Lighting - Shoal Grass

[[17]shawn[17]]

Okay folks i'm currently keeping shoal grass in a 5.5gal under a Chihiros LED (A-SERIES) from what I can tell this is a 8000k light. I'm also dosing nutrients and CO2, growth is moderate.

All the information I'm finding on shoal grass is from back in the day of Fluorescents and most people kept it under 6500k lamps I've also found documentation that 250-400lux is ideal... jumping ahead to modern time now that most of our tanks are lit by LED I'm wondering if anyone has tried different wavelengths?

on my Chihiros LED (A-SERIES) I can swap out the rigid led strips with ones from Ebay giving me lots of flexibility for dialing in the right spectrum for growth, I've already swapped one of the 3 white strips for a blue to make it look a bit more pleasing.. now im wondering if I should replace one of the other 8000k whites for a Red/Blue "grow" strip or maybe just switch both 8000k to 6500k... so many options

cheers

 

[Speaker73]

Any pictures?

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Michael Hoaster]

It would be fun to play around with different spectrums to see what works for you. I like daylight 6500k myself for display. The grow light spectrum works too but may be too pink for a natural looking display. See what you come up with!

 

[[17]shawn[17]]

a slight update, I put a very small USB powered grow light over my tank last night... I observed bubble formation on blades of grass that have been inactive for a few days - this leads me to believe im onto something.

I've ordered a 12v 5630 2red:4blue led strip to add to my light - replacing the center blue strip. hopefully the small addition of red spectrum will give things a kick without making the tank too pink

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Cool beans! I love the idea of DIY custom tailoring lights for specific organisms. It sounds like you're onto something. Keep us informed!

 

[[17]shawn[17]]

A little update, I added a "grow" 3red:1blue strip amongst my two white strips, it gives the tank an ever so slightly red tint but growth had taken off!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Glad to hear it! Sounds like your shoal grass is happy! Pics?

 

[[17]shawn[17]]

I can't seem to figure out how to upload photos from my phone...let's see if this works

Glad to hear it! Sounds like your shoal grass is happy! Pics?

 

[Michael Hoaster]

It worked! Looks good!