VR6FAN asked: Hello there! Read your pothos thread and wanted to thank you for the help...and a question...I have my 180 close to a sliding glass door so it's getting some indirect light...I noticed you have lights on your plants....I have a 3 watt led and was wondering how long I should have it on for..I know they are low light plants just wondering how long to have my light on or if it's even necessary...thanks for your help! Mark
-Answer- If you have decent ambient lighting that brightens up the room then additional light is not mandatory, however, extra artificial light to a degree can speed up the growth potential and process just like any photosynthetic plant matter! The consensus seems to add low/med artificial lighting to the plant to help it grow faster and consume more nitrates and this over the course of the Sticky has definitely been proven!
There may be other attributes that added light in the appropriate spectrums can benefit pothos, such as:
-quicker acclimation period
-less chance of dying out during acclimation and thereafter
-larger stems and leaves
-a longer and thicker root mass
-adjustment to a higher Bio load (more waste needs more energy from the plant)
-possibly more....?
Florescent lighting is usually the cheapest and most accessible method, but leds in the right spectrum can exceed Watt/Watt vs florescent bulbs thus concluding less power used to get the same effect! Both warm light and cool white light provide the appropriate color temps (Kelvin) to mock a plants "vegatative" growth stage, and since pothos is a type of ivy that doesn't flower or start from a seedling this is all that is needed to fullfill its needs for life! Although Florescent bulbs achieve their color renditions thru the use of gas such as mercury so after about a year they need to be replaced, leds on the other hand don't lose their spectral output until they burn out, which can be 6+ years!
As long as your current leds are in the range of 4000k(orange like) to 7000k(blue/green like) spectrum pothos will have no trouble soaking up the rays! Cool white provides mostly blue/green/very little red and will be fine for pothos but since plants use red/blue/green/yellow in that order (yellow is not needed & green is reflected) you may achieve better results using a warm white light bulb in combination with a cool white bulb to increase the red side of the spectrum thus balancing out a full spectrum and more accurately replicating the suns natural cycle. Depending on the intensity of your "ambient light" you may already have plenty of red, therefore I would start with 5000k-7k. More information on plant lighting:
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G6515
A few pointers when 1st starting your Pothos endeavor:
-get all the soil off, especially those pesky white pieces!
-rinse, rinse and rinse! Try to keep the water temp close to room temp!
-rinse some more! Not in the bathtub
-trim the roots about 1.5-2" with a pair of scissors
-keep artificial lighting to 14-16 hours/day turning on with "dusk."
-obviously a cheap outlet timer will be handy!
-keep the artificial lighting from shining on roots as best as possible
-NEVER expose plant to temps below 55°F, this will kill/brown leaves!
All in all if you get your plant off to a good start with stable conditions its more likely that it will adjust/acclimatize to your tank faster, anywhere from 2-4 weeks is the "norm" to start reading nitrate reduction and see noticeable growth. If you have any other questions I'm sure one of us will have the answer, so feel free to ask and please post the project when you finish!
*BTW* if you don't already have a nitrate test kit I highly recommend purchasing one such as API or Serra brand. This is due to the fact your water change schedule will need tweaking as the plant grows and absorbs the nitrates! Find out what your Bio load peak is (what your nitrates max out @) and shoot to never exceed 30-40ppm nitrates! Right now you may have to do 50% wc 1x per week to stay at a comfortable range but hopefully in 4 weeks a percentage of your waste will be consumed by the plant, therefore you can reduce the amount of water you replace or the frequency at which you replace! Mine went from 1x 50-60% wc every 5-7 days to currently 1x 40-50% wc every 12-14 days so I just round them to weeks; resulting in nearly a 50-55% decrease in nitrates even with the added growth and for the 1st 4-6 months test every week and before/after a wc to determine consumption & target n03ppm levels(max & min) Keeping in mind your fish will grow like mine and if they stay in the same size tank your bio load will also increase, so testing even after the 4-6month mark is recommended because certain batches of Pothos can have rare but insane gene characteristics that can produce 2' leaves and outrageous growth and even flowers (which is not at all likely to happen in a home, but who knows!)
**My overall point is this plant not only decreases waste byproducts in aquariums, but it also teaches the hobbyist a very valuable boat load of statistical information on nitrate reduction/bio load management and overall reassurance of good/controlled/consistent water quality which all adds up to: healthier fish, less water consumption, less money to heat the water, better air quality and more time gained to enjoy the little things in life, all for around 10-20$!
Sorry if I over answered your question :beer:
×Go S. Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 4x WDC!!! Congrats on another flawless title×
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Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763 
