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Lighting help needed

thdesilva2000

thdesilva2000

Seedling
Joined
7 Aug 2017
Messages
24
Location
Letchworth
Hi all,

Need some help with lighting. Tank details below:

100L Juwel Tank
Upgraded with Fluval 106 filter (removed inbuilt Juwel filter)
Hydor circulation pump for extra circulation
Eheim surface skimmer (also creates extra flow)
CO2 Art Advance Sodastream Kit
Substrate: Deponit Mix Professional bottom, middle seachem fluorite sand, top Colombo Flora Base pro

Lighting (I have upgraded to two types running at same time):
Interpet Triple White Led 90CM (Triple bulb, 35.4" (900mm), 12.6 Watts)
Syvania Grolux T5 2 foot long (18W) - I replace these every six months

Maintenance and dosing:
Daily 5ml TNC Complete dosing (contains both Macros and Micros)
50% weekly water change

Tank is heavily planted with high energy plants

I have recently started a mixed carpet of Monte Carlo and HC Cuba on one side of the tank. I have increased the lighting from 8 hours on (6 hours CO2) to 12 hours on (10 hours CO2). I assumed this extra lighting was needed for HC cuba. CO2 has always shown green or lime green on drop checker.

However, since yesterday, some of my plants have started melting (crypts, swords and Proserpinaca Palustris with blackened areas and melt). I assumed this was due to increased lighting. I reduced the lighting to 9 hours.

Please can someone tell me the recommended lighting levels? I do not know the PAR values as I cannot find the PAR values for my lighting. I want to grow the carpet but not risking the other plants.

Thanks in advance

PS, apologies for long write up, but I wanted to give as much info as possible.
 
Extending the lighting period shouldn't be necessary, I have MC carpet flourishing on 7hrs lighting. I would look at your ferts, from what I am aware TNC complete is 1ml per 10 ltrs so you were already dosing half of recommended. looks like you upped the lighting when the plants were already running on the edge. Drop back the lighting to where it was, double the dose of TNC to 10ml daily would be my suggestion.

BTW par isn't that important, the plants will just grow a bit slower (most anyway) but this is a good thing IMO
 
Thanks, I have upped my dosage to 10ML of TNC complete daily. Plants doing much better, noticed big changes after just two days of increasing dose. BTW, upgraded lighting to Chihiros A Series Plus 60cm (with extension brackets, it fits my 80cm tank). It looks much better as the hood was looking dated. Photoperiod reduced to 7 hours now with 10 hours of CO2 (CO2 comes on 5 hours before lighting on). But now I am experimenting with light settings, found setting 4 to be sufficient but Pogestemon Erectus and Presicaria is suffering, increased to setting 5, some plants doing really well but leaf burn on others (crypts and swords). There is going to be a fair bit of experimenting to get it right.
 
IIRC, TNC Complete is 1ml per 10 litres per week, with increasing to 2 to 3 time per week being the equivalent of EI dosing.

On that basis, I'd probably look to reduce a bit!
 
Millns84 said:
IIRC, TNC Complete is 1ml per 10 litres per week, with increasing to 2 to 3 time per week being the equivalent of EI dosing.

On that basis, I'd probably look to reduce a bit!
Click to expand...
Yes, that is the recommended dose, but you need much more (so much more) than recommended dose for healthy planted tank. Watch this video on this web link from George Farmer, it enlightened me. The review is for a different product, but principles are the same:
http://www.evolutionaqua.com/acatalog/The_Aquascaper_Complete_Liquid_Plant_Food.html
 
thdesilva2000 said:
Yes, that is the recommended dose, but you need much more (so much more) than recommended dose for healthy planted tank. Watch this video on this web link from George Farmer, it enlightened me. The review is for a different product, but principles are the same:
http://www.evolutionaqua.com/acatalog/The_Aquascaper_Complete_Liquid_Plant_Food.html
Click to expand...

I'll have to watch that later, I'm at work now.

I get that the stated dose is fairly low, but TNC recommend 2 to three times the recommended dose as an equivalent of EI dosing. The current dosing by the OP is considerably more than that equivalent?
 
Millns84 said:
I'll have to watch that later, I'm at work now.

I get that the stated dose is fairly low, but TNC recommend 2 to three times the recommended dose as an equivalent of EI dosing. The current dosing by the OP is considerably more than that equivalent?
Click to expand...
Don't know the right answer, have a look at the video when you get a chance. All I can say is that the plants are doing really well when I upped the dosing to much more than recommended or EI dosing equivalent. George Farmer does not do EI anymore, relies in all in one.
 
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