# Blue led light is it harmful to plants



## mrkevinpinto83

Hi friends I'm new to set up a planted tank I have an aquarium bout 750 liters with two heater each side at 30degree C 2 external filter Ex 2400 tetra co2 set up with 5-7 bps with a ceramic diffuser at one side Eco planted sand light 8 nos T8 25W running during the day 12 blue led bulb running at night, I had been told by my pet store that blue lights are not good for fresh water planted aquarium I'm not sure how far it's true 
im not happy with the growth of my plants 
please friends need some help where I'm lacking 
water condition is ok no algae growth


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## AnAppleSnail

That's some big stinking nonsense. However, I find that plants and fish both benefit from a 'night cycle' to suppress algae. Low light gives algae an edge over plants, in many cases. If your water and plants are happy, keep right along. If they become unhappy, it's probably something else.

Note: If your aquarium lights aren't quite powerful (lighting the room well enough to walk easily), they won't even grow algae. Blue lights don't really do 'em much good...why not use a dim white so it's prettier at night?


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## mrkevinpinto83

*Is blue led light ok during night for fresh water planted aquarium*

Hi I'm having an aquarium of 750 liter the co2 is connected to one ceramic diffuser at one side at 5 bps I feel that the co2 is still not enough in the tank 
The ph is 6.5 when co2 is working,when off it goes to 7.3 
Why is the ph not remaining stable
My light 2 halide 150 w 20000 k
8 25w from ADA k ? Working during day and 12 blue led during night,I had been told that blue light is harmful for plants 
Sand is Eco planted 
FISHES
Discus. 8
Neon tetra. 35
Cory. 5
Platy. 12
Guppy. 10
Black Molly. 4
Filter tetra ex2400 and dolphin 1000
Running with carbon,ceramic,sponge& black peat 
Please let me know what I'm missing to have a planted tank beautiful 
water temp 30
Plants
Anubias
Cabomba
mattogrossense 'Red'
Pogostemon erectus
Vallisneria

please need help you can mail me also at [email protected]


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## mrkevinpinto83

Thank you because the pet shop here in Kuwait always gives wrong advise


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## AnAppleSnail

*Re: Is blue led light ok during night for fresh water planted aquarium*

CO2 is acidic in water. There will be a natural variation as you change the CO2 levels in the tank. How have you chosen your CO2 levels? You are correct to turn it off at night, but this seems like a drastic change. PlantedTankForums has a lot of ADA gurus that may be of more help than I can be.


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## mrkevinpinto83

*Re: Is blue led light ok during night for fresh water planted aquarium*



AnAppleSnail said:


> CO2 is acidic in water. There will be a natural variation as you change the CO2 levels in the tank. How have you chosen your CO2 levels? You are correct to turn it off at night, but this seems like a drastic change. PlantedTankForums has a lot of ADA gurus that may be of more help than I can be.


Thank you


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## kwak

*Re: Is blue led light ok during night for fresh water planted aquarium*

Been using 2 rows of blue LED's for about 10 years on my planted tank and if not had any problem with algae before or after.


I tried CO2 for around 8 months but found that:
a/ My plants grew way to quickly i was having to trim twice weekly
b/ It was difficult to get the aquarium consistent and balanced, if upped the CO2 to help the plants i'd see the fish gasping at the surface, if i turned it right down it would be ok for a few days then the plants wouldn't grow as well.
c/ I got very tired of messing about with ferts.

So it no doubt gave me fantastic growth as far as the plants are concerned but i just found it way more work than i had the time or effort to put in.
Now i have a lot less light, i change my water once or twice a year, the plants are good enough for me and the fish look happy.


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## AnAppleSnail

*Re: Is blue led light ok during night for fresh water planted aquarium*

In my experience, you always need balance. Everything in the tank is limited by the one thing that is 'scarce.' So if you had a one-plant tank full of Water Wisteria with tons of nutrients, CO2, but not enough light, the plants will stunt and die until they match the light supply. Scarcities let undesirable things crop up, though. The extra nutrients and CO2 in my example will feed algae, which can use lower light levels than my water wisteria. No amount of algae-killing chemicals or nutrient changes will really kill off the algae until I adjust the light to be in balance. I could use brighter lights or a longer photoperiod.

Some people get too much of all the nutrients. In this case, you need to pick one to control (Light and CO2 are cheap to reduce) and remove the rest of the excess by water changes. Most algae growth comes from an imbalance in light, and reducing light reduces plant activity. An established plant population has a leg up on new algae. This is why many people tell you to start with heavy planting.

I maintain acceptable balance in my tanks, so that algae slowly fills in on the acrylic hex. I plan to move to more-frequent water changes so that my excess nutrients are removed before they can feed an algae population. Good luck with your tank!


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