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Difficult plants?

696 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  Buck 
#1 ·
When plants are listed as difficult it looks like it's code for needing bright light and CO2. Is this correct? If this is true, would having 3 wpg and CO2 mean I'm OK? Also, is it possible to have to much light for plants?

Thanks for your input.

David
 
#2 ·
You can't have too much light for most plants. But you can have too much light to make it easy to keep the aquarium in balance. Some people manage to grow beautiful tanks at up to 7 watts per gallon. But at that point it becomes more like a job and less like a hobby.

As far as difficult plants goes, three watts per gallon is bottom line for some of the light loving ones. CO2 will help. Other things to consider are water temp, hardness, pH.
 
#3 ·
I am running about 5wpg and press CO2 in my 30 gallon and while Algae doesnt pose any problems the non-stop plant growth does.
At times I have considered lowering the lights closer to 3wpg but the tank is doing so well I dont want to mess with that balance that Rex has mentioned. It takes time to get a tank into that balance and once you have achieved it life is easier and the tank looks better.
Before deciding on your lighting be sure to know what you would like to grow for plant varieties and light the tank accordingly.
But if you chose the upper limits of lighting plan on spending some hours with that tanks maintenance... it all up to the hobbyist and his/her schedules.
 
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