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Sunrise Timer

Andrew789

Seedling
Joined
8 Dec 2019
Messages
4
Location
South Wales
Hi all,
I have been having trouble with algae in my 120 cm tank which I believe is co2 related.
The tank is lit with a Twinstar 900 set at 50% for 8 hours a day starting at midday.
Co2 injection, lime green drop checker at lights on.
It has good filtration and flow,
and good ferts from EI.
I believe the root cause is ambient light (the tank is close to a south facing patio door) so may be getting more light for a longer duration than I think.
Anyway I discovered a timer that can switch on at sunrise continuously adjusting itself so I could have CO2 on for as long as there is light in the room.
Before any one asks, yes I do have blinds on the doors but they still let in a fair amount of light.
Has anybody had a similar problem or can see any issues I could have running CO2 from sunrise to 6pm?
Many thanks for any input.
Andy
 
Running CO2 for long periods won’t have any negative effects, but excess light can always be a problem. I have a similar issue where a window and door have ambient light shining through in the morning, enough to light up the tank and see the plants. I think we need to know more than just “good” in regard to your ferts and setup. Also, what is the algae your having trouble with?
 
Running CO2 for long periods won’t have any negative effects,

Actually you would have to be careful not to overdose CO2 before lights on. Before lights on is the most stressful period if you have livestock since the plants have been using O2 all night and producing CO2.

I think we would need to know what algae it is for a start before jumping to conclusions about the cause. For example I run lights 11 am - 9 pm no problem with ambient light in the morning plus a LED strip in the background either side of the photoperiod, but I am not having algae issues.
 
Actually you would have to be careful not to overdose CO2 before lights on. Before lights on is the most stressful period if you have livestock since the plants have been using O2 all night and producing CO2.
Your right I made too many assumptions in that statement, I guess shouldn’t is a better word. As long as CO2 is stable, there is good O2 balance, and good flow.
 
Has anybody had a similar problem or can see any issues I could have running CO2 from sunrise to 6pm?
Yeah man just run CO2 as you plan to. Sunlight could actually enhance your growth from I find that stems can lean towards it and often it can be hard to balance sunlight as it's brighter than it looks.

I know someone who runs CO2 24/7 on a lower dose to prevent fluctuations.
 
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