Too much light?

[dkraft12]

Question... If i think i may have too much light on my tank than the amount of co2 in the water can accommodate, what would be the best way to reduce the light? I have LED lights that do not have a dimming feature, and I cant think of a decent way to suspend the lights higher above the tank because i wouldn't want them dangling from the ceiling. It is an open top tank.

I was thinking of either adding a glass top to the tank, although i prefer the look of an open top, or adding a floating plant that will layer on top of the water. If i add a floating plant however, i feel like it may just consume more co2 that my plants I currently have aren't getting enough of as it is. Has anyone ever tried these methods for providing some shade?

Thanks in advance!

 

[EdwinK]

Plants are your option number one. They will use aerial CO2 and wont affect CO2 levels in the tank.

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

Which lights do you have? You can get an inline dimmable switch on ebay for about £3

 

[dkraft12]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301832256447 I am running two of the LED fixtures from the link. I'm not sure how to gauge the light precisely but if you want to go with watts per gallon, they have ~100 0.1W LEDs each, so that makes 20W total being roughly 1W/gallon... From what i've read 1W/gal is relatively low light, but it could be different for LEDs vs. bulbs I'm not sure. I've also read that the Watts/Gallon gauge is inaccurate, but also the simplest way to gauge light. I've considered dimmable switches, but I haven't found any for that cheap in the US, and i would potentially need two of them.

I am going to give duckweed a try, I ordered 1/2 cup which will arrive next week. We'll see how it does and if it helps, or even survives in my tank.

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

OK bud, I bought one of these for mine which can dim 25\50\100% maybe worth a go if the connections are the same and voltage.

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

Probably would have helped if I'd posted the link