Kingyfish1
Member
How long do most people run there lights for without having problems with alge, I have 27 Watts led light over an (LxWxH): 77.5 x 36 x 53cm (Volume 118 Litres) tank. I was thinking 8-9 hours but don't know for sure.
Thanks for the tips and replie, 🙂 think your right in running the tank and working out what works best, thanks againHi @Kingyfish1. I'm by no means an expert, but I'd say 8 hours is about typical.
If you have the option to adjust the lighting intensity it may help to start slightly weak and increase the intensity over time. If you see a bloom, reduce it back.
Other factors to take into consideration when it comes to algae are the amount of nutrients in the water column. If there is an absolute abundance, again, algae may thrive. Plants can limit this by soaking up said nutrients, and floating plants may be a good way to also suck these up along with affecting light penetration so could be a way of adjusting intensity if your light is not dimmable. Regular water changes also help dilute these nutrients.
Best way though is to set it all up and let it run, then combat the situational issues you face and learn from them.
This place is also a great resource for input and feedback based on what you experience with your aquarium. Perhaps not the most prompt but a good resource nonetheless.
Thanks for your advice 👍By no means an expert on this but it seems to be around 6 hours to start and increase as planys grow to around 8 But this is no means set in stone l think l am right in saying experts @Christel and @Darrell (dw) use a longer photoperiod as you would find in the wild. Interesting to a answer to a algae question by Ceg another expert it wont solve problems like algae and plant deficiencys etc by a shorter photo period if the light is too powerful or not powerful enough in the first place. A reduced photoperiod wont help. Floating plants will help with a too powerful light OC. Hope making sense here🙂
Think my co2 was low and I had low nutritants, I plarnted fast growing stem plants and some have black spots on the leaves, which I think is from low nutritants, but not sure about this, just trying to figure it all out and dial the tank in, don't help being a beginner.Hi, I think the answers above of 6-8 hrs are about right especially at start up.
The reason for posting was regards algae.
From personal experience, and doing lots of reading I think light intensity seems to be the major player in most set ups, as opposed to duration, that end up with algae outbreaks, fluctuating co2 levels/low co2 levels and insufficient nutrient levels all seem to be repeatedly mentioned. Getting a good plant mass from the get go certainly seems helpful as well.
I don't know if you have the ability to reduce you're light intensity but if you have it might be worth doing, especially if you see any signs of algae appearing.
Hi @John qI think light intensity seems to be the major player in most set ups, as opposed to duration...
Hi @John qAbsolutely agree Jpc, I was referring to it in regards to algae control.
I have found 6 hours of lighting works well for me and my tanks. I say "me" because (1) I schedule the photoperiod around the time I am most likely to enjoy an hour or 2 viewing the tank from my sofa 1530-2130How long do most people run there lights for without having problems with alge, I have 27 Watts led light over an (LxWxH): 77.5 x 36 x 53cm (Volume 118 Litres) tank. I was thinking 8-9 hours but don't know for sure.
I do and for the same reason as @Christel, in nature many of our plants get <"approx. 12 hours of incredibly bright tropical sunlight">.........and @Darrell (dw) use a longer photoperiod
The Soil Substrate Planted Tank - a How to Guide...
Lighting
Lighting duration depends largely on which source and intensity of aquarium lighting you chose. There are no hard and fast rules and a bit of experimentation is needed to get the optimum combination. This is important since in a soil substrate tank, without CO2 injection and nutrient dosing, lighting is usually the only parameter that you can vary to achieve a balanced system; but around 6 - 8 hours is the often quoted standard. In a newly set up tank it’s best to start with a photoperiod of just 6 hours to avoid algal outbreaks. Once the plants are grown in, and the tank becomes biologically stable, the photoperiod can be gradually increased if necessary.