Algae & Lighting

[Fin-ish]

Hi,
I have a 4ft tank setup( 46 gallons) with 2 tubes fitted, one an Aquaq Glow 40w and an Arcadia plant growth light, the probelm I have is the plants which are mainly rooted to bogwood, have developed a lot of algae growth also som of the bogwood itself. The lights are on for about 8hrs a day and I have a Co2 unit installed ( home made ) and I run an air pump through a diffuser 24/7 the only other plants are some vallis spiral , which are struggling to grow and I do a third water change every week the temperature of the tank is 78 degrees (F) and the fish are mainly teras and cories.
I would like to grow more plants and have a denser layout but am not sure which is the problem I should be looking at as the lights probably need replacing with something better.
thanks
Les

 

[minnnt]

What kind of co2 method are you using? Yeast or pressurised? You may find that the algae is caused by the lack of nutrients.

I'm no expert, but the way i understand it is if there is light, there will be algae, if there is light and co2 then there will be more algae. If there is light, co2 and fertilisers all in the right proportion then there is no algae.

Ask in the planted section for a more detailed answer mate, but if you start adding a complete fertiler such and TPN+ by Tropica then things will probably improve.

You could also try lowering the photosynthesis time to 6 or 7 hours a day.

 

[SLIM]

Yes lack of nutrients can be a cause of algae when injecting co2 but your lighting shouldnt be a factor. The main causes are not enough or fluctuating co2, Ammonia from rotting plant matter or over feeding, and lack of flow is a big one.
What method are you using to inject?
Is your co2 kept at 30ppm comsistantly?
How big is your tank and what is your current LPH rate?
And whats your current WPG?