Reef vs freshwater lighting

[rikstar]

Ok not sure if this has been discussed here, if it has... i can't find it 😅

Anyway I use to run x4 reef lights on my 8 foot freshwater tank, I noticed very early on my plants were growing very well and bringing out colours ive never seen in some plants!
My red stems were growing so fast I had to cut them In half once every 2 weeks! I had oranges reds purples yellows all coming out of all different types of my plants

So 6 months ago, one of my 4 reef lights went out, (blown) so I couldn't afford to replace it, at £300 a piece.. I knew that I could get a 8 foot lighting set for that price. So I decided to go for freshwater lights (actually ended up spending £550 on the lights)
so fast forward 6 months to present time. I've noticed that my reds stems have stopped growing. My greens are very dark, Even brown, the reds, oranges, purples have all stopped coming through. Very slow growth rate. Also, except maybe for few green stems I have in the background.

The lights I have now are full spectrum.Fresh water lights, they are specified for plant growth.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has ever run. Reef lights on their aquarium and switched to freshwater lights.I feel like I have majorly downgraded. My aquarium lighting, it's just not the same as it used to be nowhere near as vibrant. Like of said before the growth rate has pretty much stopped.

All parameters are in check also.
I'm guessing you just can't beat reef lighting!
Let me know what you think guys!

 

[hypnogogia]

I suspect the the PAR from your reef lights was much higher than the lights you have now, thus slower growth.

 

[oreo57]

Ok not sure if this has been discussed here, if it has... i can't find it 😅

Anyway I use to run x4 reef lights on my 8 foot freshwater tank, I noticed very early on my plants were growing very well and bringing out colours ive never seen in some plants!
My red stems were growing so fast I had to cut them In half once every 2 weeks! I had oranges reds purples yellows all coming out of all different types of my plants

So 6 months ago, one of my 4 reef lights went out, (blown) so I couldn't afford to replace it, at £300 a piece.. I knew that I could get a 8 foot lighting set for that price. So I decided to go for freshwater lights (actually ended up spending £550 on the lights)
so fast forward 6 months to present time. I've noticed that my reds stems have stopped growing. My greens are very dark, Even brown, the reds, oranges, purples have all stopped coming through. Very slow growth rate. Also, except maybe for few green stems I have in the background.

The lights I have now are full spectrum.Fresh water lights, they are specified for plant growth.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has ever run. Reef lights on their aquarium and switched to freshwater lights.I feel like I have majorly downgraded. My aquarium lighting, it's just not the same as it used to be nowhere near as vibrant. Like of said before the growth rate has pretty much stopped.

All parameters are in check also.
I'm guessing you just can't beat reef lighting!
Let me know what you think guys!

Between many reef lights have 90 degree vs 1290 degree iensing, generally higher par per unit and a heavily weighted unti the higher energy blue light band it's nut surprising you could move backwards.
Depends on which light and how you set them up if spectrum adjustable and dimmable.

The heavy blue intensity can stimulate some morphology changes and pigment production and ratios.
With enough blue stems have a tendency to have shorter internodes and more pinnatified leaves with plants like water wystera.

Lights like the ai prime freshwater are just reef lights of another color.

You also may be going through a reacclimation phase due to a major change in spectrum.

I've run lights where I adjusted the spectrum to a more reef like look. Observed the above minus the color changes since all my plants were basic green. With enough photons I got some bronzing out of them at lower depths than usual.
Didn't particularly like the look so shifted the spectrum.


🙂