whats the blue light do?

[Lauren]

The new old aquairum I got has a regular bulb and a blue bulb. What is the blue light for?

Also, with wisteria, how do I make it act as a ground cover? One of them has a healthy bunch growing up about an inch or two off the ground. Do I just move this over and plant it again without cutting it?

thanks.

[midiamin]

The blue bulb has a certain spectrum of light tha all life needs and certain fishes, plants and corals love. We get it from the sun and it is no so obvious. Because of light is less the deeper you go you need a strong light to provide it properly.

[Lauren]

So when should I use the blue light/

[buddha_red]

i thought it was for coral reef only. I havent been using mine because ive been told more than once plants dont use it.

is this wrong?

[Harlock]

Nope, blue is actinic usually and is for corals. Just replace the blue bulb with the proper watt clear/white bulb. Sometimes the blue light can lead to algae problems. As for Wisteria as ground cover, I have never even heard of anyone trying. After having had Wisteria for a month now, I don't see how you could contain it to the ground. Mine grows out like crazy.

[Lauren]

my lfs uses wisteria as a ground cover in their display tank.

[Signus]

That must take some intensive pruning to get that effect!

[Harlock]

That must take some intensive pruning to get that effect!
No joke! I can't imagine it. If you look at my link in my sig, the biggest plants you see are Wisteria that I got a month ago that were only 6 inches tall with only emersed growth. Now they are behemoths!

[Leopardess]

It is a combination of pruning and luck. I have wisteria growing horizontally atm in a 125g that only has >1wpg...but I have it growing vertically in 3 wpg. Go figure:)

In a larger tank, you can simulate ground cover by propogation nice top portions and replanting the tops next to each other. When they get too tall, just trim the stem and keep the bushy part. That is what I did in my 55g. There are some pics perhaps on my website....I can't remember if there is a ground shot.

Blue is not really useful to you; replace it with a lower K light.

[Harlock]

It is a combination of pruning and luck. I have wisteria growing horizontally atm in a 125g that only has >1wpg...but I have it growing vertically in 3 wpg. Go figure:)

In a larger tank, you can simulate ground cover by propogation nice top portions and replanting the tops next to each other. When they get too tall, just trim the stem and keep the bushy part. That is what I did in my 55g. There are some pics perhaps on my website....I can't remember if there is a ground shot.

Blue is not really useful to you; replace it with a lower K light.
Ooof, sounds like a lot of work to me ;) I'd just buy some crypts or glosso or dwarf sag or... something.

[Leopardess]

Depends on the conditions you grow it in. In the 55g, at the bottom, where it is shaded, it does not grow quickly at all. I probably had to prune that once a month...and because difformis' tops are so large, you only end up having a few stems to cut because of the surface area they cover. In that set up, its ultimately less tediosu than replanting a small bunch of indica in my 10g.

I also do not dose any fertilizers in that tank and I doubt the co2 levels get up above 10 ppm on average. It just depends on the application, I think.

[Lauren]

if it doesn't work as ground cover, I'll just move it towards the back and let it grow. We will see. I have some nice drift wood, I'll try planting it under the branches to see if it works like that.

[Paul Trow]

When the train, it left the station, with two lights on behind
When the train, it left the station, with two lights on behind
Well, the blue light was my blues, and the red light was my mind

Robert Johnson

[Harlock]

While Robert Johnson is one of the greatest bluesmen and likely the most influential on modern blues/rock guitar I fail to see what he has to do with aquarium lighting. In the FWIW department I know none of us wants to wake up and have the "Dead Shrimp Blues".