Chihiros WRGB II settings at initial planting/acclimation vs. established system

[ample]

I know that Chihiros lighting settings have been discussed here before, but wanted to get some detailed input.

I just received my WRGB II 10th edition 45cm for a UNS 45T and will be planting soon with the following:

Ludwigia arcuata
Java fern trident
Anubias nana petite
Buce lamandau mini purple
Mini pellia
Weeping/Christmas moss
Crypt parva
AR mini
S. repens
Persicaria Sao Paulo

All plants will be from another hobbyist in submersed grown state except for the buce.

Tank is fully cycled and will be running with CO2. For now I’m using the included legs for the light but will be purchasing a Liti Aquaria hanging kit once it’s back in stock.

Ultimately I will probably have the light running at around 50% power because they’re not particularly PAR-hungry. But should I go even lower during the initial setup and acclimation period to reduce melt and algae, or does it not make a significant difference? I intend to keep the photo period short initially, around 6 hours.

I also can’t seem to find a definitive answer on whether changing the RGB or Kelvin channels is purely aesthetic or not.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

I'd highly recommend the Photone app for checking PAR, and purchase the Cosine diffuser attachment. It's the cheapest way to accurately check your PAR levels.

Your plants are simply not light demanding at all, and you'd be surprised just how much PAR modern LED fixtures put out.

I would genuinely start with your lights set to ~25% for the first week, and slowly raise them by 5-10% each week. If you can, I'd also measure your PAR at/near your substrate level. Aim for ~50-60 PAR at the substrate and you'll be able to grow 90% of all aquarium plants no problem (with CO2 and ferts, of course.)

 

[CincyScaper]

I have the same light in the 60 cm version for my 60x40x40 tank. Strongly recommend the Photone app. I was at a PAR of 100 or more at 60-70% lighting. I now have it at about 30% with 50 PAR at the substrate with great growth with lean dosing that you can read in my journal. I would recommend erring on the side of lower PAR most of the times.

 

[CincyScaper]

I also can’t seem to find a definitive answer on whether changing the RGB or Kelvin channels is purely aesthetic or not.

Aesthetic - Lighting

Lot of great articles by Dennis

 

[Pepere]

Pretty much when the lighting is aesthetically pleasing you are getting plenty of all the wavelengths.

Tweaking a channel one way or the other adjusting color isnt going to be noticeable on plant growth or algae.

I get a kick out of people with low grade lights turning their blue channel to next to nothing convinced it drives algae growth. On budget WRGB lights, 90% of the power comes from the white lights. The RGB channels are mostly there as a gimmick and has minimal PAR. At bestthey allow minor tweaking of color rendering…

People have no clue how much blue light is coming through on their White Channel…

If I only ran Red and Green, and no blue channels on my Chihiros or Week Aqua I would have deep Orange light which nobody would want to use for viewing pleasure…