TOO much Lighting?

[sunkyokim]

Is there such a thing as too much lighting? where does one draw the line? this may sound like a stupid question to some of you, but im still learning..... a simple answer is greatly appreciated! thank you!


Regards,


Sun Kim

[Cheese Sandwich]

I'm a newbie who has only been browsing this site for a week or two, however I get the impression that if there's too much light, then the plants can't grow fast enough to outgrow nuisance algea, due to other limiting factors such as not enough CO2.

[Wasserpest]

There are the obvious things like your energy bill and the water temperature going up without a strong chiller.

The more light you have over a tank, the faster plants grow. If you enjoy daily pruning, and don't really want to take a couple of days off per year, put lots of wattage over your tank.

The more light over a tank, the more nutrients are required by plants. If you are comfortable maintaining good levels of all nutrients at all times, go ahead and add lots of light.

If you are new to this, and especially with a new tank, I suggest to start "slower". Less encounters with algae that way.

[Bombay]

You gotta consider the fish too...

[BlueRam]

Lighting in aquariums is by far less than the tropical sun at noon.

Originally Posted by Bombay

You gotta consider the fish too...

[Bombay]

Originally Posted by BlueRam

Lighting in aquariums is by far less than the tropical sun at noon.

Yep. That is true. Good point. Different species have different needs though.

And my aquarium doesn't have a heavily shaded mangrove inlet...a 3 foot drop-off...the ability to go upstream 100 yards...or any of the other true refuges found in the biotope.

The main reason for lighting (and thus control of the lighting) is to grow the plants and see the fish, but let's not forget the preferences of the species. Too much can be too much for the little fishies too.

[co2]

Originally Posted by sunkyokim

Is there such a thing as too much lighting? where does one draw the line? this may sound like a stupid question to some of you, but im still learning..... a simple answer is greatly appreciated! thank you!


Regards,


Sun Kim

With reef aquariums, you can't really have too much for the most part. Planted tanks are different, you can definitely have too much lighting. The more lighting the faster things can go wrong. It's best to decide on the size of tank you want, and the plants you want to grow and whether or not you are going to use pressurized CO2, and then you can determine the right amount of lighting.