Turning Lights On And Off To Prevent Algae

[panboy]

I have always been keeping my lights for 10 hours a day, no break.
I want to try to have a break in between, such as 5 on, 2 off, 5 on.

I have two light fixtures, one 96w compact flourescent and one 25w normal flourescent.

Now, I've been thinking to keep the 25w for 12 hours straight, while the stronger 96w will go on for 5, off for 2, then on for 5.
How would this work with algae? I know the break period helps, but would even a small 25w in my 46gallon ruin the whole "siesta" idea?

 

[karlp]

The whole siesta idea is not really proven to help with algae anyway, but from what you're saying it looks as though you're planning to extend the lighting rather than shorten it, which will probably make any algae problem worse.

I do a siesta too, but have no lights on during the siesta, but time the siesta so that it is at normal daylight time so as not to confuse the fish.

 

[haplover]

I assume with that kind of lighting you are keeping live plants. Algae in a planted tank grows because it the plants do not out compete the algae for the nutrients in the water. The CO2 in the water allows the plants to use the nutrients, if there is an insufficient source of CO2 then the plants will not use the nutrients as fast and algae will grow. I have 240w of light on my 75gal and I never see a spot of algae because of the CO2 I inject. If you are experiencing problems with Algae growth you may want to explore the possibility of injecting CO2, andif you are already doing that you may want to look into boosting the ammount you are injecting. With the proper balance of CO2, nutritrients and light you should never experience problems with algae.

 

[lljdma06]

I assume with that kind of lighting you are keeping live plants. Algae in a planted tank grows because it the plants do not out compete the algae for the nutrients in the water. The CO2 in the water allows the plants to use the nutrients, if there is an insufficient source of CO2 then the plants will not use the nutrients as fast and algae will grow. I have 240w of light on my 75gal and I never see a spot of algae because of the CO2 I inject. If you are experiencing problems with Algae growth you may want to explore the possibility of injecting CO2, andif you are already doing that you may want to look into boosting the ammount you are injecting. With the proper balance of CO2, nutritrients and light you should never experience problems with algae.

I agree, with that amount of light, I would start injecting CO2. How big is the tank? What kind of plants do you keep? I must have missed that some where. You have like 121W in your tank. Depending on the size of your aquarium, you have quite a few affordable options for CO2 injection. I use Nutrafin canisters and bubble ladders and make my own fermentation mix of yeast and sugar. Dissolved CO2 is also easy to measure in an aquarium. Simply test the pH and then test the KH (carbonate hardness).

Here is a link to a chart that will then give you the ppm of CO2 in your tank. The safe levels in that chart are rather conservative. I maintain 30ppm in one tank and 35ppm in another with no adverse affects on my fish. Simply scroll down on the web page and measure your ppm. If I am breaking any rules by providing this link, moderators please let me know. For me, this article is purely informational.

Measuring CO2 in a Planted tank

If you require further assistance, please check out the planted section of this forum. There are many members there that are far more knowledgable in this field that I.

Warmest regards, and please post a picture of your tank, I'd love to see it.

 

[panboy]

thanks guys.

I actually already inject diy co2.
I have a 46g btw. I don't have an algae 'problem', but I do have some algae that does grow on the glass. It's not a big deal, but since I am gone during the day, I thought I could try to switch it up and see if I see any results.
After posting this, I have also read that the break period doesn't do much to some poeple, and does alot to others. I might just keep my normal timing since I dont have an algae problem and it would increase the time my lights are on as FishyMad said. and so I do not confuse fish into thinking there are 12 hours in a day.