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Increase light hours or light intensity?

UllavL

UllavL

Member
Joined
28 May 2014
Messages
125
Location
Solna, Sweden
Hi!
I've been running my new tank for 2 months now and with the help of ottos and amanos I have next to no algae. I thought I would try to either have the lights on a bit longer (7 hours right now) or increase the light (i have a MaxspectRazor dimmed to about 40 %).

I'm wondering if one of these alternatives is better than the other?
Ulla


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i think the plants absorb efficiently for about 8 hours a day then it drops off, hence why people recommend 8 to 10 hours. if your plants are happy and growing well under the current intensity with little or no algae currently a little increase in the duration to 8 hours isn't going to hurt in my mind. i'd do that in preference to upping the intensity (without knowing your overall set up) to increase your viewing time of the fish and scape more then anything else :)
 
How long can you maintain stable CO2 levels without gassing everything is what you should be considering. Unless you don't use CO2, in which case it's just a weekly adjustment to the light levels until you see algae.
 
I'd be tempted to increase the duration first and see if you can maintain co2 levels during the longer photoperiod. If you can achieve this then you can think about making the lights stronger but bear in mind this will increase the demand for co2 and nutrients, it will need trimming much more often and if things do start to go wrong then it will happen much faster.
 
Hi UllavL, just wondering if you use the ramp up and ramp down feature on the Maxspect?
I am also running Maxspect, but have only been planted for 2 weeks now, just wondering if you consider the ramp up and ramp down as part of the 7 hour photo period?
 
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