Light Wpg Vs Light Intensity

[kevcarter]

I am presently running the following

120Litre (26gal) bow front tank
Fluval 205 Ext. Filter
Hagen Glo 2x 20watt T8 -25mm 1" light unit
2x Aqua-One 20w sunglight T8 lights (8Hrs per day / 1hrs 30min siesta)
DIY Co2 injected through dedicated powerhead.

This gives me only 1.5wpg and 20w intensity.

In the coming days I have a Vectron 200 UV unit arriving along with TPN+.
Eventually I plan to mix my own ferts and dose daily but one step at a time.

My question is this.

I have just ordered 50 Hemianthus callitrichoides "Cuba" in order to begin scaping a foreground carpet. I have read that Cuba thrives best under 3wpg+.
I am quite happy to go out and buy another Hagen Glo 2x20watt unit and two more lamps giving me an 80w total and 3wpg but ultimately the light intensity is going to remain 20w. The hood width is prohibitive of higher wattage light strips so my hands are tied.

Despite the low 20w intensity, would increasing to 3wpg be of significant benefit?

Here is my tank at present for reference, I greatly appreciate and welcome any help and advice.

 

[lljdma06]

No, don't buy the extra bulb. No 3WPG craziness. It is not needed. Make sure you have good CO2. That is far more important for HC than light. Nutrients too, but CO2 above all.

Have a read of this. Back to Basics by Aaronnorth

You are somewhere in the middle with 1.5WPG. Go for the good CO2 and good ferts and see where that gets you first.

What is you DIY CO2 regimen? The tank is larger, are you using two canisters and alternating? Are you measuring levels with a dropchecker?

Am I making any sense?

llj

 

[kevcarter]

No, don't buy the extra bulb. No 3WPG craziness. It is not needed. Make sure you have good CO2. That is far more important for HC than light. Nutrients too, but CO2 above all.

Have a read of this. Back to Basics by Aaronnorth

You are somewhere in the middle with 1.5WPG. Go for the good CO2 and good ferts and see where that gets you first.

What is you DIY CO2 regimen? The tank is larger, are you using two canisters and alternating? Are you measuring levels with a dropchecker?

Am I making any sense?

llj

Perfect sense! Despite my 10 post status I have quietly sat back reading and contemplating for a very long time! In the interests of full disclosure I will tell you that whilst I do run 2x DIY two litre canisters connected by a T-Piece, I have tended to change the mixtures at the same time, usually once a fortnight.

I have a drop checker winging its way to me from Malaysia as we speak but thus far to the naked eye it is creating a very steady flow of bubbles throughout that two week period with no observed ill effects to the fish. My mixture tends to be (per 2litre bottle) 1/3 sugar + 1/3 warm water + 1tblsp yeast + 1tblsp baking powder.

The bubbles are fed directly into the base of this little powerhead where they are atomized and pumped out accross the length of the tank rising steadily.

As of yet I have only fed the sand substrate 25 fert tabs upon planting and have introduced no dry/liquid ferts. TPN is on its way with a UV unit and I will begin dosing daily.

What would your advice be at this stage in order to kick on to the next level?

 

[lljdma06]

Give the plants a good trim, replant the cuttings, keep up with the waterchanges. Reduce the photoperiod to 4-6 hours with no siesta. Yeah, sounds really weird, but it works so much better to have a limited photoperiod in the beginning. Once the tank is established (minimal algae, good growth), you can possibly gradually up it to between 6 and 8 hours.

I have two Nutrafin canisters with a t-connector. But my 8g tank is quite a bit smaller. It was best for me to change on different days to maintain an apple green or yellowish green dropchecker.

Are you making your own 4dkh solution?

llj

 

[kevcarter]

Give the plants a good trim, replant the cuttings, keep up with the waterchanges. Reduce the photoperiod to 4-6 hours with no siesta. Yeah, sounds really weird, but it works so much better to have a limited photoperiod in the beginning. Once the tank is established (minimal algae, good growth), you can possibly gradually up it to between 6 and 8 hours.

I have two Nutrafin canisters with a t-connector. But my 8g tank is quite a bit smaller. It was best for me to change on different days to maintain an apple green or yellowish green dropchecker.

Are you making your own 4dkh solution?

llj

I have been winging it so far, until the dropchecker arrives from its epic journey across the world I wont be needing 4dkh. I do plan to purchase refills though from aqua essentials. I dont have the patience to mix my own.