What light intensity should I choose?

[SomeDudeAtHome]

Hi everyone, been a long time since I was on here (prior to the layout change) and it seems my old account is no longer saved but this is the same user name I had last time.

Anyway, I just bought a new Nicrew ClassicLED Plus light. This is my first time using LED and I'm not sure what intensity to set it at. It previously had a fluorescent bulb that comes with the typical kind of starter kit. The tank is 10g and low tech. Currently the plants are Anubias, Dwarf Sag, Crypt Wendtii, a couple moss balls and will soon have S. Repens. I have Seachem root tabs in around the dwarf sag and crypt and also dose with Seachems flourish after each water change.

The plants are still adjusting to the new tank since it's only been set up for a little over a week but I'm seeing new growth on almost everything. The pamphlet that came with the light says there's 6 intensities to choose from. 1, 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100%. Given that I'm not using and Co2 or anything I think 100 would be overkill but maybe needed for the S. Repens? I don't want to have tons of algae though from too much light. Would it be best to start at 60% and go from there? Any insight is appreciated since this is my first time using an LED. My previous tanks all had fluorescent lights. Thanks!

PS- is the moonlight setting worth using? I have a timer set to 10 hours but would the moonlight setting be more beneficial to the plants or any fish vs just turning off?

 

[Yohance1130]

Hi everyone, been a long time since I was on here (prior to the layout change) and it seems my old account is no longer saved but this is the same user name I had last time.

Anyway, I just bought a new Nicrew ClassicLED Plus light. This is my first time using LED and I'm not sure what intensity to set it at. It previously had a fluorescent bulb that comes with the typical kind of starter kit. The tank is 10g and low tech. Currently the plants are Anubias, Dwarf Sag, Crypt Wendtii, a couple moss balls and will soon have S. Repens. I have Seachem root tabs in around the dwarf sag and crypt and also dose with Seachems flourish after each water change.

The plants are still adjusting to the new tank since it's only been set up for a little over a week but I'm seeing new growth on almost everything. The pamphlet that came with the light says there's 6 intensities to choose from. 1, 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100%. Given that I'm not using and Co2 or anything I think 100 would be overkill but maybe needed for the S. Repens? I don't want to have tons of algae though from too much light. Would it be best to start at 60% and go from there? Any insight is appreciated since this is my first time using an LED. My previous tanks all had fluorescent lights. Thanks!

PS- is the moonlight setting worth using? I have a timer set to 10 hours but would the moonlight setting be more beneficial to the plants or any fish vs just turning off?

When I had my led light I was too inpatient and turned up the intensity way too quick. I turned it all the way up to 80% when I had newly purchased plants and my tank was covered in string algae from top to bottom it was a mess. Afterwards I turned it all the way down to 40% and have waited a couple months for everything to be balanced and then I would increase it slowly.


I would start at 40 or 50% to prevent any huge amounts of algae to grow since your tank is not established and balanced yet.

After a month of keeping your light intensity at 40 or 50% and there has been minimum amounts of algae and good growth in plants I would increase the lighting by 5-10%.

and keep doing that until you get to your light intensity to your desired preffered level.

Keep in mind that the higher your light intensity is the faster your plants will grow, which means the more fertilizers they will need and the more quicker they will die off if there is a problem.

Also your light intensity does not have to be at 100% in my tank it is at 60% and grows my plants a little above a moderate rate, that is what works for me. For your desired level you will have to experiment with different light intensities to see if it promotes good growth and the plants grow at a rate that is enough for you to handle, it is what works best for you and your tank.

Moon light setting is worth using if you like the way it looks and your around your tank during the time when it is on. Other than that the fish will not be able to sleep properly under the moonlight setting. It can not be turned on all night, only for 1-2 hours before lights are out. In my experience the plants would start to close their leaves as if it was dark and night time when the moonlight setting is turned on. So I do not think it will make a huge difference to your plants.

 

[SomeDudeAtHome]

When I had my led light I was too inpatient and turned up the intensity way too quick. I turned it all the way up to 80% when I had newly purchased plants and my tank was covered in string algae from top to bottom it was a mess. Afterwards I turned it all the way down to 40% and have waited a couple months for everything to be balanced and then I would increase it slowly.


I would start at 40 or 50% to prevent any huge amounts of algae to grow since your tank is not established and balanced yet.

After a month of keeping your light intensity at 40 or 50% and there has been minimum amounts of algae and good growth in plants I would increase the lighting by 5-10%.

and keep doing that until you get to your light intensity to your desired preffered level.

Keep in mind that the higher your light intensity is the faster your plants will grow, which means the more fertilizers they will need and the more quicker they will die off if there is a problem.

Also your light intensity does not have to be at 100% in my tank it is at 60% and grows my plants a little above a moderate rate, that is what works for me. For your desired level you will have to experiment with different light intensities to see if it promotes good growth and the plants grow at a rate that is enough for you to handle, it is what works best for you and your tank.

Moon light setting is worth using if you like the way it looks and your around your tank during the time when it is on. Other than that the fish will not be able to sleep properly under the moonlight setting. It can not be turned on all night, only for 1-2 hours before lights are out. In my experience the plants would start to close their leaves as if it was dark and night time when the moonlight setting is turned on. So I do not think it will make a huge difference to your plants.

Thank you very much for your reply!

Since it's been about 3 weeks since my original post I'll provide a bit of an update. I did exactly what you said you did and not to do and started out at 80% even though I knew better but I liked how bright it was haha. Green algae started taking over the glass and the anubias leaves had a think brown algae on it. I scrapped the glass and rubbed the algae off the anubias and then set the light back to 60%. The algae growth is much slower now.

The dwarf sag is growing really well and is starting to go across the surface of the water. The leaves across the surface are starting to get a long stringy algae which I figure is just from being so close to the light.

The anubias is growing at a typical rate and the brown algae isn't back since lowering the light intensity.

The crypt is doing well and doesn't get a ton of light due to the frogbit but seems happy.

The frogbit is is doing amazing. Throwing a lot away each week during the water changes. It's being held in place by a floating air tube circle.

That brings me to the S. repens which is now adjusted to the tank. It's growing well, sending out new roots like a stem plant should, and grows fast enough I can trim it and put the plantings elsewhere BUT the old lower leaves are getting algae. At first I wasn't sure if these needed root tabs or just the seachem flourish but after a couple weeks I added root tabs around them. I think they're doing better since then but the jury is still out. Do you think 60% intensity with maybe a little coverage for some from the frogbit or dwarf sag is enough light?

My last question would be do you think dosing the flourish 2x between water changes would be a good idea? Once right after and another mid week? If too much light and not enough nutrients is a cause of algae then it would seem adding more nutrients might be the answer. Maybe that's overly simplified based on the type of algae meaning a deficiency in a certain nutrient. Also if it seems to be under control I might not want to change too much.

 

[Yohance1130]

Thank you very much for your reply!

Since it's been about 3 weeks since my original post I'll provide a bit of an update. I did exactly what you said you did and not to do and started out at 80% even though I knew better but I liked how bright it was haha. Green algae started taking over the glass and the anubias leaves had a think brown algae on it. I scrapped the glass and rubbed the algae off the anubias and then set the light back to 60%. The algae growth is much slower now.

The dwarf sag is growing really well and is starting to go across the surface of the water. The leaves across the surface are starting to get a long stringy algae which I figure is just from being so close to the light.

The anubias is growing at a typical rate and the brown algae isn't back since lowering the light intensity.

The crypt is doing well and doesn't get a ton of light due to the frogbit but seems happy.

The frogbit is is doing amazing. Throwing a lot away each week during the water changes. It's being held in place by a floating air tube circle.

That brings me to the S. repens which is now adjusted to the tank. It's growing well, sending out new roots like a stem plant should, and grows fast enough I can trim it and put the plantings elsewhere BUT the old lower leaves are getting algae. At first I wasn't sure if these needed root tabs or just the seachem flourish but after a couple weeks I added root tabs around them. I think they're doing better since then but the jury is still out. Do you think 60% intensity with maybe a little coverage for some from the frogbit or dwarf sag is enough light?

My last question would be do you think dosing the flourish 2x between water changes would be a good idea? Once right after and another mid week? If too much light and not enough nutrients is a cause of algae then it would seem adding more nutrients might be the answer. Maybe that's overly simplified based on the type of algae meaning a deficiency in a certain nutrient. Also if it seems to be under control I might not want to change too much.

No problem.

Im glad all of your plants have been growing really good and are healthy!

I can not really tell you what exactly well work, and the exact intensity needed to grow your plants since there are way too many factors involve within your aquarium that can affect the right intensity. for ex: par of your lighting, amount watts, depth of your tank, fertilizers used, if your light is for medium to low growing plants etc... All those factors make it a really hard to for me to tell you an exact light intensity that will work for your tank.

60% intensity could be enough or may not you have to experiment yourself.

You can try using that intensity for 1 month and just watch your plants and see what happens. If your plant start looking worse and start dying then the intensity might be too low for them or they are not getting enough light. Obviously if the plants are still doing good during the month with the same light intensity than the intensity is fine.

Just make sure your amazon frogbit does not cover too many plants and block out the light from them. The good thing with crypts and dwarf sag is that they can both grow in shaded areas of the aquarium and do not have a high demand for light.

Yea you can dose your flourish comprehensive 2 times a week without any problems, and you can dose it after water changes and mid week no problem. I also dose my flourish 2 times a week.

The cause of algae is actually too much light and too much nutrients.

When there is too much light and nutrients in your aquarium it creates an imbalance in your aquarium. an imbalance is created when the plants in your aquarium can not absorb all the nutrients (caused by overdosing) in the water given to them and the amount of light given to them. When that happens there is an excess of light and nutrients in your aquarium and since your plants are not absorbing all of the nutrients and light, the algae well come in your aquarium by absorbing all of those excess nutrients and light. The more excess light and nutrients present in your aquarium the more algae will grow and take over your tank.

So basically when you see algae in your aquarium that is sign that there is imbalance in your aquarium, it is also a sign that there is too much light, or too many excess nutrients present in your tank. You will have to reduce the light intensity or the amount fertilizers added.

Most of the time the fertilizers will be the culprit since you might not dose the exact amount every time(might dose a little too much by accident) Your light will not be the culprit most of the time since your light intensity is constant and stable and well never change it's intensity unless you change it.

I hope everything goes nice, smoothly, and well!

 

[SomeDudeAtHome]

@Yohance1130 That was all very helpful! Thank you so much!