Effect of Moonlights on Plants

[szidlon]

A question on another forum got the wheels turning in my head.  Yes, that was all the racket earlier.  I mentioned that I thought I had a large algae bloom when I began using moonlights, this would be on low light plants such as Anubias and Java Fern.  These were blue led lights, not the Actinic lights (sp).  It has been suggested that fish don't see the spectrum emitted by moonlights and thus think it's dark.  If that may be the case with fish, would this possibly also apply to plants?
Would that mean that the plants would not get any benefit from moonlights, or do they "see" light differently?  If you have enough CO2, which I don't, would the plants continue to pearl with the limited wattage of moonlights through the night?  Do plants really need the nightly rest to remain healthy?  I probably have more questions, but just don't know it yet   These may be silly questions, but at least one inquiring mind would like to know the answers.

[Mzungu]

Re: Effect of Moonlights on Plants

Well, I'll let you know that I have absolutely no answers for you! I do have an observation/opinion, however. I notice that after about 10 or 11 hours, many of my plants seem to almost close up, like they are done for the day and will come back again tomorrow. The pearling also subsides. This is not at all scientific, but as long as the earth has been around there has been a period of sun followed by a comparable period of darkness, and since plants have been around for quite some time, I would assume that they evolved to take advantage of that? I dunno, just a thought, like I said, I don't have any answers!  :)

[armthehomeless]

Re: Effect of Moonlights on Plants

i wouldn't think that the plants would suffer because the moon lights are so low power, similar to natural moon light, but i believe people with refugiums leave their lights on 24/7 without the plants having problems. would those with refugiums respond and let me know if this is true or if i have heard incorrectly

[Teeleton]

Re: Effect of Moonlights on Plants

Did a quick google search, and it would appear that blue is one of the most readily absorbed color of the spectrum for photosynthesis.  Green seems to be the lowest absorption, which makes sense, since that is the color that gets reflected, and thus, why plants appear to us as green.



Teeleton