Jake101
Member
During the week I made a more thorough PAR value mapping of the tank. A good thing is that the three tile combination ogives rather constant PAR values all over the tank, also in the corners. I have approximately 20 umols on the substrate level and 60 umols on the surface.
That is also the maximum I get out of the lighting system, which is now hanging 20 cm over the surface. The cheap dimmers seem to lower the maximum output of the tiles. Without a dimmer I got pretty much the promised 60 umols on 40 cm distance through the air, but having a dimmer 60 umols was reached on 25-30 cm distance. So a cheap dimmer is a way to go if the goal is to downgrade your good quality product. Anyway, at the moment I am completely happy with 20 umols on the substrate level.
I got rid of some of the plants which didn't seem to adapt during the first two weeks. I removed ceratopteris, eleocharis and hydrocotyle tripartita and acquired more sagittaria, indica and e. grandifolius. Perhaps the removed plants would have adapted later, but I am aiming for a fast healthy growth now, at the very beginning. All the removed plants had a rather small leaf size, so perhaps that is one of the reasons why their adaptation to lower light conditions was not as fast or successful as their larger leaf counterparts. Perhaps this is a common knowledge on the planted tank scene, but I need to dig up more info about it.
Also, the first diatoms are making their appearance.
That is also the maximum I get out of the lighting system, which is now hanging 20 cm over the surface. The cheap dimmers seem to lower the maximum output of the tiles. Without a dimmer I got pretty much the promised 60 umols on 40 cm distance through the air, but having a dimmer 60 umols was reached on 25-30 cm distance. So a cheap dimmer is a way to go if the goal is to downgrade your good quality product. Anyway, at the moment I am completely happy with 20 umols on the substrate level.
I got rid of some of the plants which didn't seem to adapt during the first two weeks. I removed ceratopteris, eleocharis and hydrocotyle tripartita and acquired more sagittaria, indica and e. grandifolius. Perhaps the removed plants would have adapted later, but I am aiming for a fast healthy growth now, at the very beginning. All the removed plants had a rather small leaf size, so perhaps that is one of the reasons why their adaptation to lower light conditions was not as fast or successful as their larger leaf counterparts. Perhaps this is a common knowledge on the planted tank scene, but I need to dig up more info about it.
Also, the first diatoms are making their appearance.
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