# Lighting intensity and photoperiod after flooding DSM



## jon32 (14 Feb 2013)

Hi, currently I am trying my hand at DSM with a lawn of Hemianthus 'Cuba'  and Eleocharis sp. 'mini' (both from Tropica's 1-2-GROW! range) in my Aquanano 40 tank. Substrate is Amazonia normal + powder.

The Tank measures 40x40x40 cm but the built in sump at the back of the tank takes up some width so it's more like 40x32x40 cm.

At the moment I'm running 2 x  PL-18 watt lights about 3 inches above the lid for 13 hours a day.
Obviously I will need to cut the photoperiod down when I flood the tank.

Bearing in mind I intend to keep the DSM going for 7-8 weeks and hopefully by that time the plant mass has increased substantially and established itself and I can flood it.

After I flood it should I cut the light intensity in half by removing a light? Also how much should I reduce my photoperiod by? (I intend to keep the glass lid on btw but that may change)

I will be running  FE CO2 and a small Easy Aqua Super Mist Atomiser in the rear sumps pump section and out through a spraybar. I will also dose Neutro CO2 as per recommendation.

Ferts (Neutro+) will be dosed straight away after flooding or after first large water change (90% 2-3 hours after flooding)
Does that sound about right?

Cheers
Jon


----------



## ceg4048 (14 Feb 2013)

Yes you should reduce the intensity significantly. The photoperiod should be 6-8 hours at low intensity generally.
After a few weeks, when the plant has grown submersed shoots you can start to ramp up the intensity. That's the ideal scenario. If you are confident in your flow and CO2 injection/distribution then you can go crazy with the lights from the start, but it would be a shame to annihilate all you hard earned DSM biomass.

Cheers,


----------



## jon32 (14 Feb 2013)

Thank you ceg4048. So I should reduce the light down to only one 18w light at the start with a 7 hour photoperiod and see how it goes for a few weeks then gradually increase the light there after. Well hopefully the DSM goes well. I am going to take it easy with the lights as it would be a shame to nuke my DSM (as you say) after waiting 2 months to flood!

I am seriously thinking of getting a TMC MINI LED 400 TILE to replace the PL Fluorescent  I like these tiles because for one I really hate the way fluorescent comes on so suddenly and spooks the fish. Whilst the tile with controller gives a more natural transition from dark to light and vice versa. For the same reason it would be far more flexible in terms of lighting intensity. With the PL lights I have now it's either 36 watts of light or take one light off for 18 watts. I'd like to ramp the light up and down and have more control.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has had any experience with these lights. Would one of these be adequate for a 40x40x40 (12 gal) growing HC?

Cheers 
Jon


----------



## foxfish (14 Feb 2013)

I would love to see a picture of your tank?


----------



## jon32 (14 Feb 2013)

Hi foxfish. I've had the DSM running for 2 weeks now. I did intend to start a journal but I didn't get around to taking any pics of all the stuff. I have since taken some pics of the progress over the 2 weeks and I would like to share some of my experiences so far. I would love to get some feedback off you folks so a journal with pics of the setup is on the cards for sure 

Cheers,


----------

