Lighting Issue

[mrjezzi]

I have a Juwel Rio 125 with DIY co2 and Ei (as of later today when it turns up).
I have several lighting options:

2x18w -> 1.1wpg
2x55w -> 3.3wpg

I've tried running 1x 55w and 1x 18w (2.1wpg) but the 55w has starting issues when only used with the one T5 tube rather than 2 tubes.

The tank is heavily planted and is recovering from some algae issues at the moment (due to previous high light). What I was thinking is that if I can't fix the starting issue and have to run 2x 55w, I could add some kind of floating plant that would reduce the light in the tank? Does anyone agree with this idea or can they suggest something else?

Thanks!

 

[nry]

Can you run 2xT8 for 2 hours, switch to the 2x55w for 4 hours, then back to the 2xT8 for a further 2 hours? Kind of a mid-day burst as discussed elsewhere on this forum?

 

[mrjezzi]

Can you run 2xT8 for 2 hours, switch to the 2x55w for 4 hours, then back to the 2xT8 for a further 2 hours? Kind of a mid-day burst as discussed elsewhere on this forum?

I can run all the lights in the hood but because of the way Juwel has organised the standard lights (2x 18w) to be either side of the central ballast the brighter lights are up close to the glass (front and back) resulting in most of the algae growth.

The current setup has the back 18w tube removed and a brighter T5 held in place with cable ties (electrics for the orginal tube are safely sealed off with tape). I have run 4 tubes in the hood before and there is a definite access problem and also the T5's block a lot of the light from the other smaller tubes going into the tank - this results in the low light period being very very dark!