Got plants, still getting algae...

going by your height and lighting assumptions i should never have anything but algae surviving in my tank (the one in question). assuming that co2 is necessary at that point my plants should all be dead too... from algae overgrowth. my tank is 36" x 18" by MAX 10" deep with 52 watts cfl and t8 over it. all 6500k and 5500k. i use an air pump to raise my co2 levels. there are many ways to skin a cat... some easier than others.

yet still my tank (by your calculations too low in co2 and photoperiod way too long) HAS NO ALGAE ANYWHERE!

i fixed all my issues with a floater, air pump for co2 addition, and dosing kh2po4 and kno3. all is absolutely well and dandy.

btw floaters don't need co2 since they can get it from the air above and therefore can help balance a tank pretty well by blocking light to plants that may be getting too much.

kreesdqban... look into florin axis and/or flourish excel for carbon if you plan on adding it. fluctuating co2 and or dialing it in just right little by little can be more headache than it's worth. if you do everything right and your co2 fluctuates you'll have just as many issues if not more than you do now. it's best to start with plants the easiest possible route. adding too many variables at first puts you behind in the game more often than not. a lot of people give up for these same exact reasons. then all the hard work and money invested is just a waste and you are left with nothing to show for it. living by the rules KISS (keep it simple stupid) can really help you with your success and help you take it step by step. at this point providing shade to your slower growers and getting down your npk dosing is not only the cheapest but also the simplest first steps. if you feel the need and are confident in going further then take the next step.

anyway... i don't think my tanks are the ones with problems right now. how bout we focus on the op's issues?
 
First of all, I made absolutely no assumptions. I said nothing about your co2 levels. I'm far from 'pro' when it comes to plants. The only thing I gave was anecdotal evidence that maybe the lights were on too long...
 
Would Flourish Excel make sense (money wise) as opposed to a yeast & sugar reactor for my size tank?
 
tekonus: i did not mean to come off the wrong way. if i did so i'm sorry.
i know you were not questioning my co2 but it was mentioned.
in my post i tried to answer all possible questions that might arise. there is a good bit of info there but it is in no way meant to be insulting.

kreesdqban: on a simply dollar per dollar outlook no the excel doesn't make sense. when you look at all the variables you are dealing with and the fact that you already have an algae issue diy is one variable i wouldn't want to be stuck with till you get things healthy. keeping a diy setup stable takes some tinkering and there's a definite learning curve no matter how much anyone can help you on a forum. each scoop of yeast is going to produce a slightly different outcome, water temp in your mix will greatly change the outcome, different diffusers will affect your outcome, different filters, surface agitation, night vs day saturation, etc., etc., etc..

basically dead fish, more algae than you can shake a stick at, too many variables to decide which one's off... these are some of the possible down sides to co2 injection... yes even with diy.

your tank is not too huge and your lighting is not too astronomical that you should HAVE to pump co2 in there anyway. i don't think you'd have to dose according to suggestions for a high light tank anyway so you can probably cut your dosing to maybe less than half what's recommended by seachem and see a decent difference in growth.

i doubt co2 is your problem anyway. planted tanks don't NEED co2 injection. it just helps promote better growth. like i said before some floaters will provide shade and utilize the abundant co2 in the air above the tank anyway.

get your dosing right and provide shade for those slower growers and see how that fairs you. if you want to add co2 after that go for it. if you still have algae issues though i wouldn't even attempt diy... too many headaches! i, like so many others have done it and made it work. it does always come down to that one time you change out your mix a day late and find your tank half covered in algae a few days later... then the struggle begins all over.

the best and most efficient way to go (as i'm sure we all know) is pressurized. if you can afford it i'd say don't hesitate but i don't think you'll need it unless you plan on packing your tank with fussy "high light" plants.
 
I'll definitely take your advice and see how dosing does for me. I don't think I can have floaters in my tank though as the water level almost reaches the lid. I'll see if I get some Hygros and just some more plants in general and see how it goes.

Pressurized co2 is definitely out of my price range! lol
 
since i saw those 50 watts are equivalents and they're 14 actual i think you need at least one more and forget about the floaters. just put them side by side and space the light out as even as possible. if you want to do 2 more it won't hurt.

for some reason i was under the impression you were using vho cfl's when in actuality you're using regular cfl's. may i ask which brand and model bulbs you're using.

i've had good results with ge daylight 6500k, mixed to ok results with N:vision daylight and nothing good out of any other cfl i've been able to acquire.

EDIT: if your water doesn't touch your glass top you can have floaters. just my opinion.
 
it's completely understandable. expression gets lost in type.
 
Well thanks for clearing that up dundadundun. I am using the N:vision daylight bulbs, i think 5000k, light output is 900 lumens each...

I may have space to put another bulb in the hood... So i'll definitely look into that. Maybe even swapping the 14's and putting in 25's...

So I'm getting algae because of my lack of light then?
 
it could be if your plants aren't thriving. i'd suspect low nutrient levels first though.

if you do switch bulbs you may want to consider using the ge daylights. one of my issues with the n:vision was not only did it grow my plants alright but it was great at growing algae. that may just be me though (the algae), but... it's not a huge investment to look into.
 
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