# first post hi all.but its about algae..



## pancho (10 Dec 2012)

hi guys i have had my first tank for 3 months now and decided i wanted a planted tank so it was more natural and less stressfull for the fish im keeping .ONE problem though ...ALGAE.. i started to get it a month or so ago .brown first covering the glass and plants and then some green spots on my drift wood and glass. i dose co2 with a cheap arosol unit but have started to add liquid carbon and ferts over the last five days and some of the brown algae seems to have started to break down a little ..i was just wondering if this will continue or are there any more steps i need to take to clear this problem up  ??
i have a 100l tank with to t5 24w day light bulbs 16 inchs from substrate both with deflectors 
1400l aps external fillter as i am curantly over wintering some small carp till march until my pond is finished .


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## samboco (10 Dec 2012)

Hi,
Check out the algae section of the forum for tips. Here's a starter http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=905

There's some expert folks on here who will give you great advice. Unfortunately I'm not one of them!
Good luck!


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (11 Dec 2012)

Hi 

Could you advise on the lighting periodicity - how many hours.

Regards
paul.


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## pancho (12 Dec 2012)

Hi sorry for the slow reply Iv been a bit bust at work 
My light period was 12 hrs but after reading some info on here Iv now brought it down to 10hrs .i think I'm starting to win a bit now as it is slowly disappearing .fingers crossed


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## foxfish (12 Dec 2012)

Try 7 hours, that is a very popular duracion.


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## GHNelson (12 Dec 2012)

Hi 
Slow down pal....get your lighting down to 6 hours at least.
Too much lighty and the plants dont likey.  
Been dying to stick that on for ages.....  
hoggie


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## pancho (12 Dec 2012)

Brilliant .cheers guys ill knock it down to 6-7 hrs then.do the plants grow better at light exposure then?
I must say I'm absolutely engrossed in aquatic plants in my aquarium now and was gutted when the algae started to cover them ! I just want it gone ! some of the planted tanks Iv seen on here are amazing and I hope I can learn enough to create a tank as nice as some of them ..


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (13 Dec 2012)

or increase the distance of the lighting hood to the tank substrate - from you initial thread I think you stated 16" try 24" and then decrease if required.

Regards
paul


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## REDSTEVEO (13 Dec 2012)

I know its early and most people agree to keep lighting down during the early stages, but I suspect your aerosol method of dosing CO2 was not compatible with the amount of light or the length of time you had it on for. So loads of light, not enough CO2 = algae.

By you cutting down the photo period will match the level of CO2 so things should improve gradually.

If in doubt spend as much time as you can reading everything there is to read in the algae section.

Good luck,

Cheers,

Steve


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## pancho (15 Dec 2012)

Thanks for the replys guys .you have all been a great help .would my 2x24w t5 bulbs 16 inch from substrate be considered high light or medium ? And would this amount of light be adequate to grow hair grass as I have planted some to try and get a bit more of a carpet on the tank substrate .


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## foxfish (15 Dec 2012)

It is more about matching the C02 available to the lights you are using..
If you use bright lights then you need lots of C02 however if you use to much C02 you kill the fish!
Rather than living on the edge, like a competition show tank, most of us prefer to use slightly less light & manage the C02 to match - however it might still surprise you just how much C02 is required to get good strong algae free growth.
To answer your question directly then "yes" you have plenty of light to grow any plants but, do you have enough gas?


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## pancho (15 Dec 2012)

Hopufully soon I will have a fe co2 system in place in the tank . I have red on the net that it should be set to 1 bubble per second .does that sound about right for my lighting in a 100l tank with fairly heavy planting ? Or should it be more or less ? I does the tank daily with 2 ml of profito easy life and 5 ml daily of easycarbo .although I have read on the fert that it doesn't contain nitration or phosphate .should I look at dosing the tank with these aswell ?


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## pancho (16 Dec 2012)




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## pancho (16 Dec 2012)

Had a bit of a clean and replant and since the work so far the algea has not returned with the lower lighting .should I up my lighting period when I get the co2 runing on the tank ?


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