Changing lights, Advise required

[ukco2guy]

Hi,

I have just grabbed a bargain, a Luminaire twin 54w T5 4ft for £13. Currently i have a hood with twin38w t8`s and i`m concerned that when i switch to the T5`s i`m going to have an algae outbreak. For the past 4 months going by CEG`s advice i have had zero algae and growth has been good apart from straggly stem plants which i suspect was a lack of light. So i`m hoping raising this lighting level up to T5`s i`ll finally be able to grow decent stem plants. The 4ft tank it`s on is high EI dosed with 30ppm (ish) of injected co2. Should i reduce the photo period for a while when i get the new light? Should i change any of my existing regimen (2x trace 3x npk per week), co2 @ 3b/sec, lights on for 12hrs a day?

Cheers,

 

[ceg4048]

Hi,
Sorry to rain on your parade but straggly growth has very little to do with light. It has much more to do with weak CO2 and flow. If you're seeing straggly growth then this is a harbinger of doom. I'd suggest you add a few more filters and lots more injection if you intend to add more light. Your T8s have actually saved you from disaster. Adding more light very rarely solves a problem. Always think about adding more flow and CO2 first. for more details see the second post in this thread. http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=12101

Cheers,

 

[ukco2guy]

Hi Clive,

I had an external eheim 2224, an internal fluval 4 and an internal eheim powerhead (600) up until last month. I have changed it to a single Aquis 1050 but not noticed much of a change since, well no dip in growth etc since moving across. Should i put the powerhead back in? I was wondering about a Koralia 1 as when i had the three on originally the fish were not too happy about the high velocity. On the co2 front i have installed an inline diffuser which is sat just before the spray bars and since installation my crypts have perked up a bit, just the issues with stem plants for the last few months. It`s still set to 3b/sec and the 500grm bottle that i had filled for £18 at maidenhead aquatics is already on 45bar after only 3 weeks so i`m getting a 5KG FE on asap. As i`ve only just added the diffuser i think it`s wise for me to wait a couple more weeks before changing but is 3b/sec really enough? As i say i believe that co2 is getting around better now since the diffuser installed (original diffuser was a JBL Vario).

Still £13 for the lights, even if they have to wait until i get things more stable i just couldn`t leave that bargain go past

As ever thanks for your advice Clive

Cheers,

 

[ceg4048]

Hi mate,
Yeah 13 quid is too good of a deal to pass up, no doubt. But don't forget that energizing these lights will be like entering The Neutral Zone. Romulan Warbirds are cloaked and are ready to strike at any moment. Flow is so very important in a high light CO2 enriched tank. It's importance can hardly be overstated.

I can't remember everyone's configuration. Are you using a spraybar? If so where have you positioned it? That always helps to diffuse the flow which helps the fish. You can add more holes if the velocity is too harsh.

Even after you improve flow and injection it still takes 2-3 weeks to assess it's effects because it takes that much time for the plant to fully utilize the higher CO2. This has to do with ramping up production of the enzyme Rubisco which is the enzyme that transports CO2 to the reaction centres.

Cheers,

 

[ukco2guy]

Hi,

Yeah no worries, it`s using a pair of spray bars positioned just below the surface so i have an amount of surface agitation but also ensuring that the flow hits the front of the tank, down the front glass then back (as per your advise). I have attached a pic so you can see the layout. I`m giving 2-3 weeks between changes in the tank before making any additional changes. The recent changes with the co2 injection i think are making a difference (with the new diffuser) so far but like you say i still think i don`t have enough flow or the direction is wrong.



Cheers,

 

[ceg4048]

OK, yeah, you're on the right track. A copule of options are to either widen the holes, drill more holes or to extend the last few inches of spraybar to lower the velocity. Anabantoids typically don't like high flow so yes, that is a conflict of interest.

Just as a reality check..that angle of view in the photo is from the back of the tank looking towards the front, right?

Cheers,

 

[ukco2guy]

Hi,

Yeah i know it`s confusing, as it`s situated in the centre of the room and is viewable from all sides, the front is actually where you can see the spray bar which is acting as the back and pointing what would be the back of the tank but is the front... I have foreground plants on both sides (right hand side of the tank) with vesalis in the middle. At some point i will probably move it back to against a wall and completely re-scape it (so setup properly).

So spray bar looks ok then? I will look at extending it full length and like you say if i add another external filter at the other end i`ll look at widening the holes. Do you think i still need a koralia just to circulate around more?

Cheers,

 

[ceg4048]

....the front is actually where you can see the spray bar which is acting as the back and pointing what would be the back of the tank but is the front...

Ooo..Kaay..glad you cleared that up...

Yeah the spraybar looks fine. In my opinion you can never have enough flow, so if you have an extra Koralia laying about then definitely use it. The scape can either help or hinder flow, so for example when it makes contact with what should ordinarily be tall, massive background plants there is a loss of flow due to friction and blockage.

I think I mentioned this to someone else where they also got a screaming deal on 400 gigawatt high energy Klingon Particle Beam Accelerator. That is, you may now need to spend more for a bigger filter or high flow pumps to distribute nutrient/CO2 because of the higher performance demands placed on the plants.

Cheers,