What happens when you add more light?

[theotheragentm]

I was reading plantgeek.net and was looking at plants with low lighting needs. What happens if you add more light? Is it bad or is it beneficial?

 

[Sidi]

A few low light plants may be unhappy at very high light, but most will be absolutely fine. Some may start having some strange color/morphology. Aquatic plants, if they have the carbon and fertilizer, should mostly just grow faster with higher light...in general.

 

[Purrbox]

If you stay under medium light, the main thing that happens is that you increase your options for what plants you can grow. If you increase your lighting beyond medium light, then you need to add CO2 injection and select a good fertilization routine to ensure that the plants have everything they need to grow. A higher light tank without everything else in place is a recipe for algae.

As you get into the higher light tanks your maintenance will increase, since the plants are growing faster. CO2 injection and fertilization are necessary since the plants are consuming these at a much faster rate than occurs naturally in an aquarium. In addition this faster growth also means more frequent trimming. These higher light levels will often bring out the pinks and reds in the plants.

 

[newfound77951]

I've had several typical "low light" plants go nuts in my high-light (4 wpg) tank. Examples include Java fern and several types of crypts (wendtii, lutea and parva). My java fern went from a 4 leaf cutting to a huge shrub the size of a basketball in a few months. I've only had one plant NOT like high light, I have some Cryptocoryne becketti (or petchii, I can't remember) and it does not grow well unless shaded by another plant. I thought it was all doing poorly until I trimmed back some of my L brevipes and discovered a bigger, happier crypt hiding underneath.

 

[Zezmo]

Think of lighting as the accelerator on your car. The more you push it, the faster things go, the more gas you use, and the more you have to pay attention.... also the faster things can get out of control.

 

[Plantbrain]

More light = more CO2 demand, then more CO2+ light= more nitrogen demand= more K+/PO4 demand, then Ca/Mg/S etc, then traces etc.

If you miss anyone of these, then you have the plant slow down and it regulates to the most limiting factor.

If you provide good CO2/nutrients, then the plant can fully maximize the light soyurce and get the most out of things.

It is wiser to add CO2/nutrients etc than adding more light if you want tio increase growth.......which is the only reason you add more light in the first place............light limitation will reduce demand on the nutrients/CO2 and reduce algae growth as well.

More light just means more work honestly.
Pruning a 2 w/gal tank vs the same with 5 w/gal is a good lesson in how to go about things and how much nicer moderate good growth is.


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[theotheragentm]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not a plant person, but I do have a couple of plants in my tank. They're growing nicely. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to toast them with too much light, but the fact that they're growing fine and most plants seem to do okay with more light and having something else be a limiting factor in the growth, things look okay.

 

[Hoovercat]

Agentm, you want light to be the limiting factor if you go over low light. You control algae better by doing that. How much light do you have over what size tank?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I've had several typical "low light" plants go nuts in my high-light (4 wpg) tank. Examples include Java fern and several types of crypts (wendtii, lutea and parva). My java fern went from a 4 leaf cutting to a huge shrub the size of a basketball in a few months. I've only had one plant NOT like high light, I have some Cryptocoryne becketti (or petchii, I can't remember) and it does not grow well unless shaded by another plant. I thought it was all doing poorly until I trimmed back some of my L brevipes and discovered a bigger, happier crypt hiding underneath.

I have Crypt Beckettii in my 29G with 130W lighting and it's just going absolute nuts. It's growing up through one of my swords, and I probably have about 20 of them now, lol.

More light just means more work honestly.

Very well said.....

 

[theotheragentm]

It's a 55 gallon tank, and it gets natural, indirect sunlight into it. It also has two 15-watt flourescent bulbs and whatever light pours in from my room light and television. I wasn't going for plants at all in the tank, but stuck a couple in there, and they seem to be doing well. I don't have a spec of algae in the tank as of yet after three months.

 

[Hoovercat]

You're deep in low light then. As long as you don't get a LOT of sunlight into the tank you won't experience light related algae issues. What plants do you have? Java fern, anubias, most crypt and some swords will do okay in that light indefinately.

 

[Plantbrain]

I'd just go floating water sprite, that makes a nice green lush carpet on top, sucks up nutrients easy, plenty of light since it's right on the surface, add good current and ripples across the surface and it'll corral the weeds into a nice pattern.

Then you can sell the excess plants, have fewer nutrients in the tank, no need for CO2 since the plants has access to the air above etc.
Easy and you get the benefits of the plants.

Crypts do well in both high and low light, most "low light" plants do well in high light.
I have Anubias about 6" from a 250 MH light.


Regards,
Tom Barr