@BigJohnny -- I do a lot of tutoring and I've noticed I'm reliant on alluding to things -- people seem to grasp a concept much better when they're left to connect the dots. In text based conversations, this is HORRIBLE.. So i'll try and clarify what I was alluding to more directly.
If you're adding stronger light to make your chaeto work, than you've "hit a wall", and it's at it's biological peak in terms of it's environment from a water chemistry standpoint -- Now before you say it, yes, this is a DUH statement or else you wouldn't be wanting to upgrade the light -- Now we can adjust this by augmenting our environment in more than one way. One method is improving light, as it helps with photosynthesis. But what I'm trying to say is your chaeto is at it's maximum efficiency already. The gains from increasing light are going to be minuscule -- this is from experience with friends who've expected upgrading their fuge light to solve everything in the world, while all it did is cause an increase in pH by 0.1 or so. And I'm not talking a small upgrade, i'm talking about going from cheapy LED home depot liths to multiple horticulture LED's like kessil, or T5 lighting, and in one case, Halide.... It didn't change nearly as much as they expected.
Why didn't it? -- because their chaeto was already at it's maximum efficiency and was being restricted by it's water chemistry (lack of nutrients).
Now this isn't a bad thing, and min-maxing can have a huge impact when you are looking at doing this with ALL equipment in the tank, and not looking at just one piece of equipment.
So as food for thought -- When you go from a cheapy walmart light to a kessil h350 and see negligible difference, BUT, go from no3 of 2, to an no3 of 25 and see an explosion of chaeto growth and health -- It should give one pause to think.
In essence, I'm saying it's MORE likely that your chaeto is being restricted by water chemistry, than simply by lacking lighting.
Again, I'm not saying you're wrong @BigJohnny -- Not at all. but I am saying in this hobby, people tend to look at something from a polarized perspective, rather than the parallax which biology truly gives us. I hope that makes sense.
If you're adding stronger light to make your chaeto work, than you've "hit a wall", and it's at it's biological peak in terms of it's environment from a water chemistry standpoint -- Now before you say it, yes, this is a DUH statement or else you wouldn't be wanting to upgrade the light -- Now we can adjust this by augmenting our environment in more than one way. One method is improving light, as it helps with photosynthesis. But what I'm trying to say is your chaeto is at it's maximum efficiency already. The gains from increasing light are going to be minuscule -- this is from experience with friends who've expected upgrading their fuge light to solve everything in the world, while all it did is cause an increase in pH by 0.1 or so. And I'm not talking a small upgrade, i'm talking about going from cheapy LED home depot liths to multiple horticulture LED's like kessil, or T5 lighting, and in one case, Halide.... It didn't change nearly as much as they expected.
Why didn't it? -- because their chaeto was already at it's maximum efficiency and was being restricted by it's water chemistry (lack of nutrients).
Now this isn't a bad thing, and min-maxing can have a huge impact when you are looking at doing this with ALL equipment in the tank, and not looking at just one piece of equipment.
So as food for thought -- When you go from a cheapy walmart light to a kessil h350 and see negligible difference, BUT, go from no3 of 2, to an no3 of 25 and see an explosion of chaeto growth and health -- It should give one pause to think.
In essence, I'm saying it's MORE likely that your chaeto is being restricted by water chemistry, than simply by lacking lighting.
Again, I'm not saying you're wrong @BigJohnny -- Not at all. but I am saying in this hobby, people tend to look at something from a polarized perspective, rather than the parallax which biology truly gives us. I hope that makes sense.