[cooledwhip]

Hello all. I have a couple questions about lighting as I just started having massive algae outbreaks and I never really payed attention to lighting.

1. I have a 20 gallon long planted tank. I use CO2, ferts, and the light is Aqueon LEDs. I have had it for a while and it works great but just recently I have been getting black beard hair algae on my plants. What should I do to get rid of it? The led light system has red leds and blue leds but I don't keep the blue LEDS on because I thought that caused algae.

2. I have a 10 gallon that currently uses blue and white LEDS only. (there is no red spectrum) I already have some sylvania 23w "Now smaller than ever" micro CFL but I don't have like a holder for it. Can I just use any desk lamp? I tried that but then the bulb just fizzled out and broke I guess. I think they are called hoods?

3. I have a 2.5 gallon micro aquascape that will be growing some pearlweed and some glosso. Currently it is cycling and I have it on my window getting sunlight but soon I will need a light for it. I want to try and avoid LEDs, so should I get more of the Sylvania 23w Micro mini CFLs? They have 6500K btw.

Please respond fast because I want to get rid of the algae.

 

[jefferzbooboo]

What's your Co2 levels at? What are your other parameters? How long are your lights on?

 

[ericwithac]

As far as BBA, ive recently discovered its all about flow. Yes, people will tell you to turn your lights off sooner (even though BBA can grow in the dark) or dose insane amount of Flourish Excel, or do some 1-2 punch bullcrap with hydrogen peroxide.

Yes, I still dose Flourish Excel, but it is only 1.5x the recommend amount for my tank. I had a cobalt powerhead that died, and sure enough the BBA came out in full force. Ever since I got a new powerhead, the BBA has started to (slowly) retreat. I would recommend getting some better flow in your tank, and not worry about your lights so much.

 

[onlycrimson]

I think you'll find that bba is a persistent algae. There are many variables and unknowns. I have plenty of flow in my tank and still get bba in spots.
I would advise to spot treat the bba with h202 every day keeping it under 1ml per gallon.

 

[bsherwood]

"h202 bullcrap"......lol

 

[Hoppy]

As far as BBA, ive recently discovered its all about flow. Yes, people will tell you to turn your lights off sooner (even though BBA can grow in the dark) or dose insane amount of Flourish Excel, or do some 1-2 punch bullcrap with hydrogen peroxide.

Yes, I still dose Flourish Excel, but it is only 1.5x the recommend amount for my tank. I had a cobalt powerhead that died, and sure enough the BBA came out in full force. Ever since I got a new powerhead, the BBA has started to (slowly) retreat. I would recommend getting some better flow in your tank, and not worry about your lights so much.

Some people have found that BBA grows best in areas with good water flow. One thing that has been learned by many people, and found to be correct, is that if you use CO2, and don't have the same concentration of CO2 in the water every day, day after day after day, BBA will start growing. I had that experience with DIY CO2. Some of us have found that if you stick to low light any BBA you have will grow very slowly, giving you plenty of time to kill/remove it before it becomes a problem. Everyone who has had high light has found that you need to keep your tank clean, the substrate clean, the hoses clean, the filter clean, etc. or BBA will be a problem for you.

My solution to my BBA problem, which nearly made me drop this hobby, was to use low light only. I now have about 35-40 PAR lighting and the BBA I find is very easy to get rid of, at my leisure. I also use Excel (Metricide now) at about 1.5 - 2 ml per 10 gallons of water, dosed every day. That gives me much better plant growth, and good healthy plant growth is the ultimate solution to BBA problems.

 

[cooledwhip]

I will try using Flourish Excel and spot treat with that. I have almost no flow in my tank and was considering getting a wave maker with the BBA or not, just so my plants can move a bit.