How much light do I really need

[jan4scuba]

There is so much info on lighting that I'd like to ask the people who deal with everyday. I have an Eheim 35L nano that is heavily planted. I have 2 Eheim power LEDs putting out 14 W. I have pressurize CO2 at 1 bbl per sec and I'm dosing with micro and macro ferts (Florish and Excel). I have Eco complete substrate.

My stem Plants and lotus as well as my Anubis are doing great. I can't seem to get any carpeting plants to spread. Dwarf baby tears did not work and now I have Glosso. Instead of spreading they are growing vertical and are looking spindly. My hair grass seems to be doing well but not spreading either. Growing tall.
Is it not enough light? Fert? Or something else I'm missing.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Jan


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[Mr. Nowhere]

Your probably not getting enough light on the bottom to grow any of the high light carpeting plants. NL chain sword may grow but it gets tall, though you can trim it if you need to, often.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Maybe more light. It's hard to tell what your light level is based in watts. LEDs are now measured in PAR, which to grow dwarf baby tears, you'll need at least 35+ PAR (medium light) at the substrate depth. Look up "PAR vs. Distance" to get a better understanding. With that said, you have to consider how tall your tank is, and light to substrate. PAR is obviously reduced the greater that distance.

Next important thing.. CO2! Are you gauging how much CO2 is actually getting dissolved in the water with only 1bps? Are you using a drop checker with 4dkh solution?

IME, my dwarf baby tears didn't do so well with flourish alone. Flourish is generally good for low tech, easy plants. There's simply not enough macros in it.. miniscule amounts. You'll need a more comprehensive fertilizer regimen like dry ferts via EI or PPS-PRO dosing regimens. If you want to stick with Seachem for now, you'll need to buy the other liquids like phosphate, nitrogen, and potassium. This can get spendy, so invest in dry ferts ASAP.

 

[jan4scuba]

Thanks Brian, I'm using a drop checker with 4dkh solution. It stays in that sweet spot most of the time. When I crank up the CO2 it reacts the way it should.

The distance from the LED to the substrate is 14 inches. Is there a way to convert watts into Par. The only infor from the website is that each Eheim throws off 1200-1300 Lux at 6,500K. If we compare apples to apples what rating (high, medium, low) would that be and how high would I need to go in terms of Lux and K?

So I just tried looking up El and PPS-PRO dosing. Do I need to be a chemist to grow glosso or baby tears? Isn't there an all in one fert that contains all the trace elements I need rather then mixing and dosing individually? I would love to grow them and am not opposed to some work, but I tried 3 times to understand the way it works and didn't have any luck..Is there a blog or an article or a book called "Dosing for Dummies"?

Thanks for any help you can offer. BTW what LED lights are you using and where do you get your ferts?

Thanks again,
Jan

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

PPS-PRO pack from green leaf aquariums is pretty straight forward. You just buy a >$10 digital gram scale from Amazon with a tare function. The recipe can be found on GLA's site. I believe it's a spreadsheet. I have it if you want it. Just scoop the dry ferts, weigh it, pour it in the containers, add RO/DI water to the appropriate volume (measured on the side of the bottle). Then dose 1mL per 10g daily. Easy.

You'll save so much money and you'll be well rounded in terms of ferts. There's tons of threads on the topic if you need more help. Or just ask.

There's also PFertz.com. They get good reviews. It wouldn't be cheaper than dry ferts though.

"I think" you're around medium-low light with the two eheim LED lamps. But I don't know of any conversion of lux/lumens to PAR. Maybe you can dig around TPT (the planted tank) forum to see if anyone has your tank and lighting. See what they grew and if they measured the PAR. Maybe send eheim an email asking for PAR data.

6500K is the color temperature. It has a more appealing warm color for planted tanks. This is not a measurement of intensity as with lux/lumen and PAR.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Is this the tank and light you have? If so, looks like the OP is growing HC fine. You can PM him and ask what he's doing. Or skim through the thread.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=159110&page=11

 

[jan4scuba]

Here's the latest picture. Lower left is the Glosso. The BT melted a while ago.
How do I go from medium light to high light. Any reasonable lights out there small enough for a 8 gallon?

Thanks Brian for all the advice. This website has really been helpful



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[Brian_Nano12g]

What type of budget you willing to roll with?

 

[Mebbid]

I have 24 watts of high powered LEDs over my 10g tank and that puts me at medium light. I would say by comparison you are at the absolute most on the high end of low light.

 

[schoeplein]

Lumens is the total quantity of light a diode or bulb puts out in all directions. PAR is the intensity of light in a single direction. The two cannot be directly compared.

As far as plants carpeting, you have to keep in mind the particular plant and how they propagate. They won't necessarily branch out on their own. Sometimes you have to do that for them manually, since they'll grow in the same spot, only growing in density rather than surface area.

You'd be amazed what you can get away with using basic ferts like Flourish and a carbon source like Seachem Excel or API CO2 Booster.

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[jan4scuba]

What type of budget you willing to roll with?

Hi Brian.
I guess it would depend if I can trade or sell my two Eheim pods? I would then want to get something that gives at the very least high medium to high light that would fit nicely on my tank.

I don't think I'd want to pay more than $50 out if my own pocket. I need to see if I can sell the Eheims on eBay or Aquabid. Do you have any idea how much I'd be looking at?
Thanks
Jan



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