Well done!
And nice bit of kit
Given the tank height of 55cm, I’d limit photoperiod hours (I’d begin with 4h max @ 75%, and allow 30min ramp each side) and perhaps run HD26 (marine version or freshwater? though I believe the FW version was very short run) not under 75%
If light seems too intense, add some floating plants to diffuse light (I don’t know if there is (still) a diffuser or wider lens accessory available for this light)
Obviously you can play with the light program,
15-30min ramp
50% x 1h
75% x 2h
50% x 1h
15-30min ramp
Moonlight effect to extend personal viewing (2h)
(I prefer to use 5% or lower white light for moon effect rather than blues - which don’t look like any
moonlight on water I’ve ever seen
- obviously with the Hydra you can customize your moonlight
If tank receives a good amount of ambient light, then plants will already be “up and about”, so running an evening photoperiod (assuming that’s when you’re home) can be counterproductive
I’d suggest adding Rotala Vietnam H’ra as it is very obvious in Leaf Open/Close
As you’ve no CO2 at present, I’d do daily water changes, and add Seachem Excel
Which Aquarium Soil?
standard with 80 degree lenses
Which means it’s a relatively “narrow” light spread (120 - 130 degree lens is more common in FW applications), and as you reduce light intensity, the “spread” of the light “cone” will become even narrower - ie, some plants will experience strong shading effect (even without any hardscape)
Definitely play with the app to deliver a more FW type spectrum (less blue), though you’re somewhat limited as the stock LEDs are designed for marine/reef spectrum
Note this will already reduce the effective watts of light, so again be conservative with intensity reduction
The AI Hydra TwentySix™ HD utilizes the latest LED technology from leading manufacturers, arranged to provide the best performance.
- 6 – Cree XP-G2 Cool White (> 70 CRI)
- 6 – Cree XT-E Royal Blue
- 6 – Cree XP-E2 Blue
- 2 – OSRAM OSLON Deep Red
- 2 – Cree XP-E2 Green
- 2 – SemiLED 415nm
- 2 – SemiLED 400nm