Dwarf hairgrass

[Mijo51380]

Hey guy what's up what can I do to keep my dwarf hairgrass clean and grow better have high light co2

 

[Mijo51380]

Temp is about 78f ph 7.0 use seachem but got more algae than anything

 

[Mijo51380]

When us ring seachem

 

[Mebbid]

What's your lighting and what specific ferts are you using?

DHG not growing is usually because of insufficient light but the wrong fertilizer will do the same thing.

 

[Mijo51380]

Well I think I have too much light 250w mh I know it's a overkill but it will have to work tell I get a new light the dhg is green and new growth is coming up but there's crap all over it I have to clean every day will let you know what fert I'm useing later when I get home

 

[Mebbid]

Ahh, if you have that much light then it might be causing some algae growth. Try raising the light up a little bit.

 

[Jkeating8]

Over what size tank? 250w of MH is A LOT of light.

 

[Mijo51380]

Yeah I know saving some money to get something else

 

[Mijo51380]

55 gallon

 

[Mijo51380]

It was seachem flourish

 

[Jkeating8]

I think the excessive light is what is doing it for ya

 

[Mijo51380]

Thanks guys ill have to get a new light what way should I go LED or T5HO I'm thinking T5

 

[Jkeating8]

Brian is the LED master. You could go Finnex Ray 2 + Monster Ray, BuildMyLED, or a 2 or 4 bulb t5ho. I'm not sure if you would want a 2 bulb or a 4 bulb. I think a 2 bulb would suffice if the reflectors were individual.

 

[aqua_chem]

Whats your co2 setup? Also, use liquid fertilizers with that much light and co2 isn't going to work, and is probably where a lot of your problems are coming from. I would recommend getting dry ferts and optimizing co2 before buying another light.

Also, isnt a single MH over a 55g pretty bad light distribution? Or do you have it hanging pretty high?

Also, what algae do you have?

 

[Rivercats]

I use 3 150W Metal Halides but over a 220g tank that is 30" deep and Aqua is right that light distribution is bad unless you raise them pretty high. I learned to use them when I kept reef tanks for years but miy Metal Halides are on short legs and I have to use T5HO's to supplement light so it's more balanced through the tank. Plus I can only run them 6 hours max to keep the tank algae free. How long are you running your light? You also need to be using dry ferts to get enough nutrients in the water. I have a 55 that I am just redoing that has a 2 bulb T5HO Aquatic Life fixture with Geisemann bulbs and I'm not sure it would grow DHG very well. I planted some of my non green plants from my 220g and time will tell if I need a 4 bulb fixture or an LED. I also have two tanks now with Build My LED fixtures and I can guarantee one of them will be plenty on a 55. They are pricey but really good lights. I also get the 75% beam angle on them. Here's a link that you can read the spec's about it.... Freshwater Planted Tank - Build My LED, LLC.

 

[Mijo51380]

Ok the light is about two feet from the tank Co2 is run by a pinpoint pH controller at 7.0. The tank is only 5 weeks old had some brown algae but got some otos and went away. When I got home today the tank looks the best it ever has

 

[Mijo51380]

And lights are on for 12 hours

 

[aqua_chem]

The I guess I'm confused about what the problem is. Is your DHG growing well now? What did you mean by 'staying clean' if not algae?

 

[Rivercats]

You don't need to run that high of lighting for that long. I run mine at 6 hours daily which allows the plants to grow great but keeps algae at bay. Your tank is new and most likely you have diatoms which are self limiting and will go away after the excess silicates in your water are used up. Oto's love diatoms.