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The Fine Art of Lighting and Algae
Hi all,
I have a 50 gallon which has been set up for 6 weeks and been on CO2 drip
for about 4 weeks. After a couple weeks on CO2 it appeared that the plants
were not responding the way they did in my other tanks so I increased the
lighting.
I went from 2 x 34 watts four foot COOL WHITE to 2 x 34 watts four foot GE
F40DX Deluxe Daylight. The plants responded very quickly and started
bubbling away and growing like crazy. After a few days I noticed that the
water was starting to look a little on the murky side as this tank had been
crystal clear. Also algae started to grow at a very fast rate on the glass.
I gave the tank a good cleanup but left everything the way it was and the
algae kept coming. I then cut the lighting back to the original
configuration, did another cleanup, and the tank seemed to start to clear
up. However the plants stopped showing the great growth etc.
I haven't checked for phosphates as I don't have the kit yet.
My tank parameters appear to be OK...
pH - 6.7
kH - 2-3
lighting by timer for 12 hours but now cut back to 11
25% water change weekly
Flourish added by spec with water change.
Fish load is light - 7 fish ( small severums, cory's, and 2 fake SAE's :-)
I am confused with the fact that I am only giving this tank 1.2 watts per
gallon which by from what I have read is very low.
All help appreciated ......
Cheers from sunny and warm Moncton New Brunswick
Vernon