deichkorn
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi there. I decided to try real plants in my aquarium (46 gallon). I quickly learned that the stock hood that came with the tank 10 years ago wasn’t going to cut it. My local aquarium store sold me this fixture, AquaticLife LLC | Premium Marine Aquarium Products. One catch, they didn’t have the freshwater version in the size I needed so they sold me the marine version with the blue lamp. They said the fixture would work the same only the blue light would have a different visual affect vs. the two regular blubs. It looked weird for a bit but my wife says she likes it so I guess I’m going to leave it be.
The plants I added are Mexican oak leaf. They’re nice – tall and fill the back very well. They seem to be doing well except the entire tank is suddenly covered in algae – probably because of the new intense lighting. There’s so much, the pleco isn’t keeping up with it – I may have to get another. (The new fixture has been running for about a week)
Questions… 1. Thoughts about using the marine bulb in this fixture? Should I replace it with a second bulb to match the non marine bulb in the fixture? 2. Will the algae bloom continue at this rate or will it slow eventually once the tank is used to the light? 3. How many hours should the lighting cycle last? I’m running 10 hours now – too much? Not enough?
I’m excited about this site – thanks everyone in advance for your help.
The plants I added are Mexican oak leaf. They’re nice – tall and fill the back very well. They seem to be doing well except the entire tank is suddenly covered in algae – probably because of the new intense lighting. There’s so much, the pleco isn’t keeping up with it – I may have to get another. (The new fixture has been running for about a week)
Questions… 1. Thoughts about using the marine bulb in this fixture? Should I replace it with a second bulb to match the non marine bulb in the fixture? 2. Will the algae bloom continue at this rate or will it slow eventually once the tank is used to the light? 3. How many hours should the lighting cycle last? I’m running 10 hours now – too much? Not enough?
I’m excited about this site – thanks everyone in advance for your help.