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  • Light for how many hours ?

    I have a new tank (at least to me it was new when I got it last week) 60G tank (converted lizard tank to Fish tank) and it contains now 2 Oscars, 3 Pink convicts, 3 Green Terrors, and 2 Pletco's.   Within the first week of owning said tank I have had a major algae infestation and I had to (because NO3 sky rocketed) replace 50% of the water.. I knew that its a little dangerous to replace that much water at once but since the water over all was not more than 7 days old in the first place I didnt feel that it was much of a problem.  The first after the replacement seems to thrive MUCH better...  Now I talked to the local fish store (Fish Land @ Westheimer and Synott) and he recommended that I only leave the light on for 6 hours a day, because there is enough day light (nothing hits the aquarium directly) to produce the next light for the Algae to thrive...  

    My question I suppose is....  how many hours do you all believe I should run it for each day ?

    What fish do Jesper have
    180 WC T. Moorii Chilambo +1 Petro trewavasae.
    110
    Cyps, WC Xeno Spilopterus Kipili WC/F1/F2 T. sp red Kiku
    58 S. Decorus

    "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -Margaret Thatcher

  • #2
    Re: Light for how many hours ?

    If the tank is out of direct sunlight and the wattages on the light fixture isn't high then you could swing up to 10hrs.
    700g Mini-Monster tank

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    • #3
      Re: Light for how many hours ?

      Hi Zulaab,
      IMO, a good photoperiod is about 10hrs plus-minus. But it really depends on what kind of plants you have and how much lighting you have. Sometimes even indirect sunlight is enough to cause some algae problems.

      Adjusting the photoperiod is merely a quick fix to your algae problem. If you want to get rid of the problem, you need to solve your nitrAte problem first.

      At first glance, it seems to me like you are probably "overstocked" (i.e there's waste is produced very much faster than it can be removed or kept under a safe level). You need to somehow get the nitrates under control. Make sure you don't overfeed, decaying food releases nitrogen (in its various forms) into the water real quick.

      Do you have a planted tank? If you do, go with fast growing stem plants like ludwidgia, cabomba and hornwort. If not, you might want need to increase the frequency of your WC's.

      HTH
      Marc
      www.ventralfins.com

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Light for how many hours ?

        Originally posted by eklikewhoa";p="
        If the tank is out of direct sunlight and the wattages on the light fixture isn't high then you could swing up to 10hrs.
        ah... beat me to it =p
        www.ventralfins.com

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Light for how many hours ?

          Ninja'd!  


          After fiddling with the planted tank thing I found that it's an inbalance of nutrients that causes algae along with excessive nutrients. Weekly water changes and sometimes even bi-weekly water changes can help remedy it if you are overstocked/overfeeding but that is only if your tap water doesn't have this stuff coming out.
          700g Mini-Monster tank

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Light for how many hours ?

            Since the tank is only 1 week old I am thinking that the problem is indirect sunlight is hitting the tank.   The NO3 level is rising faster right now because the tank is young and the bio-filtration has not set in yet.  I am thinking with what I have in there that a weekly water change will do for the next 6 weeks and then I should be able to handle bi-weekly thereafter.  All my plants are plastic this time around and therefore don't produce waste, but i am sure that this means I am offering a nice place for algae to grow even easier on.
            With the latest water change I am thinking things are getting better.  

            Again everyone thank you for your help :)

            What fish do Jesper have
            180 WC T. Moorii Chilambo +1 Petro trewavasae.
            110
            Cyps, WC Xeno Spilopterus Kipili WC/F1/F2 T. sp red Kiku
            58 S. Decorus

            "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -Margaret Thatcher

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Light for how many hours ?

              Hmm, live plants don't really produce waste, per se. They actually help to reduce the nitrate in the tank. I'm surprised you're already having the nitrate spike in your tank after only a week! Did you add any cycling accelerants?

              Keep on testing your water, that's always a good thing to do. How close is the tank to the window? Do you have a background on it? What color is the algae? If it's brown spots, it's likely diatoms, which are normal for new tanks.
              "Millennium hand and shrimp!"

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Light for how many hours ?

                Tested the water again tonight after this weekend taking out 50% of the water.  .5 the NO3.  (I am happy again).  The fish are lively again and don't seem to have any problems.  I am thinking that stress of new tank, and several starting factors are what is causing the issue.  I have lowered the amount of over head light from 13 hours to 8 hours a day and this seems to keep the algae under control..  I added my two Pleco and they are enjoying it :)

                What fish do Jesper have
                180 WC T. Moorii Chilambo +1 Petro trewavasae.
                110
                Cyps, WC Xeno Spilopterus Kipili WC/F1/F2 T. sp red Kiku
                58 S. Decorus

                "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -Margaret Thatcher

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Light for how many hours ?

                  Originally posted by Zulaab";p="
                  ... The NO3 level is rising faster right now because the tank is young and the bio-filtration has not set in yet....
                  well... i have to disagree with that a little bit.. NO3 (nitrAtes) is actually the end of the nitrogen cycle for a typical unplanted aquarium (unless you have anerobic de-ditrafication). So to get a high concentration of NO3 means that your biofilter IS already established.

                  Your tank is only 1 week old? Has it been cycled?

                  good luck!
                  www.ventralfins.com

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Light for how many hours ?

                    I made a mistake on the reading..  Its not NO3 that spiked.. it was NO2 that spiked...  I am really sorry about the confusion..  damn bottle has NO3 listed above NO2...  us logical folks don't understand why things are not in chronological order.

                    Again I am sorry about the mistake

                    What fish do Jesper have
                    180 WC T. Moorii Chilambo +1 Petro trewavasae.
                    110
                    Cyps, WC Xeno Spilopterus Kipili WC/F1/F2 T. sp red Kiku
                    58 S. Decorus

                    "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -Margaret Thatcher

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Light for how many hours ?

                      hah... thats ok... we're all still learning.

                      mmm... if your NO2 has spiked, it means that your tank has not completed cycling yet. You should continue to be diligent in doing your water changes to prevent the water from becoming too toxic, unitl cycling completes.

                      But i would suggest getting this stuff called "Biospira". The come in little refrigerated packets. Usually available at good LFS's. It will cycle your tank completely within 24 hrs. Then you don't have to worry about doing so many WC's per week.
                      www.ventralfins.com

                      Comment

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