Post Blackout Algae problems

Hi, Len,


You said, "I think people who invest in medium to high lighting in their tanks realize that additional lighting will aid plant growth. Therefore more pruning etc. will be involved. If you like the hobby, this is a labor of love."

I'm not sure that I agree with that. From my readings of the various forums I have the impression that a lot of people think that there is no good option to $100 - $150 (plus $20 a bulb) high tech lighting fixtures and they go with that, and then have to spend a similar amount on CO2 and then, I'm afraid, drop out in frustration. I wanted to point out that there is a perfectly good alternative to the high energy, high cost approach, one probably better for beginners.

I also like the hobby. I'm been in it for decades. I've grown plants well enough to have sold them to LFS's. I've also bred and sold numerous kinds of fish with some success.

A few days ago I set up two adjacent 10 gallon aquariums for an experiment that I am running. I bought a 48 inch, 80 watt shop light for $20 and a tubes for $6 each (I plan to run just one tube). The carbon will come from a half inch of MiracleGrow potting soil, cost about $5. Pretty low tech, but the plants will grow well (I hope) and the fish will be healthy and add to the pleasure that I will get out of the aquariums.

There are always options.

Bill
 
I think that most of the old timers on AC try to stress to the newbies, the pit falls of starting too soon into high or even med.-high lighting. That it is necessary to learn to balance one's individual tank before stepping up in wattage.
There's no question that a low light tank will require less work to keep balanced. I have found that there is great satisfaction in growing plants successfully in a watt, to a 1.5 watt environment.
The fact of the matter is that, at one time or another, many of us shoot for the highly lit tank in which reds and many ground covers will thrive.
When you make the choice to delve into that arena, you should do it with the necessary knowledge and the desire for success, meaning that there is extra time necessary to balance and develop a tank of that nature.
I don't think I've ever talked with anyone in the hobby who made the jump to higher light without dealing with algae issues and the learning process that comes with them.
I think my first planted tank was about 1.5 watts and I STILL had to deal with algae.
Tom Barr often repeats the phrase, 'this ain't rocket science' and I agree.......... once you've learned the basics. Until then, it can be nerve-wracking, but to me it's fun and interesting.
I also enjoy hearing our folks grow and learn in the hobby and then begin to mentor others.
Glad to hear another 'old head' is on board. We never have enough of those.
BTW, keep us posted on your experiment. That's how we all learn.

Len
 
Len,

I agree completely!

I just started my little experiment. The purpose of it is to determine the effect of water hardness on five common, easy-to-grow plants, and also to see the effect of hard on fish that prefer soft water (blue rams) but have been acclimated to harder water.

I'll post an experiment-to-date summary in about a week, and send more detailed reports by email to anybody who might want it.

Bill
 
High light = difficult?

I've found 3wpg has been easier from an algae perspective than 2wpg was. I think the problem is when people put a few new plants in a large tank with lots of light. There just aren't enough plants to compete and the available light and food allows the algae to go bonkers. However, once you have a critical mass of plants the algae will go away. Some plants may also be shocked a bit in the journey from their original home to their new one and need a chance to recover and get healthy.

The only trouble with a high light set up is that you need to stay on top of the nutrients, which isn't hard at all. I just squirt in a bit of flourish and leaf zone (fe and k) each day when I feed my fish. Weekly I'll top off the nitrates and give it a squirt of fleet P as well. Sometimes I'll put in a quarter teaspoon of epsom salts as well. That shouldn't sound like much since most of us feed our fish twice a day. All that stuff is cheap too. epsom salts are $2, fleet is $2, a pound of kno3 was $6, flourish was $6 and leaf zone was about $6.

I've found that you don't have to be all that accurate or regular with the dosing. Sometimes one of the plants will start looking shabby and you need to figure out what he's asking for, but your friends and family will probably not notice this like they notice algae and you can try adding or witholding different things until it goes away.

Now the CO2 can be the most expensive part of the system. I got 142W of shoplights for 50 bucks, but the most basic pressurized co2 system will be 150 with the first fill. A couple 1gal gatorade reactors will cover all but the largest tanks. The DIY says 2l bottle, that's fine for a 10, a 20 would want a gallon, and a 55 would want 2 or 3 gallons to really be able to crank the co2. That'll get you on your feet and when everything's beautiful and you havn't spent much for a few months/year, the pressurized system gets easier to justify. Especially with 2 or more tanks because you can add additional tanks to a pressurized system for about 10-20/tank using a gang valve.
 
Why not raise the light up about 3-5 inches like an open top design?

Then less light, easier access.
For about 10$ and some 1/4" popular hobby wood from lowes/Home Depot, you should be able to make a simple boc for the light, and a couple of legs, with some studs to slip over the outside of the tank's frame to support the lights, paint to suit.

More is NOT better.
You don't hear folks with 2w/gal and good CO2 having many issues.

Regards,
Tom Barr




Regards,
Tom Barr
 
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