Low Light Success...with Mod. Light plants
 

Okay, set up the 55...has 2 old metaframe stowaway hoods....made for 20H
tanks. Each has 2 14w screw in fluorescents..... so 56 W total. This is
1 wpg on a 21" deep tank, and

Amazon sword is putting out a 2 foot long 4 inch wide leaf EVERY 2 DAYS.

Dwarf sags are throwing runners.....Crypts are growing...each only lost
1 leaf to initial transplant shock/rot.....what is going on here.....

also...my yellow labs are eating all the algae off the leaves on the
sword.....


Any ideas why this is working? I was gonna put 2 ODNO 48" tubes on a DIY
hood...but everything seems to be growing well with 1 wpg...whats going
on..? I also have some stems(elodea, and ludwigia) that are growing
well....

Am i dreaming?

Rich

Low Light Success...with Mod. Light plants
 

Rich Conley wrote in message ...
I know the whole issue with the traces and stuff..my question is why am I
getting this growth under only 56W of light in a 55 gallon.... its 4 screw
in fluorsecent bulbs at 14 watts each....These plants shouldnt grow in
that light....thats why I'm confused.


I'm interested in the 'why' as well.
I had a 15 gallon with two 24W screw-ins. They were 6500K color temp.
My plants are mainly collected from channels/rivers. The giant eel
grass grew faster than I could prune, but my cabomba put all its
energy into 'aerial' roots. Another unknown 'crawling' plant did
hardly anything in terms of growth.

Now I have a 39 gallon with the same lights. Less intense. But
everything is going crazy. The cabomba has stopped putting out aerial
roots and is budding all along the stem. The crawling plant is doing
the same.

I'm wondering whether this is due to the lower light levels causing
the plants to require more surface area to adequately photosynthesize.
Whatever the cause, all the plants seem healthier under the lower
light.

Low Light Success...with Mod. Light plants
 

I know the whole issue with the traces and stuff..my question is why am I
getting this growth under only 56W of light in a 55 gallon.... its 4 screw
in fluorsecent bulbs at 14 watts each....These plants shouldnt grow in
that light....thats why I'm confused.

nikolay_kraltchev wrote:

Rich,

In some cases a newly set up tank will make almost anything grow as if
there's no tomorrow.
When I initially set up my 55 gal. I'd return from work and see a
brand new 3 inch leave of Aponogeton crispus that was not there in the
morning. Every sinlge day. Some other plants grew in a similar way.
Some did not grow at all though.
I had 2 wpg and the growth was out of this world. For about 2 weeks
that is.

What you see is totally normal. Later you will try to emulate it
using traces, Iron, and what not. It will never be the same insane
growth rate though.

Low Light Success...with Mod. Light plants
 

Rich,

In some cases a newly set up tank will make almost anything grow as if
there's no tomorrow.
When I initially set up my 55 gal. I'd return from work and see a
brand new 3 inch leave of Aponogeton crispus that was not there in the
morning. Every sinlge day. Some other plants grew in a similar way.
Some did not grow at all though.
I had 2 wpg and the growth was out of this world. For about 2 weeks
that is.

What you see is totally normal. Later you will try to emulate it
using traces, Iron, and what not. It will never be the same insane
growth rate though.

Low Light Success...with Mod. Light plants
 

Ount your blessings !


"Rich Conley" wrote in message
...
Okay, set up the 55...has 2 old metaframe stowaway hoods....made for 20H
tanks. Each has 2 14w screw in fluorescents..... so 56 W total. This is
1 wpg on a 21" deep tank, and

Amazon sword is putting out a 2 foot long 4 inch wide leaf EVERY 2 DAYS.

Dwarf sags are throwing runners.....Crypts are growing...each only lost
1 leaf to initial transplant shock/rot.....what is going on here.....

also...my yellow labs are eating all the algae off the leaves on the
sword.....


Any ideas why this is working? I was gonna put 2 ODNO 48" tubes on a DIY
hood...but everything seems to be growing well with 1 wpg...whats going
on..? I also have some stems(elodea, and ludwigia) that are growing
well....

Am i dreaming?

Rich