Lighting question

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bhardtke

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 24, 2014
Messages
29
Location
Cincinnati, ohio
Im somewhat new here and have a question on lighting. right now I have a dual t8 and a single t8 above my 55 gal. With a 6500k bulb and a blue actinic bulb in the dual on from 8-11:30 and 3-8:30. And the other t8 I leave off but it has a 6500k bulb in It. I was wondering about putting both 6500k bulbs in the dual fixture running from 8-11:30 and 3-6 and then having the single t8 with the blue actinic bulb go from 6-8. But the prob. I don't want is another algae bloom. Any suggestions? ( I know if its not broke y mess with it) p.s. the way it is now im getting good plant growth.

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Your Tank Lighting

Hello bh...

I have a 55 G with two GE aquarium plant bulbs from the hardware store. They're 48 inch, T12s, 6500K and 40 watts per bulb. The plants are the tropical, low light types, so I have the lights on a timer for 12 hours on and 12 off.

The T8s are fine too. They'll shine a bit brighter, but over a smaller area. Just have a good number of fish in the tank and change half the tank water every couple of weeks and the plants should do well.

B
 
55 gal dirted tank with organic miracle grow and capped with sand.
A fluval 304 with a sponge over intake and a 100 gph pre filter powerhead. I am also running co2 bout 1 bubble per second. Lighting i have 3 t8's 2 day light and 1 blue atinic bout 2 watts per gal. Last night I added water clarifier to see if that would help.

Fish:
1 bala shark
2 rainbow shark
2 redtail shark
2 drawf groumais
3 ottos
2 siamese algae eater
2 giant danio
4 cherry shrimp
1 bumble bee shrimp
4 ghost shrimp

About 1/2 dozen different plants*
Penny wort, jungle val, foxtail, dhg, crypt, cpl other ones. This is my full setup

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I don't think the actinic bulb is doing any good for your plants. It's more a salt water bulb. Is there a bluish tint to it ?
 
I thought so I wanted it more or less to help show color of fish. When I had all three up and running I got an algae bloom.

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55 gal dirted tank with organic miracle grow and capped with sand.
A fluval 304 with a sponge over intake and a 100 gph pre filter powerhead. I am also running co2 bout 1 bubble per second. Lighting i have 3 t8's 2 day light and 1 blue atinic bout 2 watts per gal. Last night I added water clarifier to see if that would help.

Fish:
1 bala shark
2 rainbow shark
2 redtail shark
2 drawf groumais
3 ottos
2 siamese algae eater
2 giant danio
4 cherry shrimp
1 bumble bee shrimp
4 ghost shrimp

About 1/2 dozen different plants*
Penny wort, jungle val, foxtail, dhg, crypt, cpl other ones. This is my full setup

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

Welcome to AA!
What was your light schedule when you had the algae bloom? How long has this tank been set up? Are you running pressurized C02 or DIY? What is your vision for this tank?
There are other factors that can contribute to algae blooms. What is your feeding schedule? More info would be helpful.
 
I used to keep lights on bout 8-8. Its been setup since early jan. I'm running pressurized co2. Im not sure my full picture, im content how it is but think it could look better plant,fish and scaping. I usually feed every other day

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I used to keep lights on bout 8-8. Its been setup since early jan. I'm running pressurized co2. Im not sure my full picture, im content how it is but think it could look better plant,fish and scaping. I usually feed every other day

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12 hour light periods are too long IMO. You have a good substrate for plants. I would toss the actinic bulb and put the other 65K bulb in your dual fixture. You could try an 6 to 8 hour light period and put a lot more plants in. Try some fast growing plants like wisteria to soak up nutrients. Do you dose any ferts?
 
Yeah I had 5 one died/eaten. But the fish tend to leave them alone. They all come out when I feed, especially the ghost shrimp they swim all around.

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