New Member - T8 Lighting Query

Just switching different bulbs in your existing fixture will not help much to increase light levels in your tank.

One thing that was pretty common before the advent of T5HO bulbs was to overdrive T8 bulbs. To do that, you need some electrical knowledge and capability, and a new ballast.

Sometimes adding an excellent reflector to a fixture that didn't have one before can maximize light getting to plants. They are not that common for T8 bulbs, and whether they fit into your fixture is another question.

Keep in mind too that light levels aren't all that's needed to grow more finicky plants. A balanced fertilizer dosing and sufficient (high) CO2 levels are just as important.

Hey Wasserpest. Thanks for reading, and going to the trouble of replying to my post.

I`ve read about overdriving T8`s on another forum. However......The chances of me taking on such a task is nil. I don`t even know how to turn on the washing machine!:icon_lol:

I have custom made reflectors, made from highly polished alluminium, I work for an engineering company, and although my electronical knowledge is amateur at best, my sheet metal design, and fabricational skills are somewhat better?

You mention fertilization. I am dealing with a major algae outbreak at present, am I right in knocking all ferts on the head for a week or two? My PH is around 6.5 - KH is 100ppm - Lights are on 10hrs a day as is CO2. I don`t really have many demanding plants, mainly simple stem plants like Hygrophilia Polysperma, Bacopa Monnieri, Cabomba, and some Vallisneria. Didn`t want anything too demanding during my "Initiation" :icon_wink

Any advice really is appreciated. Thanks again.

For your algae outbreak I would lower photoperiod to 8 hours or lower. I run mine for 8 hours and it works great for me!

PistachioSith said:

You mention fertilization. I am dealing with a major algae outbreak at present, am I right in knocking all ferts on the head for a week or two? My PH is around 6.5 - KH is 100ppm - Lights are on 10hrs a day as is CO2. I don`t really have many demanding plants, mainly simple stem plants like Hygrophilia Polysperma, Bacopa Monnieri, Cabomba, and some Vallisneria. Didn`t want anything too demanding during my "Initiation" :icon_wink

Any advice really is appreciated. Thanks again.

Click to expand...

You are welcome.

More often than not algae outbreaks are a result of missing fertilizers rather than too much. It all depends. What do you dose? For a low light tank no huge spoonfuls are needed. If you dose "EI" then definitely knock them down for a while. Do you have a rough idea of the N and P levels in your tank?

Unfortunatly I have no idea of N and P levels. And have no way of testing. Maybe I should invest in a testing kit?
I will be researching the relevance of such levels of N and P in conjunction with plants?

I "Was" dosing with Seachem Comprehensive for my micro ferts roughly 2.5ml every other day. Then, when the algae outbreak became apparent, I tried to combat it by using Flourish Excel. Bad idea/Quick Fix!! My PH crashed, which my Loaches didn`t look too happy about!

I`m not dosing any kind of NPK ferts. Like I said in my earlier post, I`m totally new to all this. Learning more and more each day though. Please eleborate on the reference to "EI"?

I tried reducing my photoperiod to 8hrs but with no success! Even dropped off, to about 6hrs at one point....I have been battling algae since the very start. Probably as far back as the initial cycle.

Cheers guys.

Yes, I highly suggest investing on some test kits for N and P! I have a lot of co2 with higher lighting and my N and P levels get low in a couple days after dosing. It sounds like your algae is from lack of nutrients. Like Wasserpest said if you get your ferts balanced and in check along with your co2, I'm sure your tank will improve. Dont forget about K also!

Nevermind EI for now... When you stated earlier "knocking all the ferts" I assumed you were dosing macro nutrients.

If you don't dose macros (NPK) then we might have found your problem. Adding CO2 is great, but the potential for fast growth needs to be supplemented by dosing nutrients to build that substance.

So take some time to read/research the role of nitrates, phosphates and potassium for our aquatic plants.