will algae grow in low lighting?

[vaderbanger]

im setting up a 10g sw tank but i only have an incadescent hood that i replaced the bulbs with compact flourescent bulbs. there are two bulbs and they are 13w each. i realize this will be a pretty dim tank but will string algae grow in low lighting? or any algae at all other than brown?

[fish addict]

That really isn't very low lighting. You have more than 2W per gallon, and that is plenty for a tank that size unless you want a reef tank.

Yes, algae can and will grow in even half that amount of light. I had a 10g setup with LR only and 1 18W light and had a massive outbreak of cyano and hair algae.

Good water movement and quality, along with a good clean up crew, will help limit the algae growth in any system.

[vaderbanger]

so i am adding the total of 2 lights? i wasnt sure if i just count it as 13W, so its 13w x 2?? i feel better now lol i thought it was going to be very under lit.
no im not doing a reef, maybe in the future tho with a different setup :p: