Best bulbs for a 48in GLO T5 HO unit with no Co2

[sundevil88]

Hello everyone,

I have a 55g 48in tank with a 48in GLO T5 HO lighting unit..

I have a 10k bulb with a 67000k bulb buuuuuuut its producing waaaayy to much algae... my gravel turns green in a few days even after daily gravel vacuums, its impossible to keep the green algae from growing...

I have no co2 and do not plan to run any for awhile...

So i need new bulbs... ones that arent as strong...

any suggestions as to which bulbs to downgrade to?

I would like to keep growing my java ferns and wisteria if that helps.


thanks

 

[Izzy2]

Only use one bulb if possible. Set timer to 7 hours. Raise light higher off tank. Get floating plants to shade java ferns.

 

[WeedCali]

dose Excel?

 

[trigiver01]

I have a 48" 60 g with a 48" glo T5HO fixture as well. I use one glo powerlife (6700 K) and one coralife colormax (redder spectrum), plus I dose flourish excel. I have a few spots of bright green algae (it looks kind of nice on my rock/driftwood), and my plants grow like mad.

 

[Canuck]

Type of bulb is going to make little to no difference. As suggested above run only one bulb or increase height of fixture. People overestimate (overstate) the effect kelvin rating has on plant growth. Most people would be just as successful using cool whites as 6700k, color temperature is not much more than aesthetics.

 

[coach_z]

cut back your daily photoperiod, people generally recommend about 8 hours. i dont know how long your photoperiod is but you will see a lot of difference by cutting it back.

 

[platytudes]

You need some fast growing plants to suck up the light and nutrients that are the underlying cause for the algae. Java fern, Anubias, etc. are really too slow growing to do much good in that sense. Java moss is another matter though

Wisteria is the right direction, look for more plants like that. Moneywort, Vallisneria, pennywort, etc. One lots of people do is stuff the tank full of cheap plants like hornwort and anacharis. They will grow and do their thing and once the tank is balanced enough, you can take them out and trade them on to other hobbyists. It's a little too warm for hornwort to thrive this time of year, though.

I have the same fixture and ended up getting these two bulbs:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCa...query=wavepoint&queryType=0&hits=12&offset=12
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCa...query=wavepoint&queryType=0&hits=12&offset=12

I had a chat with the customer service specialist, here's what they had to say:

High output T5 bulbs are all standard lengths. A 45.75" bulb is the actual
size, but they will be referred to as 48" bulbs because they fit a fixture
that is designed for a 48" length. They use these standard size names to
keep things from getting confusing. Unfortunately some places call them
45.75" or 46" bulbs which ends up making things sound more complicated than
they are.

Wavepoint bulbs are great - stay away from the Current bulbs though. You
could also use AquaticLife or Coralife HOT5 bulbs as well.

The Tropical Wave & Red Wave combination would be the best for the plants
themselves. 6,500K isn't terribly yellow, and more or less the standard
"cool white" for freshwater aquariums. In combination with the Red Wave, you
would have some great color rendering. However, if you want the aquarium to
seem as white as possible, with literally no yellow to speak of, the Sun
Wave 12,000K will do that. It is more of a stark white. The downfall is that
it will drown out or "rob" color from plants and fish by hiding it. The Red
Wave bulb will help to restore some of it, but you may find the tank looks a
little pale. The Sun Wave is geared more towards reef aquariums.

Hopefully that helps you make a decision!

 

[J double R]

They covered it pretty well above, but the jist of it is that if you want to run advanced anything, you need to balance it out. If you don't want/can't have co2, then don't run HO lighting. Get a regular light fixture, or enjoy your algae.

 

[coach_z]

do you use ferts?

 

[jptjpt]

I think your main problem here is too much light. I have a 55G with 2 power compacts at 54W each and that is enough light for me to grow 90% of plants out there. Two T5s for the tank is definitely too much. I agree with other posters here, try to run only one T5 bulb and set the photoperiod to 8hrs to start. I usually do 6hrs. then 2hrs. off, then 2 more hrs. Clean off as much of the algae as possible and run it for a week to see if the algae returns. Do not add any ferts at this time. If you still have algae problems, either raise the light or put some window screen mesh between the light and tank to lessen the amount of light going into the tank. You can also get red root floaters or riccia to reduce light penetration even more. Do one thing at a time, though so that you don't overshoot and end up not having enough light.