Lighting with 18W Aquazonic "Super Bright Extendable LED Light Freshwater 50cm"

[clsh]

Hi guys,

Its my first attempt at setting up an aquarium..
Bought this Aquazonic "Super Bright Extendable LED Light Freshwater 50cm" 18W on impulse from Qianhu..

I have been reading up the forum and know that lighting is divided into low, mid and high categories.
I think.. my setup belongs to low category with this LED light on a 50cm (Length) x 34cm x 34cm tank, with filled with 4cm thick of aquasoil.
Can some expert help to confirm this...? Thanks in advance..

Currently, i have some java fern windelov in my tank... for about 5 days... still in the "new tank" fishless cycling process..
Light was kept on for 6~8 hrs everyday. No abnormalities so far... keeping my fingers crossed..

May i know if this LED lighting is enough for dwarf baby tears ?
I am aware of slow growth for weak lighting and absence of CO2 setup.. i am fine with that..

Any advise is appreciated.

Thanks!

[Urban Aquaria]

I haven't used that particular light model before, but just based on wattage i'd probably consider it as low-medium level lighting for a tank of your dimensions and height.

As for whether it can grow HC, well... it might be possible, but without Co2 injection, the growth rate will usually be super slow. The main challenge would be to prevent algae overtaking the HC before they can grow out, and that can take many many months.

In most low tech tanks, people will usually be staring at their patches of HC week after week still looking sparse, then eventually just end up removing them.

You could try planting Monte Carlo (aka MC) instead, the leaves are larger than HC but they have a similar look. MC is more adaptable and much easier to grow in low-tech tanks.

[clsh]

Hi Aquaria,

Thanks for the info and recommendations!
Will definitely take a look at MC instead.