[NoahLikesFish]

Hi so in my tank I have a nicrew planted plus, I am considering to buy a fluval 3.0 and a diy co2 kit in a couple months. I dose nilocg thrive c fertilizer and I hsve hard water >300 tds. how Long should I leave my lights on, should I do a siesta? How much nilocg do I dose (1 pump treats 5 gal) and how often do I dose it. I’m trying to get optimum growth out of my plants while still being to enjoy my tank, is it okay to do a light schedule like 3 pm-5 pm on 5 pm -7 pm off 7 pm - 11 pm on? And then on the weekends when I wake up to when I go to sleep ~9 am - 10 pm

 

[ElleDee]

The bottom line is that every tank is different and no one can tell you exactly what the answer is. We can make recommendations, but ultimately you'll going to need to do some trial and error.

The point of a siesta is to allow co2 being released from a soil substrate to build up while the lights are off. If you don't have a dirted tank, you won't get this benefit. The substrate in my dirted tank is surely depleted by now, but I have kept the siesta because it maximizes my viewing time. I would not have different lighting schedules depending on the day though - plants do best when you keep things consistent.

As for dosing, why not start with the instructions on the bottle and go from there.

 

[Plinkploop]

100% agree with consistency being a priority. I'd dose light at first, say start at a half dose for a couple weeks if it's a new set up to avoid having too much nitrogen build up at the start of your cycle and observing and going from there. If this isn't a new set up then go with the instructions and see how it goes, it's all trial and error in the beginning.

 

[JTMoney76]

If you're injecting CO2 along with a dirt substrate .. is a siesta still beneficial?

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[ElleDee]

No, the siesta is a sort of hack for low tech systems that a co2 system renders unnecessary. With a properly dialed co2 system you can achieve higher co2 concentrations with the lights on than can be provided by soil with the lights off. Plus the carbon in the soil will deplete in well under a year.

 

[Deanna]

I'm not sure that I agree that a siesta period is not beneficial in a high-tech tank. It hasn't been proven, either way, to my knowledge. I use a 4-hour siesta, primarily to allow extended viewing. I run about 35 PAR, at the substrate, for 3 hours, then a 4-hour siesta, then a final 140 PAR (substrate) for 7 hours.

I have read, without being willing to look up the sources at this point, that algae cannot expand well with a minimum 4-hour absence of strong light. So, my thinking is that the initial 3-hour low-light will not do much for algae, the 4-hour siesta dampens it and I only then have the long high-PAR photoperiod to worry about.

I have nearly no algae, but there is no way that I would say that it is because of this siesta. There are too many variables that affect algae to say that one thing has a decisive impact.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Thanks for the advice guys, if I put dirt in containers in my tank could I make it dirted

I’d use them mostly for my crypts my hygrophila and my lily (that’s coming this week) and sword

 

[Plinkploop]

Even dirt in containers needs to be capped and have no holes, cracks, gaps or openings or things can get messy fast.

 

[JTMoney76]

No, the siesta is a sort of hack for low tech systems that a co2 system renders unnecessary. With a properly dialed co2 system you can achieve higher co2 concentrations with the lights on than can be provided by soil with the lights off. Plus the carbon in the soil will deplete in well under a year.

Thanks ElleDee & Deanna for your responses! I understand the logic now ElleDee w/ what you are saying. My silly problem is that I have zero green algae for my plecos & few Nerites to eat in my 65G tall. I've been doing a 2 hour siesta high-tech w/ Amazonia sub under gravel & Fluval 3.0 46W to also give me some lit viewing early in the day.

Could I go noon - 10pm with half 100%/70% intensity & 10pm - midnight blue 50% intensity & the plants will be ok? I'll get good viewing & hopefully a tad of algae. I dose daily macro/micro.

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[NoahLikesFish]

How much do I dose if I dose daily? And should I get dedicated K and micro for my plants?

 

[JTMoney76]

How much do I dose if I dose daily? And should I get dedicated K and micro for my plants?

Whatever type of fert you purchased should indicate dosing levels which also depend on high-tech & amount of plants. You very well would need more than Potassium for your macro nutrients.

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[NoahLikesFish]

I have niloc thrive c but additional micro and K is what I want, how much do you dose becsuse dosing 8cpumps daily would be a bit much roght?

 

[JTMoney76]

I don't know how much liquid 8 pumps is .. are you heavily planted? Low medium or high light plants? Heavy fish load? Dirt substrate? Get these answers & then Google "how much fertilizer daily with (whatever your fertilizer name is)"

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[ElleDee]

I'm not sure that I agree that a siesta period is not beneficial in a high-tech tank. It hasn't been proven, either way, to my knowledge. I use a 4-hour siesta, primarily to allow extended viewing. I run about 35 PAR, at the substrate, for 3 hours, then a 4-hour siesta, then a final 140 PAR (substrate) for 7 hours.

I have read, without being willing to look up the sources at this point, that algae cannot expand well with a minimum 4-hour absence of strong light. So, my thinking is that the initial 3-hour low-light will not do much for algae, the 4-hour siesta dampens it and I only then have the long high-PAR photoperiod to worry about.

I have nearly no algae, but there is no way that I would say that it is because of this siesta. There are too many variables that affect algae to say that one thing has a decisive impact.

I was answering the question just from the perspective of co2 amounts, but that's interesting about using a siesta to hamper algae. There's always more than one way to run a tank and it's neat to hear about all the successful variations.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

It’s 8 pumps dose and I don’t have dirt I have low-medium
light stuff and fish load but idk if my denitrification reactor effects it