MichaelJ
Member
For sure, I agree. Looking at the absorption curves and the photosynthetic rate curves for plants it's pretty clear what the preferential wavelength bands are and where they pickup their energy for photosynthesis. The choice of light is certainly not inconsequential, but I will submit that for most practical purposes most modern-day adjustable aquarium light fixtures will offer a decent enough coverage along the 400-700 mn PAR range to make them suitable for plants as long as you keep the light temperature fairly balanced towards daylight. If that wouldn't be the case, I think a lot of hobbyists around here would be in trouble because of they light. The light related issues we see around here are overwhelmingly about excess light intensity.Why is it that people try and optimize CO2 and micro/macro ferts and then go on with the doktrin of plants are adaptable and can handle almost any light we provide them with?
Looking in the literature it is clear that the importance of mosts parts of the solar spectrum plays some role in plant growth/development.
I do not doubt that that the distribution can be optimized to increase yield at a lower intensity. It would be interesting to learn more from you about this. I think you should post about your methods, equipment, experiences and results.Because PAR without the knowledge of the spectral powerdistribution is not that useful. I have been experimenting with lights over the last 5 years and found that the closer I can get the spectral powerdistribution to that from the sun (within the 380 nm to 760 nm range) the less intensity I have needed for getting good growth.
Cheers,
Michael