Tank looks like a soda-bottle after shake

robin.weiss

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Hi,

I use the EI now for 8 weeks and I had very good results in growth since then. Minor brush algae occuring at the beginning but now going away.
Today my new hood arrived, equipped with 4x24W T5 tubes. Before I had 3x18W T8.
The tank is 112l/30gal so I would now have 3.2W/gal.

Is that maybe too much? Will I run into trouble soon? Should I reduce the lighting time? At the moment I use 5hlight / 4hoursbreak / 5hlight.
I think about having 2 tubes only on for 2x3h, I don´t know.
I always wanted to have a tank were poor lighting is not an issue but maybe now I overdid it.

Has anybody any experience that he could share?

After an hour of illumination my tank looks like a shaken soda bottle, it is pearling heavily everywhere, I almost do not see the fish...

Thanks
Robin
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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Do not do the 4 hours off method, bad idea..............

Do 10 hours total and have 2 x24 watt on for 10 hours and all of them on for 3-4 hours in the middle of the day.

Are you interested in increased pruning and growth rates or just good growth without algae?

More light= more work.
A spike in the middle of the day will still cause the plants to pearl well, but not drain so much from the tank and grow quite as fast etc.

Regards,
Tom Barr