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How much light for the start of a planted tank?

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Knuta

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26 Mar 2022
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Norway
Hi,
I will be setting up a new tank in a few weeks, and I was wondering how much light I should start out with. The tank will be heavily planted.

Tank: 160L (100x40x40)
Filter: Oase biomaster thermo 600
Light: Chihiros WRBG2 pro
Co2: Pressurised tank, co2art regulator, co2art bazooka diffuser. Will start out with a good amount of Co2 to limit algae in startup.
Soil: Tropica Soil

I was thinking of setting the light to 10-20% brightness at the start, and then slowly ramp it up when the plants have established themselves properly. Any thoughts?
 
Personally, I'm no expert, I would increase the lighting until algae appears then dial it back to control the algae.
My way of looking at it is the only drawback to too much light is algae bloom. It is a balancing act between enough light for plants to grow but not to much light to let algae grow?
 
I’d been wondering the same. Is lighting length vs intensity part of this? Is it better to run longer and lower, or shorter and higher?
 
Having no idea myself about your light ,you could check out the Green Aqua you tube channel for lighting and Tommy as recently done one on the light you have
 
The first question to ask is whether the plants are already adapted to aquatic conditions or not. Makes a big difference. If plants are already adapted you can pretty much neglect a start-up phase. The act of transfer is disruptive for sure, but I find plants to catch up really fast. Unlike plants that are grown emersed.

"Will start out with a good amount of Co2 to limit algae in startup." More CO2 doesn't limit algae growth. Algae are more efficient CO2 processors than the bog plants we keep submersed. Hence your question pertains to plants and boils down to the following:

The other factor to consider is the amount of plant biomass compared to tank volume. If it is large + plants are healthy and show some growth (CO2 helps), I don't find there's a balancing act going on between plants and algae at all. Somehow, algae are "hesitant" to set foot in such conditions; low tech or high tech. You can crank up the intensity of light in both situations.

Regarding longer/shorter, intense/dim; both plants and green algae (forgive me my rash distinction) have circadian rhythms. Cutting the duration can work because you are actually dimming lights in a rather abrupt manner; there's always ambient light, which, depending on the degree, might be enough to stay above the compensation point. I have several smaller tanks without any dedicated light and plants show health and growth.

So all in all, it is the intensity-dial you want to control. If you are able to control the intensity, not even 12 hrs continuous light is going to be of trouble per se. Not even in any start-up phase. Even aquaria without plants can be maintained free of (visible) algae. Faux blackwater tanks (looks like blackwater, but with mineral contents) are the best example of this.
 
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If heavily planted from day 1 then I would have thought you can go for a full photo period 12-14hrs on full intensity, as long as you have CO2 and fertiliser.

Metabolic rate and hence growth of plants is a function of incident light, so as long as you have nutrients including CO2 to support the growth then high light shouldn’t be a problem.
 
There isn't a right or wrong answer to this, or one size fits all. However, as mentioned previously there are guidelines or advice, that if taken, vastly improves the chances of success.

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In a new tank the initial recommended photoperiod is usually around 6hrs for the first 6 weeks or so. As for light intensity, if the lighting unit is an unknown quantity use your best judgment but often around 40-50% is okay. You need just enough light to drive photosynthesis whilst plants adjust to their new environment, too much light and you can easily head in to trouble.

This period allows plenty of time to dial in CO2 properly, and for the filters to mature and get organics under control etc. Ultimately light drives the system, but if other parameters are not in sync growing the tank to maturity can become a struggle.
 
Knuta said:
Hi,
I will be setting up a new tank in a few weeks, and I was wondering how much light I should start out with. The tank will be heavily planted.

Tank: 160L (100x40x40)
Filter: Oase biomaster thermo 600
Light: Chihiros WRBG2 pro
Co2: Pressurised tank, co2art regulator, co2art bazooka diffuser. Will start out with a good amount of Co2 to limit algae in startup.
Soil: Tropica Soil

I was thinking of setting the light to 10-20% brightness at the start, and then slowly ramp it up when the plants have established themselves properly. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Hi,
First of all, nice, excellent equipment!!..🍻
For the start, ensure that you have enough fast growing plants, and CO2 is adequate..
Do regular water change, first 2-3 times 50%..
Ensure that Oase os setup with good and sufficient filter media and you will be perfect!!
Ensure that light is increased step by step, power and duration...
Cheers!
 
Tim Harrison said:
There isn't a right or wrong answer to this, or one size fits all. However, as mentioned previously there are guidelines or advice, that if taken, vastly improves the chances of success.

UKAPS Forum Rules and Guidelines

UKAPS Forum Rules and Guidelines 1. Treat others how you would like to be treated yourself. Remain polite at all times and avoid aggressive styles of communication. Criticisms are often welcome, but ensure they are constructive. 2. The written word can be easily misinterpreted, so carefully...
www.ukaps.org

In a new tank the initial recommended photoperiod is usually around 6hrs for the first 6 weeks or so. As for light intensity, if the lighting unit is an unknown quantity use your best judgment but often around 40-50% is okay. You need just enough light to drive photosynthesis whilst plants adjust to their new environment, too much light and you can easily head in to trouble.

This period allows plenty of time to dial in CO2 properly, and for the filters to mature and get organics under control etc. Ultimately light drives the system, but if other parameters are not in sync growing the tank to maturity can become a struggle.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think that ~40-50% for 6 hours a day sounds reasonable. The light is very strong, and I think I'd rather err on the side of caution than cause a massive algae issue right away.

@Dalmatinac: I think I'll do ~50% water changes every day for the first week, and maybe every second day or so for the second week. I have a decent water change set-up, so it's really not a lot of effort to change water very frequently during startup.

@Malarky: Yeah, I have some red root floaters I can chuck in a ring of airline tubing -> connect it to the side of the aquarium with suction cups.
 
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