# 2 types of algea



## chr15_8 (13 May 2021)

Hi

My tank has been set up since about January. Within a week there was a dark/¹brown stringy growth on the wood. I assumed this would of went away but it has grown a little over the last 4 months. I haven't really had the lights on much as I only managed to put the plants in Tuesday.

I upgraded my light to a twinstar 900s over the weekend and have since had some green algea growth.

I currently change about 1/3 of the water every week.

Could someone advise what type these both are?

Thanks
Chris


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## chr15_8 (16 May 2021)

Any suggestions?
The green algea has started to spread a fair bit now.

Thanks
Chris


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## ceg4048 (17 May 2021)

chr15_8 said:


> I upgraded my light to a twinstar 900s over the weekend and have since had some green algea growth.


Hi,
    This happens a lot when people "upgrade" their light instead of just using the basic light.
Light causes algae, so step #1 is to reduce the light intensity to about 25% of the max intensity.

Cheers,


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## chr15_8 (18 May 2021)

Hi,
I've got the light/programmer set for the below. The light is only at 50% for 4 hours with 3 hours of the light ramping up and down either side.

How about the brown coloured growth on the wood? Any suggestion what this is?

13.00 - 0%
14.00 - 10%
16.00 - 50%
20.00 - 50%
22.00 - 10%
23.00 - 0%

Thanks
Chris


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## ceg4048 (19 May 2021)

chr15_8 said:


> I've got the light/programmer set for the below. The light is only at 50% for 4 hours with 3 hours of the light ramping up and down either side.


Hi,
    Well, really, that's still a lot of light. As I mentioned, limiting the maximum to about 25% is the best start. Plants really do not want a lot of light when you throw them under the water. They are really struggling to breathe and adding more light forces them to try and breath more, so this is a bad combination.


chr15_8 said:


> How about the brown coloured growth on the wood? Any suggestion what this is?


Yes, that is diatomic algae, of which there are about 10,000 different species. They normally appear in new setups for a few weeks and then they go away, unless the hobbyist pummels the tank with lots of light, where they then make hardscape items look like muppets.
Remove, scrub and clean as much and as often as possible.  2 or 3 water changes per week of 50% or more  would not be over the top.

Cheers,


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## chr15_8 (20 May 2021)

Perfect thanks for that. Will turn it down. Woukd you say my lighting period is suitable?

Unfortunately the wood is all glued into place. Would scrubbing it under water with a gravel vac on the go be OK or do I risk releasing more spores into the water? I know its not the best looking but I can live with it if I was to naturally stop/slow.

Thanks
Chris


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## ceg4048 (21 May 2021)

chr15_8 said:


> Perfect thanks for that. Will turn it down. Woukd you say my lighting period is suitable?
> 
> Unfortunately the wood is all glued into place. Would scrubbing it under water with a gravel vac on the go be OK or do I risk releasing more spores into the water? I know its not the best looking but I can live with it if I was to naturally stop/slow.
> 
> ...


Hi Chris,
            Well, lighting duration always has to be considered within the context of light intensity. It is the intensity that does the damage. When the intensity is excessive then damage is being done to the plant tissue. A long duration simply means the damage is being done for a longer time. If the intensity is turned down to a low value, then the duration is not nearly an issue and it can stay on for longer periods without doing much damage. The plants will use the light for 6-8 hours and then will tune out.

So looking at your schedule in your OP, if you reduce the 1600 and 2000 intensity to 25% then you should be fine. 
My disclaimer is that I really don't know how much PAR is being produced at 25%. I'm just assuming that it produces less than about 40 micromoles at the substrate level, which is a rule of thumb for staying out of trouble.

Cheers,


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## chr15_8 (22 May 2021)

Perfect thanks for that. Is there a duration over which I should increase the intensity once the algea has subsided? Say 5% a week?

The diatomic algae has also started to die back.

Thanks again
Chris


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## ceg4048 (23 May 2021)

chr15_8 said:


> Perfect thanks for that. Is there a duration over which I should increase the intensity once the algea has subsided? Say 5% a week?
> 
> The diatomic algae has also started to die back.
> 
> ...


Hi Chris,
            Well, again, since we do not know how much PAR we are talking about it would only be a wild guess. We also do not know how good the CO2 is. You do not "need" to increase the light, so I would suggest a slow approach - maybe 5% every two weeks. Simply use any appearance of algae as your guide. If you increase the light and algae appears then you know you have increased it to quickly.

Cheers,


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## chr15_8 (23 May 2021)

Perfect thanks for your help. I know its hard as every tank is different. I would say my co2 is 'good'. My drop checker is almost alime green throughout the photoperiod, although I have yet to map it. I start the co2 about 2 hours before and leave it on till 1 hour before light off. The external reactor still has a build up of excess co2 till the lights go off. I know some of this will be a waste. 

I have noticed since turning the lighting down some of the plants have reduce there pearling however I noticed 1 has started that wasn't previously.

Thanks again 👍


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