Light

The light requirements of a tank are simple once the decision is made, of what plants will be grown.  There are low light plants, medium light plants and high light plants. The amount of light in a tank is normally measured by watts litter but it is said that the best way is to measure LUX per litter. It is more accurate but also more difficult to understand so we will go with the first measurement which is straight forward. The planted aquarium is all about measurements and approximations and in this case a good approximation will do the job just fine.

The low light plants have very low or almost no need of an artificial light source. Anything between 0.2-0.4 watts per litter is adequate for this type of plants. Many such plants have been known to grow in tanks where the sun casts some light on them and sometimes the tank is not even in direct sunlight. These are generally slow growing plants and are mostly used in low maintenance tanks where not much time or money is needed to be spent. Low light plants also require minimal fertilization which might even not be necessary if the tank is well stocked with well fed fish which will provide this fertilization.

Medium light requirement plants need approximately 0.5 watts per litter. This does not mean that they can’t be kept with high light plants since it will just affect them in growing shorter in some cases of foreground plants or grow faster in other cases. On the other hand it is not advised to be kept with low light plants since they will not have adequate light to grow healthy.

High light requirement plants can survive with 0.6 watts pet litter and higher. However, too much light causes algae and therefore 1 watt per litter can be said to be the maximum limit for light intensity in an aquarium. When considering such a high light intensity then you must be prepared to dose fertilizers and trim your plants regularly. To ensure the luxurious and healthy growth of the plants you must ensure that the conditions are favorable. The injection of CO2 in the aquarium is common with such light intensity since plants with such light requirements are difficult to maintain and all necessary factors need to be present in the aquarium.