I was wondering who has had in the past or has 3 watts or more per gallon and what problems have you had that you could not eliminate, such as algae that was solved when you lowered your wattage over your tank.
Who has 3 watts or more per gallon?
- Thread starter Jag1980
- Start date
Jag,
These are the fixtures I have over my tanks and my lighting options:
2x96w PC over a 45g (4.26 wpg)----either one bulb on or both
2x96w PC over a 46g bow front (4.17 wpg)---either one bulb on or both
6x54w T5HO over a 75g (4.32 wpg)----2 bulbs, 4 bulbs, or all 6 on
On the 45g and 46g, I have run both at full intensity for 9 hours a day. During this time, I had issues with thread/fuzz algae, GSA, GDA, BBA. Not major issues, but they were always present. Recently I've been experimenting with reducing intensity, and changing my photoperiod.
The 45g is mostly fast growing stems. At full intensity for 9 hours a day, I have issues with thread/fuzz/string, BBA, and GDA. These days I run 2x96w at full intensity for about 6 hours a day with good results and NO algae. Growth is slower, but that is desireable for me with so many tanks and so little time.
The 46g is mostly slow growers. It has a ton of anubias, a foreground of dwarf hairgrass, and a background of Blyxa aubertii. For this tank I run only 1x96w bulb for 6-7 hours. I still have issues with GSA on the anubias, and the occasional GDA, but other than that this is a problem free tank. Not fast growth, but good growth. The GSA is my biggest headache.
On the 75g, if I run full intensity for 9 hours, I have problems wight GW, GSA, and thread/fuzz. I now run 4x54w for 6 hours, and 6x54w for the remaining 3 hours. GW and GSA have been eliminated, and the thread/fuzz is dying back...if I removed it, I doubt it would come back.
Point is, lowering light works, or reducing photoperiod. I find that lowering light intensity definitely impacts my reds, but shortening photoperiod only slows their growth without impacting color. In my 46g, I have no reds I'm worried about, so I dropped down to just over 2 wpg.
These are the fixtures I have over my tanks and my lighting options:
2x96w PC over a 45g (4.26 wpg)----either one bulb on or both
2x96w PC over a 46g bow front (4.17 wpg)---either one bulb on or both
6x54w T5HO over a 75g (4.32 wpg)----2 bulbs, 4 bulbs, or all 6 on
On the 45g and 46g, I have run both at full intensity for 9 hours a day. During this time, I had issues with thread/fuzz algae, GSA, GDA, BBA. Not major issues, but they were always present. Recently I've been experimenting with reducing intensity, and changing my photoperiod.
The 45g is mostly fast growing stems. At full intensity for 9 hours a day, I have issues with thread/fuzz/string, BBA, and GDA. These days I run 2x96w at full intensity for about 6 hours a day with good results and NO algae. Growth is slower, but that is desireable for me with so many tanks and so little time.
The 46g is mostly slow growers. It has a ton of anubias, a foreground of dwarf hairgrass, and a background of Blyxa aubertii. For this tank I run only 1x96w bulb for 6-7 hours. I still have issues with GSA on the anubias, and the occasional GDA, but other than that this is a problem free tank. Not fast growth, but good growth. The GSA is my biggest headache.
On the 75g, if I run full intensity for 9 hours, I have problems wight GW, GSA, and thread/fuzz. I now run 4x54w for 6 hours, and 6x54w for the remaining 3 hours. GW and GSA have been eliminated, and the thread/fuzz is dying back...if I removed it, I doubt it would come back.
Point is, lowering light works, or reducing photoperiod. I find that lowering light intensity definitely impacts my reds, but shortening photoperiod only slows their growth without impacting color. In my 46g, I have no reds I'm worried about, so I dropped down to just over 2 wpg.
I'm running 4x65 watt coralife over my 75 gallon 3.46 wpg. 2 fixtures on for 5 hours, and full intensity for 3 hours per day. No problems since I switched from to that method. I was running full intensity for 8 hours per day, and having problems with hair algae, and GSA.
tanker
Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
I have both. high and low light ans hybrids in between(high HQI spike for an hour or two- via amano's suggestion)
This seems to give a nice trade off.
I really think many have the whole thing backwards, they should use less starting with light and then they can have more ease with CO2 and then nutrients are much easier to manage and use.
But many want lean nutrients with a poor assumption, then fairly well pay little attention to CO2, then want crazy light with higher efficient lighting than that older advice suggested.
ADA's lighting seems high in terms of W/gal, but it's not........even the HQI's are fairly low light.
These two tanks are identical in terms of PAr light reaching the plants
and this tank has 1.5w/gal T5's:
2 months of no dosing and neglect:
About 40-50 micromol for every tank.
I run about 60-70 or so.
But add more CO2/water column ferts, have deeper tanks.
8-10 hours works well.
If "less is better", then it's wise to dose daily and to start with reducing the light intensity and duration. Add just enough to have some growth, this makes the CO2 and nutrient use much more efficient and able to keep up easily.
If you chose specific species, then CO2 is not needed, or you can go with Excel dosing only, and sediment based ferts, soil or ADA AS etc and fish waste and no dosing or very few if any water changes etc.
More light = more CO2/nutrients and ...more work overall.
It's a good study to do however, because managing the lower light tanks later is much easier if you can manage a high light tank over time.
Regards,
Tom Barr
This seems to give a nice trade off.
I really think many have the whole thing backwards, they should use less starting with light and then they can have more ease with CO2 and then nutrients are much easier to manage and use.
But many want lean nutrients with a poor assumption, then fairly well pay little attention to CO2, then want crazy light with higher efficient lighting than that older advice suggested.
ADA's lighting seems high in terms of W/gal, but it's not........even the HQI's are fairly low light.
These two tanks are identical in terms of PAr light reaching the plants
and this tank has 1.5w/gal T5's:
2 months of no dosing and neglect:
About 40-50 micromol for every tank.
I run about 60-70 or so.
But add more CO2/water column ferts, have deeper tanks.
8-10 hours works well.
If "less is better", then it's wise to dose daily and to start with reducing the light intensity and duration. Add just enough to have some growth, this makes the CO2 and nutrient use much more efficient and able to keep up easily.
If you chose specific species, then CO2 is not needed, or you can go with Excel dosing only, and sediment based ferts, soil or ADA AS etc and fish waste and no dosing or very few if any water changes etc.
More light = more CO2/nutrients and ...more work overall.
It's a good study to do however, because managing the lower light tanks later is much easier if you can manage a high light tank over time.
Regards,
Tom Barr
The problem I use to have is Hair algae on my moss, I pretty much gave up on moss as I got tired of having it ruined by hair algae..
I use to get lots of green spot algae on my glass and plants, even when dosing a good amount of Phosphate it still grows..
Seems like a big role in cutting out the algae is a much less photo period with high watts or a spike change in lighting intensity? Or the simple solution being less watts but slower growth rate. But does this stop the growth or does it just slow it down in scale with the slower growth of the plants.
I have done EI dosing, modified EI dosing, calculated ppm to my tank size dosing, and even done EI dosing for a tank half my size and I still have the same problems with my 3.3wpg CF lighting.. I sold my SAE a week ago and now I see BBA on my plants.. Also now have green algae on my glass, it's a nice green dusty looking algae.
I have switched to a 20 gallon EI dosing my spot algae has slowed down a little bit, but now the BBA is growing each day...
I don't turn on my lights until I reach a light green, the drop checker is very light Green to Yellow at the end of the 8 to 9 hour photo period.
Day 8 my water gets cloudy and my Nitrates are around 40ppm, no Nitrates in tap, my tank seems to be producing enough for a good target range so I will be ending my dosing of Nitrates.
I think I will use a dosing schedule of 1 macro and micro per week and see what happens.
I feel I have tried it all and still can not stop the algae growth..
My next step is to wait until my 36" 2 bulb Nova SLR T-5 light strip comes in from back order and see what difference this new light will do me.
Do I have to experience it all before I find a balance that works for my tank? lol..
Haven't tried the 6.6 wpg yet, maybe it's worth a try for a 6 hour a day photo period.
3.3 for three hours and 6.6 for the next three hours, just for experience purposes
From reading other forums with the same question, some have super high light with no problems and some people have problems.
Sometimes I think that most of the balance is in the plant types/species then it is lighting and fertilizers?
Maybe once I get my Nova I can sit back and relax
I use to get lots of green spot algae on my glass and plants, even when dosing a good amount of Phosphate it still grows..
Seems like a big role in cutting out the algae is a much less photo period with high watts or a spike change in lighting intensity? Or the simple solution being less watts but slower growth rate. But does this stop the growth or does it just slow it down in scale with the slower growth of the plants.
I have done EI dosing, modified EI dosing, calculated ppm to my tank size dosing, and even done EI dosing for a tank half my size and I still have the same problems with my 3.3wpg CF lighting.. I sold my SAE a week ago and now I see BBA on my plants.. Also now have green algae on my glass, it's a nice green dusty looking algae.
I have switched to a 20 gallon EI dosing my spot algae has slowed down a little bit, but now the BBA is growing each day...
I don't turn on my lights until I reach a light green, the drop checker is very light Green to Yellow at the end of the 8 to 9 hour photo period.
Day 8 my water gets cloudy and my Nitrates are around 40ppm, no Nitrates in tap, my tank seems to be producing enough for a good target range so I will be ending my dosing of Nitrates.
I think I will use a dosing schedule of 1 macro and micro per week and see what happens.
I feel I have tried it all and still can not stop the algae growth..
My next step is to wait until my 36" 2 bulb Nova SLR T-5 light strip comes in from back order and see what difference this new light will do me.
Do I have to experience it all before I find a balance that works for my tank? lol..
Haven't tried the 6.6 wpg yet, maybe it's worth a try for a 6 hour a day photo period.
3.3 for three hours and 6.6 for the next three hours, just for experience purposes
From reading other forums with the same question, some have super high light with no problems and some people have problems.
Sometimes I think that most of the balance is in the plant types/species then it is lighting and fertilizers?
Maybe once I get my Nova I can sit back and relax
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Jag,
With your 3.3 wpg, what's your photoperiod?
In my 45g I've had all sorts of problems over it's lifetime.
My biggest problem was this weird stuff that was like a cross between thread/fuzz algae and diatoms. It was like brown polyfil that grew 4-5 inches per day if left alone. I physically removed as much as I could, did a large water change, then a 4 day blackout, followed by another water change. At that point I also adjusted lights to 1x96w for 9 hours, 2x96w for a 4.5 hour burst in the middle. Brown nasty stuff never came back.
Traditional thread/fuzz occurred for me when my photoperiod was too long(typically when a timer would fail and I'd be out of town or something). Even at lower lighting(the 1x96w) if the photoperiod was too long, I'd start to see thread/fuzz....usually my first indicator that something was wrong with my timer.
Even at the customized photoperiod BBA, GSA, and GDA were also a minor problem.
All of the above was originally using classic EI(no modifications) and then later PPS-Pro (unmodified). I do not test my water. I perform water changes rarely. Usually it's a top-off weekly or semi-weekly (in my open top tanks) or biweekly(in the covered 45g), with a 50% WC every 4-5 weeks.
The ultimate solution is what I have now. Full intensity, 2x96w over a 45g, for 6 hours a day.
Growth of Ludwigia repens and hygro sp is still crazy, trimming once a week. Rotala rotundfolia and macrandra is a little slower, but it's actually better growth, not as leggy. Blyxa japonica is growing slower but more compact, which is really awesome. Needle leaf java fern is EXPLODING. Lobelia cardinalis has slow growth. Red Tiger Lotus is also exploding. I've produced two new plants in the last two months.
To be fair, this is in my 45g tank, which is my longest running tank, so it's really well settled in. The 46g was recently heavily modified(as you know) so it's still have some algae issues as part of the adjustment phase. The new-ish 75g has a bit of string algae here and there, but again that's settling in.
I strongly feel that if you reduce your photoperiod you'll see a lot of these issues go away. Maybe even do a blackout for 2 days, then come back with the modified schedule, just to give it a headstart.
With your 3.3 wpg, what's your photoperiod?
In my 45g I've had all sorts of problems over it's lifetime.
My biggest problem was this weird stuff that was like a cross between thread/fuzz algae and diatoms. It was like brown polyfil that grew 4-5 inches per day if left alone. I physically removed as much as I could, did a large water change, then a 4 day blackout, followed by another water change. At that point I also adjusted lights to 1x96w for 9 hours, 2x96w for a 4.5 hour burst in the middle. Brown nasty stuff never came back.
Traditional thread/fuzz occurred for me when my photoperiod was too long(typically when a timer would fail and I'd be out of town or something). Even at lower lighting(the 1x96w) if the photoperiod was too long, I'd start to see thread/fuzz....usually my first indicator that something was wrong with my timer.
Even at the customized photoperiod BBA, GSA, and GDA were also a minor problem.
All of the above was originally using classic EI(no modifications) and then later PPS-Pro (unmodified). I do not test my water. I perform water changes rarely. Usually it's a top-off weekly or semi-weekly (in my open top tanks) or biweekly(in the covered 45g), with a 50% WC every 4-5 weeks.
The ultimate solution is what I have now. Full intensity, 2x96w over a 45g, for 6 hours a day.
Growth of Ludwigia repens and hygro sp is still crazy, trimming once a week. Rotala rotundfolia and macrandra is a little slower, but it's actually better growth, not as leggy. Blyxa japonica is growing slower but more compact, which is really awesome. Needle leaf java fern is EXPLODING. Lobelia cardinalis has slow growth. Red Tiger Lotus is also exploding. I've produced two new plants in the last two months.
To be fair, this is in my 45g tank, which is my longest running tank, so it's really well settled in. The 46g was recently heavily modified(as you know) so it's still have some algae issues as part of the adjustment phase. The new-ish 75g has a bit of string algae here and there, but again that's settling in.
I strongly feel that if you reduce your photoperiod you'll see a lot of these issues go away. Maybe even do a blackout for 2 days, then come back with the modified schedule, just to give it a headstart.
I'm only running my lights on 8 hours a day
I might try something like what you did, running my lights at full blast of 6.6 watts for 6 hours per day and see what happens. I will probably get a algae bloom from that, but there is only one way to find out
erv:Also, the reflectors in my Coralife light strip are pretty good, so the intensity might be a little more then with a different type of light strip with lower quality reflectors.
Black out for a couple days might be something I should do since my water is a little cloudy again along with a Nitrate spike. I think possibly with the plant change I have done (Slower growing plants) My Nutrient uptake is much lower then before. I would be worried about a black out with the new Downi I got last week.
The Poly white looking algae is one type of algae I have not experienced in my tank yet, but I actually got it in my 10 gallon tank last week from not changing the water and the snails filled my tank with poop..
You think dosing a macro on one day, then dosing a micro 3 days later would be a good idea or bad?
Here's my tank a couple weeks ago.
I sold half the Low Grow and moved what I saved to the left side of the tank, also I sold about 3 Cryptocoryne Spiralis. Plant layout is pretty much the same now with 3 added Downi
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