[Kidfish]

Hi so l have a koval 156 led light with full spectrum color but I cannot find out the wattage or lumens which is ridiculous anyway I have plants like Java ferns annubias Amazon sword basically beginner low light plants should I be dimmin the lighting. Plants seem to be doing okay but not great some browning on the leaves.

 

[Goodwood]

Lighting is only a portion of what you need for plants to thrive. Fertilizers, water parameters, and co2 are critical for plant development. Browning of leaves can signify a few things.

What fertilizers are you using and how often do you dose?
What are your current water parameters? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, KH and GH?
What are you doing for co2?

 

[minorhero]

Hi so l have a koval 156 led light with full spectrum color but I cannot find out the wattage or lumens which is ridiculous anyway I have plants like Java ferns annubias Amazon sword basically beginner low light plants should I be dimmin the lighting. Plants seem to be doing okay but not great some browning on the leaves.

We use PAR / PPFD to determine the strength of lights. The best way to determine PAR of any given light is with a PAR Meter. But PAR Meters cost a few hundred dollars. Fortunately, you can either download and calibrate the photone app for free and get a good estimate of PAR or you can download the lux meter app for free and divide the lux by 80 to get a rough estimate of par. For a tank without co2 injection you want PAR at substrate (or the same distance from the light as your substrate) to be between 15 and 40.

Like Goodwood mentioned, you will also need other things then just a light like fertilizer etc. Good luck!

 

[Kidfish]

Lighting is only a portion of what you need for plants to thrive. Fertilizers, water parameters, and co2 are critical for plant development. Browning of leaves can signify a few things.

What fertilizers are you using and how often do you dose?
What are your current water parameters? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, KH and GH?
What are you doing for co2?

Hey zero ammonia and nitrite.5 nitrate ph 7.4 temp. 76 gh 12 kh 3 l use sechem root tabs once a month and daily dose with flourish, flourish excel and advance

 

[minorhero]

Hey zero ammonia and nitrite.5 nitrate ph 7.4 temp. 76 gh 12 kh 3 l use sechem root tabs once a month and daily dose with flourish, flourish excel and advance

You definitely need a complete fertilizer like aquarium co op easy green or nilocg thrive. Root tabs are not the best substitute for tanks like this.

 

[Kidfish]

You definitely need a complete fertilizer like aquarium co op easy green or nilocg thrive. Root tabs are not the best substitute for tanks like this.

So that will even feed the plants that feed from the substrate and you could do away with the root tabs and all the other different liquid fertilizer’s

 

[minorhero]

You got it

 

[Kidfish]

You got it

😃

😃

Hey l just went to order that co op and and I noticed they had that easy root tabs would that be more beneficial in conjunction with the co op or not ?

 

[evil8]

Hey l just went to order that co op and and I noticed they had that easy root tabs would that be more beneficial in conjunction with the co op or not ?

I only use root tabs when I first plant rooted plants into the substrate to help them establish and then if I see heavy root feeders struggling. Most often you don't need them.

 

[minorhero]

Hey l just went to order that co op and and I noticed they had that easy root tabs would that be more beneficial in conjunction with the co op or not ?

I don't really use root tabs these days. What matters is using a good fertilizer, dialing in your lighting so it's appropriate for the plants and the amount of fertilizer AND co2, and then doing big (50+%) water changes once a week. Do that and you will be in a good place. You can add root tabs if you want, but it's the kind of thing you only do if you want peace of mind, it won't replace good maintenance and balance strategies I just outlined.

 

[Kidfish]

I only use root tabs when I first plant rooted plants into the substrate to help them establish and then if I see heavy root feeders struggling. Most often you don't need them.

👍

I don't really use root tabs these days. What matters is using a good fertilizer, dialing in your lighting so it's appropriate for the plants and the amount of fertilizer AND co2, and then doing big (50+%) water changes once a week. Do that and you will be in a good place. You can add root tabs if you want, but it's the kind of thing you only do if you want peace of mind, it won't replace good maintenance and balance strategies I just outlined.

Thanks !