# Lighting a new tank



## Anafranil (Mar 15, 2005)

I started my new 65G tank a couple of days ago and I am increasing lighting day by day until I reach 2x38w daylight and 2x54w red/blue.How fast should I increase the lights?

thanks,

PSo you consider this as a decent amount of light for the tank's volume?


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

IMO, it would be best to add all the light at once from day one._ Is there a reason you are adding light day by day?_

From my caculations you have 2.83WPG; if normal flourescents bulbs. This is a good amount of light, I considered medium lighting.

_Do you have plans for C02 injection_?


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## Anafranil (Mar 15, 2005)

I've done some biology on plants back in college and I learnt that if you expose a plant that was in dim enviroment suddenly in bright light you are burning its chloroplsts and in fact the plants try to coat the chloroplasts but if they don't make it in time they start loosing them.


PS:I am sure this is the case :^o


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## stcyrwm (Apr 20, 2005)

When you studied these plants what symptoms would show up on the plants in this situation?

Bill


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

That's interesting... I'm no biologist not even close, so I can't dispute this or agree with it. Hopefully someone else will have better input on this.



Anafranil said:


> I've done some biology on plants back in college and I learnt that if you expose a plant that was in dim enviroment suddenly in bright light you are burning its chloroplsts and in fact the plants try to coat the chloroplasts but if they don't make it in time they start loosing them.
> 
> PS:I am sure this is the case :^o


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

It is true that different plants will have different physiology. The same can be said about the aquatic plants. And it is precisely this reason that, in my opinion, should not make any difference in terms of whether you add all the light from day one or in a progressive manner. Remember now that many plants we keep in our tanks come from a wide range of natural habitats and/or from nurseries all over the world. This, coupled with the fact that if you plant each type of plants according to their lighting requirements(ie:low light plants shaded by high light plants), you won't have to worry about burning their chlorophylls or what not. Take also into consideration the fact that your light bulbs will diminish in their intensity over time and this will also affect the growth rate of different types of plants. If you have strong or lots of light in the beginning, high light plants will thrive more than the low light plants(when you make the growth comparison, that is). Over time, as the intensity of light bulbs diminishes, high light plants will take their time while the lower light plants will have their chance. This is one reason why some people find it necessary to replace their bulbs in higher frequency, while others have a lighting combination set on a timer that turns them on in a sequence. This works because it simulates the natural cycle of lighting plants receive in the wild; from dim, morning light of the dawn to the concentrated mid-day sun to the milder, afternoon shine. And still other people progressively increase the lighting as they either gain more plants or as the plants become more robust in growth rate. I really think this would be a fun experiment for you to try. You can come back and tell us whether this increase in lighting did in fact affect how your plants grow and develop. Why not try two tanks; one with progressive lighting amount and the other with all lighting from the beginning. That would be your variable. Your control would be the plants; same number and type of plants in each tank. If you lack the resources perhaps you could get some donation from other people here at APC Hope this helped.


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## david lim (Mar 30, 2004)

Anafranil said:


> I started my new 65G tank a couple of days ago and I am increasing lighting day by day until I reach 2x38w daylight and 2x54w red/blue.How fast should I increase the lights?
> 
> thanks,
> 
> PSo you consider this as a decent amount of light for the tank's volume?


I'm assuming that you're using t5 HO lights? Are you using the suntek systems? If so then this should be considered closer to the high lit area, IMO. You should be able to grow a great deal of plants with this setup. What is the red/blue (4000k/actinic?).

For the studies:
What is the time frame that these studies conducted from dim light to high light? What type of lighting did they use to simulate the effects? Although I also took plant courses in college I don't remember a discussion about this, so, like trenac, I wouldn't know. But from personal experience I expose my plants to a 250W MH in under 30 seconds from complete darkness to full light daily and they seem to be fine. Another note to keep in mind is that many physiological characteristics of aquatic plants and terrestrial plants differ. All in all though I wouldn't worry about. Blast away with the bulbs! :0).


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

The best summation of answer to your doubts and questions:



david lim said:


> Blast away with the bulbs! :0).


Haha, I KNEW you would say something like this, D!


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