate your help,
--
sophie