Did you ever have a greenwater algae thread? Start one up or revive it and we will get rid of your algae.
Stoopit Green Killing Machine
- Thread starter DJDrZ
- Start date
CWO4GUNNER
USN/USCG 1974-2004 Weps
All I know is with most of my tank facing windows deliberately for my Pothos nitrate filter, if I shut off or remove my 12/7 UV sterilizers for more then a couple days the algae starts covering the glass in swaths fast, but when they are on it takes months for a quarter size blotch of algae to appear. Whatever energy I waste having to burn UV bulbs becasue I use the sun to power my plants, I save 10 fold not having to use 200-400W T-bulbs. And no bulbs can match the quality of the sun's light, its is good.
fantastic idea. i buy the coralife bulbs locally, personally. i get them right now and they don't set me back much.
:clap:
your situation is different. with a planted tank, the first thing you need to learn to control is your light. if light is the cause of algae.... it needs to be corrected, not masked.
i can see the benefit in your situation, and i don't blame you for choosing the lesser of the evils. especially with your limited resources of hard water in large tanks which many it seems contains large waste producers.
however... with a planted tank, you need the ferts, co2, etc. that would feed algae quite well also... which changes the chemistry to a certain degree and requires a more trained hand. those of us with planted tanks need to learn the chemistry involved or deal with the perils of unknowing. we all can't just put arizona full sun through a window on our tanks and think things will work themselves out... no matter how much uvc radiation the tank is subjected to.
just one example... often times when folks have algae in their planted tanks the first suggestions we come across are either to lower the intensity or working hours of our lights. you simply cannot do that while utilizing sunlight (with the exception of having your blinds, shades, etc. fully automated and controlled). the reason why this example is significant isn't because it's a common suggestion. it's because we, as planted tank keepers eventually learn that controlling light is the first line of defense... and it buys us time to work on/obsess over/learn to control the algae and grow our plants more healthy without having to deal with the catastrophe of algae blanketing our prize plants that we work so diligently to grow healthy.
DJDRZ; what type of unit are you looking for? what price range would you consider doable? what do you want out of your unit?
i ask because i do like the idea of keeping as much junk out of my tank as possible... yet i do see the usefulness of a unit that can simply be unplugged and put in the closet... or transfered to another tank.
for the money, the unit gunner listed seems like a great deal. i wouldn't mind having one, personally. don't need it, but nonetheless....
anyway... the unit i use is nearly indestructible, stays out of the tank, and uses bulbs that can be found anywhere and/or substituted easily considering it's a simple bi-pin bulb. the down side is it needs a pump to run the water through it and the "O-rings" are not easy to find. however... when my "O-rings" fail, i just wrap them with thread tape, put the unit back together and call it a day.
no quartz sleeve to fight with/clean.
no delicate housing to worry about.
no extra components to create fail points.
almost all the parts can be found locally at hardware stores or pool supply joints (so, i can make another one myself FOR CHEAP if i needed it).
it uses a straight bulb that can be replaced with any bi-pin model the same length.
it's nearly indestructible.
i don't have to clean or replace a quartz sleeve when i replace my bulbs.
it can be used as an hob or in-line model simply by putting the right npt hose barb in the right place.
no indicator light to fail (you can see the whole unit glowing a dim green when the bulb is powered on).
can be mounted simply (it's constructed out of pvc pipe, so pvc j-hook mounts fit perfectly for mounting in/behind a tank stand).
it was also the cheapest unit i could find when i bought it years ago. not quite as cheap as the units nowadays, but i won't have to repair or replace it when a pump or indicator light fails either..............................
it's ugly, but i'm happy.............................
http://americanaquariumproducts.com/15WattUVSterilizer.html
CWO4GUNNER
USN/USCG 1974-2004 Weps
I think the key difference here is tanks planted with "hydrophytes" or freshwater aquatic plants for which you have personal experience, and therefore different then my experience with "aquaponics" or relationship between fish and terrestrial plants grown hydroponically to maintain a stable aquatic environment. The needs, solutions and results are very different for the two plant keeping types, so I don't disagree, Im just pointing out the differences my type needs based on my experience so far. I'm thinking of coming up with flag or sticker for my tanks to indicate what I mean, something like this lol.
for this conversation, yes.
however, ultimately, yes and no.
every body of water, moving or not has it's light threshold where beyond that point it'll have it's algae problems. the whole "balance is key" argument... and for terrestrially growth through a water nutrient delivery system the more light you can get to the plants w/o having to subject the reservoir or plumbing to, usually the better. (individual species light thresholds aside)
may i remind you, i am growing the same plants out of my tank as you are. i will have to take some pics soon for comparison, because they're growing like the weeds they are. i'm contemplating adding philodendron "silver streak" to my setup as it's outgrowing it's current container, too actually.
anyway... algae in your nutrient source is a sure fire way to deplete one nutrient or another, even for terrestrial aquaponic or hydroponic growth. it's often suggested when building your own hydroponic system using pvc fence posts or 5 gallon buckets, etc. to paint your equipment to keep light out of the nutrient solution. algae just isn't quite the problem for terrestrial/emergent/emersed/hydroponic/aquaponic growth since it can't cover the entire plant and starve it for light as well like it can in purely aquatic growth.
i think the key thing here is that your tanks aren't directly in front of your windows, however, your plants are growing to reach there. this would be a huge benefit over having to light your tank to get light to your plants. in the event you'd have to light your entire tank to that same intensity i don't think uvc would cut the mustard.
however, ultimately, yes and no.
every body of water, moving or not has it's light threshold where beyond that point it'll have it's algae problems. the whole "balance is key" argument... and for terrestrially growth through a water nutrient delivery system the more light you can get to the plants w/o having to subject the reservoir or plumbing to, usually the better. (individual species light thresholds aside)
may i remind you, i am growing the same plants out of my tank as you are. i will have to take some pics soon for comparison, because they're growing like the weeds they are. i'm contemplating adding philodendron "silver streak" to my setup as it's outgrowing it's current container, too actually.
anyway... algae in your nutrient source is a sure fire way to deplete one nutrient or another, even for terrestrial aquaponic or hydroponic growth. it's often suggested when building your own hydroponic system using pvc fence posts or 5 gallon buckets, etc. to paint your equipment to keep light out of the nutrient solution. algae just isn't quite the problem for terrestrial/emergent/emersed/hydroponic/aquaponic growth since it can't cover the entire plant and starve it for light as well like it can in purely aquatic growth.
i think the key thing here is that your tanks aren't directly in front of your windows, however, your plants are growing to reach there. this would be a huge benefit over having to light your tank to get light to your plants. in the event you'd have to light your entire tank to that same intensity i don't think uvc would cut the mustard.
CWO4GUNNER
USN/USCG 1974-2004 Weps
My tank locations are either directly across the room from a window 8 to 12 feet away and seem to grow most uniform overall, or are located adjacent to a window have no algae at all and the plants although not uniform grow very thick vines and much larger leaf. Initally the leaf would burn when they arrive at the window direct sunlight but then adapt get much thicker and no longer burn. I can see that eventually Im going to have to come up with a different setup not unlike the drawing I posted up above, perhaps remote pump powered window boxes or modified below window sump tank where vines grow up and down in a series of curtain rods like a folded towel on a bathroom rung, eventually removing the drapes and blinds altogether having one thick green leafy home-grown plant, and yes we are taking Pothos here people lol.
