Do Marine Lights Cause Algae?

[deftuch]

i was thinking of changing my tropical tank lighting to marine to help bring out the colors in my malawi's but i do not want this to cause excess alage to grow inside on the glass as i am forever scrubbing them anyway! any advice welcome

 

[Zikofski]

haha okay i dont think marine lighting will cause the algae what sort of algae you have guessing its green dust or green spot given its on the tank glass? any pictures?

 

[deftuch]

haha okay i dont think marine lighting will cause the algae what sort of algae you have guessing its green dust or green spot given its on the tank glass? any pictures?

its just regular alage, im fairly certain it must be my lights, as my water is crystal clear and i do water changes every week, nitrates are low, no direct sunlight! its only on the glass. not in the water. the problem is. my malawi tank is fine. i scrub it out of choice to prevent it looking ugly. butt the problem is in my comm tank. they use exactly the same water supply, only thing is they have different lights. i was thinking of buying marine lights for my malawi tank and using the current lights for my comm tank, but the last thing i want is two tanks that need 2 x 30 minute sessions of scrubbing lol. i never had this problem with t8's

 

[Lunar Jetman]

How long are your lights on for, what size is your tank and what filtration/flow have you got in it?

 

[deftuch]

How long are your lights on for, what size is your tank and what filtration/flow have you got in it?

180 litre tank, 8 hours a day. but now down to 5 hours internal fluval u4 and external cristalprofi e700, i have good flow, no air pump but the output of the external is above water level and i do atleast 50 percent water change a week.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It sounds like you have no plants in the tank.  Lights aren't required by the fish, so keep the lights on the tank only for the hours that you spend watching the fish.  If you are only going to be around the tank for 5 hours, then keep the lights off except during that period.  If you are only around for 3 hours, then keep it on for 3 hours.  The ambient light in the room will be sufficient for the fish.
 
Keeping the lights on a bunch without plants in the tank is just begging for algae. 

 

[deftuch]

It sounds like you have no plants in the tank.  Lights aren't required by the fish, so keep the lights on the tank only for the hours that you spend watching the fish.  If you are only going to be around the tank for 5 hours, then keep the lights off except during that period.  If you are only around for 3 hours, then keep it on for 3 hours.  The ambient light in the room will be sufficient for the fish.
 
Keeping the lights on a bunch without plants in the tank is just begging for algae. 

hi thanks i once had a small co2 sytstem with a heavily planted tank but it was wiped out by hair alage, i do indeed still have some plants. mainly anubias and ferns ect, easy grow plants, however even they have some hair algae on them, i jjust wondered if 2 x t5 35 watts is too much on a bow front? as it seems the bowed front reflects light way too much and the front of the tank is also the worst effected.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Front is getting a lot of light from a lot of different directions.
 
 
T5s are very intense for their "wattage".   How big is the tank?   I think the photo period and/or the location of the tank is responsible for the algae.  Is the tank in an especially bright room - or getting any direct sunlight as well?

 

[deftuch]

Front is getting a lot of light from a lot of different directions.
 
 
T5s are very intense for their "wattage".   How big is the tank?   I think the photo period and/or the location of the tank is responsible for the algae.  Is the tank in an especially bright room - or getting any direct sunlight as well?

ive had to makeshift cardboard blockers to go on both sides of the aquarium because i suspected it was too much room light/sunlight, i just dont get how i have 2 tanlks both 180 litre bow fronts ( same tank ) both with t5's yet one tank is so hard to maintain while the other is easy

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It could be factors like natural light coming in to one versus the other.

 

[deftuch]

It could be factors like natural light coming in to one versus the other.

how long does water stay accurate in a sealed container, i woudnt mind sending my tank water off to be tested for everything, i only own the most common tests!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

What do you want to test it for specifically?

 

[deftuch]

What do you want to test it for specifically?

im not sure yet, i was hoping to find someone who can tell me that, im baffled, im sure you can think of a million things to test for, some more uncommon than others, any ideas?

 

[SO19Firearms]

If your tank is planted then I'd make sure you're feeding them plenty of Nitrate and Phosphate, you also stated that your output is above the water level - This disturbance is going to reduce your CO2 levels - If this falls below a critical value in relation to the amount of light you're giving them - you're goint to get algae. (Sunlight causing algae in tanks - same thing)

IMO

 

[MoneyMitch]

It sounds like you have no plants in the tank.  Lights aren't required by the fish, so keep the lights on the tank only for the hours that you spend watching the fish.  If you are only going to be around the tank for 5 hours, then keep the lights off except during that period.  If you are only around for 3 hours, then keep it on for 3 hours.  The ambient light in the room will be sufficient for the fish.
 
Keeping the lights on a bunch without plants in the tank is just begging for algae. 

hi thanks i once had a small co2 sytstem with a heavily planted tank but it was wiped out by hair alage, i do indeed still have some plants. mainly anubias and ferns ect, easy grow plants, however even they have some hair algae on them, i jjust wondered if 2 x t5 35 watts is too much on a bow front? as it seems the bowed front reflects light way too much and the front of the tank is also the worst effected.

 
plants growing algae = there is too much light meaning it is way to intense. normally with this type of lighting you either get a pressurized Co2 system or floaters I.E Frogbit, salvania,duckweed etc etc. this will diffuse the light and soak up excess nutrients. I have the same lights as you (t5 HO dual) over a 55 planted. I don't use co2 at this point. however when the tank was first setup I noticed hair algae growing on some of my baccopia species. after I added some floaters it cleared up and the plants grew through it.
 
keep ferting once a week and aim to get your light on period where you want it. I am at 10 hrs a day with minimal fish load and NO algae growth on plants. now if I bump lighting to even +1 hr. this was a balance that has taken me 3 months to find and was very frustrating. but in your case its both duration AND intensity. GET SOME FLOATERS or get some lattices to lay across the tank to block some of that light until you do get floaters... or get a less powerful light.