Lowered how long the lights on what next

crystalview

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Sep 6, 2008
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I am pretty sure I have GSA. I can take it off with my mag cleaner if I work at it. This is a newly set up tank so I expect something. I have lowered the hours on my light to 8hrs from 10hrs. The light is raised 5" (see sig) I am using 1/2 dose EI. I just increased the PO4 to normal EI a week ago. water reads O, O, 4-
Ph 6.5 . I put a cover on the front of the tank so the sun does not get at it in ther morning. What else can I do? My light is raised on brackets so it is as high as it can go.
 

Gerryd

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Hi,

That is a lot of light for a non c02 enriched tank......

I would halve it or raise the fixture some....

Try a few extra water changes. In a cycling tank, nh4 is readily available and algae can grow.

Try adding a bit more p04. Are your test kits calibrated? Are they accurate?

Many folks dose more than EI. Remember it is flexible in design.

Hope this helps.

P.S. What is a mag cleaner?
 

shoggoth43

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Throw in some more stem plants perhaps to try and outgrow the algae a bit? How much plant biomass do you have in there? That will also make a difference in fighting your algae issue.

-
S
 

crystalview

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I am adding more moss and UG after this weekend. I will also try to get more stem plants. I don't usually need them because the Wisteria usually runs a muck. Not this time, Its sickly.
How high should the light be moved up? It is going to be trickie the way I do the light. It is on brackets and I don't have a way to hang or mount the light.

What happens if I would cover half of the light with something, Or narrowed it width range?
The only other light I have is a !0000K 42w and that seem to low of light. What do you think?
 

shoggoth43

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Floating plants maybe to cut down on the light in the tank?

Anything that blocks the light will work. Even that plastic "eggcrate" light diffuser stuff you can get at Home Depot or Lowes will work. Bear in mind one direction focuses the light and the other diffuses it a bit.

-
S
 

crystalview

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Sep 6, 2008
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Mag cleaner is a magnet glass cleaner- mine will do most GSA


I took foil and cover about 1/2 of the U-shaped tube in my 96w light. I am hoping this will reduce the wattage to about 72w. I don't think the heavy foil will hurt the light, but I was not sure if covering the tube will just distribute the light rays to the other sections that are not covered. What do you think?
 

shoggoth43

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The foil will probably block enough light. None of the reflectors in use are 100% effective and a lot of the light the foil reflects back will end up hitting the flourescent tube anyway. You may want to check on the temperature of the lamp(s) being covered in foil to make sure they aren't getting too hot though. Otherwise you're probably set.

-
S
 

crystalview

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Sep 6, 2008
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I am getting the clubs PAR for a bit. Hope I can figure out how to use it. The meter should help on what the real levels of light are. Any idea's on how to use it? Hope it has the instruction or I am up ---- creek. Or if it is tough to understand I may be there already.
 

VaughnH

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The PAR meter is as simple as it is possible to be. Just turn it on, stick the sensor where you want to know the PAR intensity, and read the meter. Then move it to another location and repeat, etc. To be useful to others it helps enormously to record the distance from the light you measured the PAR at, what kind and wattage of lights you have, and where in the aquarium you measured. You can move the sensor around, while watching the meter, to get an idea about how much variation in PAR you have in the tank. One more thing - if that meter has a two position switch, labeled "electric light" and "sunlight", use the electric light setting. (I don't think it does.)
 

crystalview

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Sep 6, 2008
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Hi Vaughn
How do I convert the PAR reading to make sense to me? Is there a chart on the averages needed for good plant growth to go along with the PAR? I am guessing some plants need more light (stems) and some don't (Fissiden) is there chart or formula for this info also?
 

VaughnH

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Unfortunately, we are just beginning to accumulate the data needed to answer that question well. Tom has posted that the approximate ranges for low, medium and high light for many plants are: Low - 50 , Medium - 75-150 , High - above 150. The effect of the light level depends a lot on whether you have good CO2 or not. With good CO2 low light intensity still gives good growth for most plants, but without CO2, many of those plants may not grow at all. I think what we are doing with the PAR meter can be considered to be just gathering information for now. But, comparing your readings to those above will give you some idea about how intense your lighting is, and whether you might want to lower it or increase it.

Also, don't forget that the intensity near the top of the tank will be a lot higher than at the bottom of the tank. If you are trying to grow HC, for example, it is the intensity at the substrate that is of most interest, but for taller plants, it is the intensity in the middle area of the tank. Once you get two readings over the same spot on the substrate, and measure the distance from the light for each reading, you can predict pretty accurately what the intensity is at other distances from the light.

You can also see how uniform your light intensity is from side to side, and from front to back. Ideally, the intensities will all be about the same, where ever you are in the tank. But, you can be sure they won't be.

If you decide to try for more or for less intensity, having two readings over the same spot on the substrate, at known distances from the light, allows you to accuratedly determine how much higher or lower to locate the light for the intensity you want.