# PC65W - enough for L. glandulosa?



## PaulNorth (Jan 17, 2009)

Hope this is the right place, though it might be specific to one of my plant species.

I have a 65W PC, hung about 6" over my 20H. EI, Injected CO2, Koralia nano, and Fluval 205 (goosed), so I get good circulation. Lighting 10 hours per day, CO2 on 1 hour before, at each end of the lighting period. The bulb is less than 2 months old.

I should add that on micro days, I used to dose Flourish iron, along with Flourish comprehensive. A recent problem with restocking the tank - went to all cardinals, for my top swimmers, and lost a lot of them upfront - led me to forego iron separate dosing, esp. as the Comprehensive has a good amount (at least when compared to TMG, apparently). As Tom Barr prefers either Flourish or TMG over CSM+B, and, well, I've relied on his expertise a good deal, and I've also read of some folks trouble with algae and CSM+B, I've continued with the Flourish for micros/traces. I also seem to recall reading somewhere on the Barr Report that the issue of iron and red coloring, at least, is overrated. I admit I might have completely missed it, but this is my recollection.

At any rate, little algae, most plants doing very well, but my foreground parva isn't doing much of anything, and my recent L. glandulosa is dropping leaves, and getting an odd green/red bandedness to the leaves left. I've read on the APC plantfinder that this can be a problem with glandulosa, even under good circumstances, but I love this plant and would like it to thrive.

A representative pic of the tank, the glandulosa, and a leaf detail:


























(I've recently moved the glandulosa to the back, on advice from a member at TPT - the lower-stem leaf drop really was turning unsightly).

I've thought to lower the PC/mount it on coralife legs (2-3" above surface), but as it's a Coralife, reflectors are poor (wish I knew a mere couple of months ago what I have learned here and on TPT), and lowering it just kills the coverage.

My question is: does this seem like an inadequate lighting issue, and adding another 1x65W on top would be a responsive cure, or is something else coming to members' minds?

Basically, with a PC giving an estimated 80 mmols at the substrate, is this enough for high-light demand plants?


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

I have similar lighting (2 x 65 "Current Satellite" PC over a 48" tank) and the L. glandulosa I had grew, but had almost no color (green and murky green). 

My hunch is that this plant needs very high light to have the good red color. I've seen it in raod ditches where I work with good color, but it's getting full sun there, while other red plants (mermaid weed) are red in dappled forest canopy/shade.

-Dave


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## PaulNorth (Jan 17, 2009)

davemonkey said:


> I have similar lighting (2 x 65 "Current Satellite" PC over a 48" tank) and the L. glandulosa I had grew, but had almost no color (green and murky green).
> 
> My hunch is that this plant needs very high light to have the good red color. I've seen it in raod ditches where I work with good color, but it's getting full sun there, while other red plants (mermaid weed) are red in dappled forest canopy/shade.
> 
> -Dave


Unfortunately, that's what I suspected as well, hoping to have been dissuaded from my hunch, hoping to avoid the need for additional lighting. I'm thinking of just adding another 1x65W, or going with a 2x24W T5HO. Or losing the plant.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I had the same problem in my 20H with 65w (used the satellite legs so ~2" above the tank). The L glandulosa was directly under the light and a muddy reddish-green and kinda leggy. It's thriving in my 20L directly under a double T5 fixture, nice red, short distance between the nodes and the leaves are wider. Tanks are set up about the same otherwise (substrate, glutaraldehyde, etc).


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## PaulNorth (Jan 17, 2009)

cs_gardener said:


> I had the same problem in my 20H with 65w (used the satellite legs so ~2" above the tank). The L glandulosa was directly under the light and a muddy reddish-green and kinda leggy. It's thriving in my 20L directly under a double T5 fixture, nice red, short distance between the nodes and the leaves are wider. Tanks are set up about the same otherwise (substrate, glutaraldehyde, etc).


So far, it seems they've rebounded - no more drop, leaves picking red back up. I wonder if that's because I bought the plant already quite tall - the top leaves are breaking the surface, now. But I am also considering the Catalina Solar 2 x 24W T5HO, $100, so you're experience is really helpful. Thanks. What's your fixture?


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

For my 20L I have a Coralife T5 fixture with 2 18w bulbs at the front of the tank and a regular T8 fixture with a crappy homemade reflector and 2 17w(?) bulbs in the back. The L. glandulosa is mostly under the Coralife fixture and gets the better light. 

I moved the L glandulosa I had in the 20H to the 20L just a couple days ago to make a bigger grouping of it and the difference in the plants was quite noticeable. The higher light definitely makes for a richer red and more compact growth.


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## PaulNorth (Jan 17, 2009)

cs_gardener said:


> For my 20L I have a Coralife T5 fixture with 2 18w bulbs at the front of the tank and a regular T8 fixture with a crappy homemade reflector and 2 17w(?) bulbs in the back. The L. glandulosa is mostly under the Coralife fixture and gets the better light.
> 
> I moved the L glandulosa I had in the 20H to the 20L just a couple days ago to make a bigger grouping of it and the difference in the plants was quite noticeable. The higher light definitely makes for a richer red and more compact growth.


Another thing I've thought about (since doing this for my 10 gallon NPT) is possibly just buying a couple 27W spiral CFL as spots over my red plants, at 5500K. $7 for 2 bulbs, totally inefficient, but might be worth the experiment - a kind of poor man's MH spot.

Or, just bagging CF altogether, and going with where I'm leaning anyway, 2x24W T5HO.


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