Hi, got 2 new plants just 2 days ago, 2 x Alternanthera Cardinalis from LFS, they looked great nothing wrong with them, just placed them in tank in their pots ready to plant into substrate same time as I did a water change (today). Today after just 2 days they look awful, surely they cant degrade that quick in 2 days?, could it be total difference in PH and GH of LFS compared to mine? My lights are on 8 hours/day
New plants - Alternanthera cardinalis
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This is not an easy plant. Most plants will weaken when moved to a new environment, which may be related to light, parameters or nutrients. They usually rebound. But as I said, this plant is not easy. Kasselmann terms this genus "demanding, light-hungry aquarium plants."
Being red, it requires more intense lighting than many green plants, since red is the prime driver of photosynthesis and being red the plant is reflecting red light, so even more is needed. "Red" however should not be taken as pure red, but light that is high in the red, blue and green wavelengths, but brighter than for many other plants. However, duration is not a compensation for intensity if the latter is lacking. The light has to be strong enough to drive photosynthesis, even if just for six hours; 12 hours of weaker light will not make up for deficiency in the intensity.
Nutrients is also important. A comprehensive supplement, liquid here, would be advisable. Some members may get on the iron bandwagon, but this is not the issue. A comprehensive supplement will have all the iron necessary. But if the light is not up to it, nutrients may not help much.
Being red, it requires more intense lighting than many green plants, since red is the prime driver of photosynthesis and being red the plant is reflecting red light, so even more is needed. "Red" however should not be taken as pure red, but light that is high in the red, blue and green wavelengths, but brighter than for many other plants. However, duration is not a compensation for intensity if the latter is lacking. The light has to be strong enough to drive photosynthesis, even if just for six hours; 12 hours of weaker light will not make up for deficiency in the intensity.
Nutrients is also important. A comprehensive supplement, liquid here, would be advisable. Some members may get on the iron bandwagon, but this is not the issue. A comprehensive supplement will have all the iron necessary. But if the light is not up to it, nutrients may not help much.
Thanks for reply, re: lighting I’m sure the LFS didn’t have any fancy lighting on his tanks (could be wrong) I have got fluval smartapp to control the led lighting, would increasing the red spectrum be beneficial?
Watts is not an indication of intensity, except when one is comparing identical lighting. Identical meaning the same bulb/tube/diode manufactured the same, but in different wattages. When the light is different, a 32 w tube can be more intense (brighter) light than a 40w. So, 16w of LED might be high intensity, or it may not.
As for the store lighting, no idea, but I will say that many of the stores in my area have pretty bright lighting suspended over their plant-only tank, way more light that I would have over my tanks because of the fish. Light has a significant impact on fish health and well-being.
As for the smartapp, I cannot say. It is the intensity of the white light, which needs to be high in the red, blue and green. Increasing red may or may not do anything. One problem with LED that I observed when I was considering LED is that the units with individual red, blue and white light were not as good as a solid white unit with high red/blue/green. White light is a mix of colour wavelengths, like a rainbow or spectrum appears. The red, blue and green wavelengths have to be high, but the light itself is still "white." Hope this makes sense. The degrees Kelvin and the CRI (colour rendering index) of the white light is a good guide. I always had tubes that were in the 5000K to 6500K range for Kelvin. A CRI as close to 100 is the other test. This Kelvin is close to the sun, and plants have evolved under this light so it naturally makes sense that it produces good results. The intensity is not directly connected to the spectrum however, just to be clear. Years ago I had a GE tube that was 6500K but after several weeks the plants began dying due to insufficient intensity. I replaced it with the same size tube in Life-Glo, same K, and the plants rebounded. Another comparison, the intensity of the Life-Glo 40w tube is nearly double that of the Aqua-Glo 40w tube, yet they are the same length and wattage.
As for the store lighting, no idea, but I will say that many of the stores in my area have pretty bright lighting suspended over their plant-only tank, way more light that I would have over my tanks because of the fish. Light has a significant impact on fish health and well-being.
As for the smartapp, I cannot say. It is the intensity of the white light, which needs to be high in the red, blue and green. Increasing red may or may not do anything. One problem with LED that I observed when I was considering LED is that the units with individual red, blue and white light were not as good as a solid white unit with high red/blue/green. White light is a mix of colour wavelengths, like a rainbow or spectrum appears. The red, blue and green wavelengths have to be high, but the light itself is still "white." Hope this makes sense. The degrees Kelvin and the CRI (colour rendering index) of the white light is a good guide. I always had tubes that were in the 5000K to 6500K range for Kelvin. A CRI as close to 100 is the other test. This Kelvin is close to the sun, and plants have evolved under this light so it naturally makes sense that it produces good results. The intensity is not directly connected to the spectrum however, just to be clear. Years ago I had a GE tube that was 6500K but after several weeks the plants began dying due to insufficient intensity. I replaced it with the same size tube in Life-Glo, same K, and the plants rebounded. Another comparison, the intensity of the Life-Glo 40w tube is nearly double that of the Aqua-Glo 40w tube, yet they are the same length and wattage.
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