Waiting to hear what someone says about this one i love my HC and have been thinking about adding an extra light for just 4 hours in the middle of my 9 hours cycle. It really seems to love extra light. I started my carpet in 1/2 gallon betta bowl with 13watt CFL for 8 hours, never seen it grow so fast add i was only adding EXCEL.
HC Roots/Runner propogations vs Photoperiod
I've been sitting here staring at my HC and wondering some things..
I know most plants(or so I have heard) do photosynthesis during the light cycle and spread roots/runners during the dark cycle.
Is this true of aquatic plants?
If so would it be beneficial to run higher intensity light for a shorter period during the time many of us want to grow a lush HC carpet(Especially if using the dry start method)?
If I move my lamp closer to the HC and cut the photoperiod to 4-8 hours, do you think it will spread faster?
I know most plants(or so I have heard) do photosynthesis during the light cycle and spread roots/runners during the dark cycle.
Is this true of aquatic plants?
If so would it be beneficial to run higher intensity light for a shorter period during the time many of us want to grow a lush HC carpet(Especially if using the dry start method)?
If I move my lamp closer to the HC and cut the photoperiod to 4-8 hours, do you think it will spread faster?
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i would tell u that a consistant schedual and lvls dialed in will do better in the long run. if you up your lighting you can make them have to grow new leafs to adjust with the higher light or possibly sun bleach/sunburn them yes it can does happen if u upgrade from low to high which can make it even longer to get established in my experiance. i have noticed once you to so high it just doesnt work into your favor cause of how short the photo period has to be to combat algae i will say higher light will keep in closer to the ground and make smaller leafs normally. remember everything needs balance if one this is off the scales will tip not in your favor i personaly like 12 12 or 10 14
In the realm of planted tanks, impatience might as well be synonymous with algae. If you have something that works, changing something major (like lighting) will mean you'll have issues, which will mean you'll have to tweak other parameters. You might get the desired effect - eventually - but I'll bet my next paycheck there will be a bunch of tweaking in the meantime.
I don't know why reducing the light cycle would cause algae.In the realm of planted tanks, impatience might as well be synonymous with algae. If you have something that works, changing something major (like lighting) will mean you'll have issues, which will mean you'll have to tweak other parameters. You might get the desired effect - eventually - but I'll bet my next paycheck there will be a bunch of tweaking in the meantime.
Other parameters are practically zilch, I'm talking about the dry start method. (wasn't clear on that; I am interested to know about the effects on root and runner growth with an increased night cycle submerged and emerged, but mainly emerged)
If a plant sends its roots and runners out at night then providing it with plenty of photosynthesis but giving it more time with the lights out should make getting a developed root system that is necessary to provide nutrients for later on, much quicker.
After all the days are shorter right after winter, this seems like the perfect time to get your roots established before you have 12-16 hour long summer days.
Again I'm not talking about upping the lighting.
I mentioned moving the light closer but the main focus here is on less day time and more night time, moving the lights closer would just be compensation for the reduced light cycle. It may not be necessary
moving your light closer is going to up your lighting just to what degree is depending on how far it was to how close your going to bring it in its just like a flashlight a wide beam wont see as far but if u just tweek it to concentrate the light you can see much further. and i still doubt that the tweaking the light will give u a more noticeable diff as say adding co² yes it can be done with a drystart to that will add a much more noticeable end result for growth imo. if your doing a drystart and ur parameters are zilch your quote then your plants will only be using its reserves to live and not thrive. there are other things you might want to consider to when u lower a light in a tank it can raise the temp quite a bit sometimes to where a plants suffers due to lack of circulation of air that causes the temp to rise to high. i personally dont see many plants grow much in the winter compaired to spring/summer i will still tell you if you want it to spread faster and due dry start add co² and keep everything else the same well add ferts u said there was zilch and you should have it in no time just shoot for 500pp and your fine i wouldnt go over 1k ppm and your growth would be awsome and fill in in no time.
If you are doing dry, you can try 24 hour light.
Sorry, missed that dry start part. If you're doing that, then try whatever you'd like, sounds like a neat experiment.
But I agree with Hypnotic in that dropping your light closer is increasing your light. There's no linear relationship between reducing photoperiod and increasing lighting. As a (very poor) analogy, increasing summer daylight temperature by 50% (by moving closer to the light source) here in north carolina, would kill me, regardless of how much daylight hours were reduced.
But I agree with Hypnotic in that dropping your light closer is increasing your light. There's no linear relationship between reducing photoperiod and increasing lighting. As a (very poor) analogy, increasing summer daylight temperature by 50% (by moving closer to the light source) here in north carolina, would kill me, regardless of how much daylight hours were reduced.
I've had my HC growing immersed for a month now and with 12 hours of light per day it is spreading very quickly.
Hypnotic, I would like to respond but I can barely tell what you said.
Disregard my comment on the light distance to substrate, keep in mind the distance change could be just enough to go from medium to high light - not a problem IMO. The main thing here I am trying to ask you all is if anyone knows about the spreading of roots in semi-aquatic plants.
In many plants that live above water only, the roots spread at night, and I would imagine if a plant has adequate co2 supply from the air and plenty of light, but a longer dark period, it could spread more roots.
Any way, I am testing this in a small bowl with a 26 watt CFL 6500k bulb 5 inches from the substrate. I give it light from 12-6 and then it goes in my closet for a 16 hour dark period.
The temperature in the bowl is fine, I mist cool water and then re cover it with saran wrap.
Its growing in Aquasoil Amazonia.
I'll report back on how it goes.. but i'm so impatient.
Disregard my comment on the light distance to substrate, keep in mind the distance change could be just enough to go from medium to high light - not a problem IMO. The main thing here I am trying to ask you all is if anyone knows about the spreading of roots in semi-aquatic plants.
In many plants that live above water only, the roots spread at night, and I would imagine if a plant has adequate co2 supply from the air and plenty of light, but a longer dark period, it could spread more roots.
Any way, I am testing this in a small bowl with a 26 watt CFL 6500k bulb 5 inches from the substrate. I give it light from 12-6 and then it goes in my closet for a 16 hour dark period.
The temperature in the bowl is fine, I mist cool water and then re cover it with saran wrap.
Its growing in Aquasoil Amazonia.
I'll report back on how it goes.. but i'm so impatient.
idk what to tell ya there was just a few thoughts/ concerns about why or how it can or cant work. ill try and put in as simple as i can if your plant is getting its full requirement within your allotted time then yes the rest will help but if its not due to whatever reason then the rest wont be as useful as it didnt get enough "food" for it to go to its full potential. still havent heard if your using co² or not. if your impatient then that is what i would tell you to do first as the other "factors" have a much smaller impact as co² is normally the limiting factor. idk what else to tell you that hasnt been previously stated.
co2 is not a factor. The plants have access to plenty of co2 from the air.. They are not submerged.idk what to tell ya there was just a few thoughts/ concerns about why or how it can or cant work. ill try and put in as simple as i can if your plant is getting its full requirement within your allotted time then yes the rest will help but if its not due to whatever reason then the rest wont be as useful as it didnt get enough "food" for it to go to its full potential. still havent heard if your using co² or not. if your impatient then that is what i would tell you to do first as the other "factors" have a much smaller impact as co² is normally the limiting factor. idk what else to tell you that hasnt been previously stated.
I think the plants should be getting plenty of glucose from photosynthesis. I just hope they spread roots faster this way, because that seems to be the slowest part of the grow.
how is co2 not a factor? please show me any evidence that supports this i know that there is no such evidence as is a MAJOR part on how fast a plant propigates and grows. you seem like u already know the answers you want to hear so what are u really looking for?
I think the confusion is in how the HC will be grown. HypnoticAquatic, co2 would be a limiting factor if the plant was being grown submerged. But Zareth is asking about growing it emersed, like in a dry start, where it would be able to draw its co2 from the air. Interesting idea Zareth, I am interested to know if your findings. I will be dry starting my HC carpet soon, be sure to do a journal
yes i know that is will be a dry start but it still has a limiting co2 its just faster than submerged thus why im asking if he is using it because u can make a dry start even faster which is what he was saying he wanted from being impatient. co2 will still be a limiting factor either way its grown up until u get around 1kppm vs atmospheric lvls vs water lvls. so as i was saying its still can be made to grow faster with extra co2 until you reach certain lvl. do u understand what i am saying now? also if its going to need to make a carpet faster individual stem planting is best to achieve that goal faster
Co2 is even a limiting factor in emersed growing. Hydroponics guys have knowen this for years and many actually inject co2 into their grow rooms for the same effect as we inject it into our aquariums. I'd say zareth maybe you could try some DIY co2 with a check valve into your bowl. Since co2 is heavier then air it will sink to the plants and you will only need a small hole to keep the syran from blowing off lol. Remember if you have it covered to keep moisture in you are also keeping fresh co2 out plus ambient co2 is at a far less concentrated form then what we can provide.
Lol... Yes co2 is THE limiting factor, but it is not a limiting factor in this instance.
I agree though, a higher concentration of co2 would ease in co2 uptake, which would likely manifest in increased growth, but that's more equipment than I want hooked up to this little experiment.
If I were growing 100 lb's of marijuana hydroponically, then yes I'd spray the room full of co2. But I have a few stems of HC spread into a small bowl.
Do you think that 40 or so tiny leaves can fully convert the co2 in the bowl to o2 between mistings? If it were doing this, the plant would have also created so much glucose I would already be seeing a dense carpet.
I'm wondering what people know about what plants do during the dark cycle. "rest" is not what I want to hear, plants don't really rest. At night they use all the glucose they made during the day to create new stuff. And I am also sort of documenting my progress.
Although I did not have a control - a plant who recieved 12 and 12 light/dark as a comparison. So I wont come up with any hard conclusions
I agree though, a higher concentration of co2 would ease in co2 uptake, which would likely manifest in increased growth, but that's more equipment than I want hooked up to this little experiment.
If I were growing 100 lb's of marijuana hydroponically, then yes I'd spray the room full of co2. But I have a few stems of HC spread into a small bowl.
Do you think that 40 or so tiny leaves can fully convert the co2 in the bowl to o2 between mistings? If it were doing this, the plant would have also created so much glucose I would already be seeing a dense carpet.
I'm wondering what people know about what plants do during the dark cycle. "rest" is not what I want to hear, plants don't really rest. At night they use all the glucose they made during the day to create new stuff. And I am also sort of documenting my progress.
Although I did not have a control - a plant who recieved 12 and 12 light/dark as a comparison. So I wont come up with any hard conclusions
i still fail to see any proof on how you agree that its the limiting factor but just not for you? how? we are not talking about a lot of co2 if its in a confined area tank/bowl just sealed up like you are doing for humidity. yes plants do most of there growing at night also is called giving them rest, its rest from the light!! just because its not what u want to hear doesnt mean that its not right sorry. once again please show how these factors dont apply to you? now we know your not adding co2 which was what we were asking about as this was all about adding more co2 to make it grow faster. seems like you have already made your conclusions on how this all works so there is no need to continue
It seems to me this would be a good experiment for you... two bowls both same size same light same amount of plants one on 12 cycle and one on say 14-10. But it's really hard to say... I know for veging most grows use a 18-6 cycle being less dark more light. Thats for vegatative groth witch i would call spreading for your HC.
I think plants store glucos to make it threw the dark period. Thus you cut down their dark period they do not need to spend as much energy in making glucos (to survive) Thus spending most their energy growing and not storing energy. Mind you it will take while for plants to settle fully into a photo period.
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