# Running Time?



## Demise (Aug 5, 2007)

I just recently updated my lighting from 1.5 watts per gallon to watts per gallon. The guy back at the LFS said to run the lights for 6 hours for a week then up the time 2 hours every week to prevent algae blooms.

Would this be smart to do or should I continue the 10-12 hour schedule?


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

well, how long has your tank been set up and how long have the plants been in there.

If you have an established tank with rooted plants and you are just adding more light, then that would be the right thing to do.

However, if this is a new tank with new plants and new substrate, and if it is a plant substrate rich in nutrients, I would say your starting point would be 4 hours.

This would all depend on tank size, plants and tank depth.

Can you elaborate on your set up and plants / fish so you can get a more acurate answer.


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## Demise (Aug 5, 2007)

I've had plants in the tank for a few months now and the tank has been cycled for roughly 3 months. The tank has had Java Fern and Hygrophila Sp. before the upgrade in lighting and I've been doing with Pfertz and Excel for about 1 month and a half. I recently just added Microsword, Ambulia( cant distinguish between Cabomba), and a unidentified plant so far(a few branches were caught in the Ambulia/Cabomba)

The tank is a 10gal( 20x12x10) with 2 dwarf puffers.

Ammo 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 30-40


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Demise said:


> I just recently updated my lighting from 1.5 watts per gallon to watts per gallon. The guy back at the LFS said to run the lights for 6 hours for a week then up the time 2 hours every week to prevent algae blooms.
> 
> Would this be smart to do or should I continue the 10-12 hour schedule?


How many watts per gallon did you upgrade to? Generally, 8 hours is as long as you need to light a tank for the plants benefit, so going longer is largely so you have more time to enjoy the tank. And, having adequate fertilizing, including CO2 available as soon as you increase the light intensity is more important than trying to slowly increase the light duration. (My opinions only, of course.)


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## Demise (Aug 5, 2007)

hoppycalif said:


> How many watts per gallon did you upgrade to? Generally, 8 hours is as long as you need to light a tank for the plants benefit, so going longer is largely so you have more time to enjoy the tank. And, having adequate fertilizing, including CO2 available as soon as you increase the light intensity is more important than trying to slowly increase the light duration. (My opinions only, of course.)


Oops, I upgraded to 4 watts per gallon using 2 Coralife PC 50/50 bulbs


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Ambulia is much more BRIGHT GREEN bordering on dark green and grows much fuller then cabomba.
I do love cabomba and have it in many tanks, but once I got ahold of Ambulia, my love switched.
I can really see a big difference in the two, at least when grown in my tanks.

Your 4 wpg is now high light, do you only use excel and no co2 injection.

with that WPG it would do you good to at least do a DIY Co2, see the DIY section, they are easy to make and you can get it going pretty cheaply.

Get that going and ease into the light, if you are only home in the evenings, then have your tank turn on at 5pm and off at 9pm so you can enjoy it.

I think you will find that even with co2 in a small tank that 6 to 7 hours will end up being enough light for you and will help to restrict algae blooms and keep you from having to trim your plants every other day. Stems like ambulia grow really quickly and can grow to the surface and drape over and limit light to lower plants, but if given less photoperiod it won't happen too quickly.
I like to try to give my plants / tanks just enough light to keep them fully healthy and no more, so some tanks get 5.5 hours and others get a full 9, and the more plants in the tank, the more light they get.

Also keep in mind that Java fern does will in low light conditions and algae can grow easily on the leaves if not shaded and exposed to too much / long light daily.

based on what I know so far, I would say get DIY co2 going ( a must for you high light ) and to do 5 hours for a week and observe. If you get hugh amounts of unwanted ugly algae, then back off and figure out what the imbalance is. Maybe limit Pfertz to one pump a day instead of two, and back off to 4 hours of light and get your tank to just be happy all around.
Once that happens, then go up an hour for a few days, then another hour in a few days and when you are at 7, leave it there for a bit and see what happens. If everything is doing well, you might leave it there and save on electricity and bulb life, if you see plants stunted or not growing well (not slowly, but yellowing or falling apart or just looking poor) then you might add another hour, but I doubt that will be the case


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

WAIT a MINUTE.

You have the WRONG LOGHT BULBS

50/50, you are saying that one half of the bulb is BLUE?

Those are for salt water reef set ups.
The actinic has miniscule to no benefit for plants.
It won't hurt your tank most likely, but it won't help.
Actually I had this bulb in a fixture over a tank (my first and I just spend money on the fixture and did not have money to replace the bulb) a long time ago and it seemed to promote algae growth.

Anyway, you should get yourself a 6500k or 6700k or 8000k (8536k or something like that works well) or even 10,000k however the higher the K rating the more white / blue the bulb and the lower the softer it is in most cases. I prefer the softe but I combo them in cases where I can use more then one bulb.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I think you should continue to use the 50/50 bulbs, giving you about 2 watts per gallon of usable light. That, at least, gives you some chance of avoiding an algae farm. With an actual 4 watts per gallon of usable light, and little or no fertilizing, you would do best to learn to love all kinds of algae. Adding fluctuating CO2 from DIY bottles to the mix would probably help the algae grow even better.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

did not think about the light being less with the 50/50, but you should look at what the white lite of the bulb is rated.
Hoppy is probably spot on about that.
Diy is better then no, but it is not perfect.
Any chance you can get pressurized Co2 going, it is costly, but well worth it.


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## Demise (Aug 5, 2007)

hoppycalif said:


> I think you should continue to use the 50/50 bulbs, giving you about 2 watts per gallon of usable light.


So the actinic light is virtually useless just as goalcreas posted? Should I spin the bulb to only expose the 10000K light?

I was going to go the DIY route as that seemed fine for the tank size I have now, as for fertilizing I do 1 pump of Pfertz a day instead of two every other day.

I might as well ask now, can you guys id this plant please










The guy down at the LFS accidentally pulled that one and only stem out.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

The plant looks like a ludwigia to me. But, I'm not anything close to an expert on plant identifications.


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## Demise (Aug 5, 2007)

Thanks for the help goalcreas and hoppycalif, much appreciated!


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Looks like Ludwigia repens to me.


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

Given that pressurized C02 will give you the most C02 consistency, it is the best way to go. However, if all you can afford right now is a DIY setup, then I say go for it. You can maintain c02 consistency by mixing a new brew each week. This may sound like a hassle but probably best way to maintain c02 consistency and avoid algae issues with a DIY system as Tom Barr has stated.

This is what I am doing to try and maintain c02 consistency for four of my tanks with a DIY C02 setup as I sunk a fortune purchasing a pressurized c02 system for my 40 gallon tank. At this point the extremely high initial cost of additional pressurized c02 equipment is not affordable.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Homer_Simpson said:


> At this point the extremely high initial cost of additional pressurized c02 equipment is not affordable.


What about splitting what you have now into more tanks. The splitter cost is not that great, there is an octo unit that runs for about $49(I think) at Aquacave


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## Demise (Aug 5, 2007)

Well, I just got a 12oz paintball co2 canister from my friend for free so I think I might just go with a pressurized system . What other attachments would I need to run the system?


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ts-discussions/44454-co2-regulator-lowes.html

look at this link.
This little thing comes with a small c02 container 9oz, but I don't think it is refillable, that is where your paintball tank would come into play, it will go on it.

It is a little pricey, around $90, but with it and some co2 tubing, a diffuser and a needle valve, it would work out pretty good.

there is also a system by Red Sea for a paintball that goes for about $130 and comes with most everything to get you going less the tank and some things in there you could use if you want to, but might find them junk and an eyesore. You can find that red sea at www.bigalsonline.com or other retailers that sell red sea might have it. Some LFS carry them, but they are way more then that, almost two bills.


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## Demise (Aug 5, 2007)

I just went to The Home Depot and I found a regulator by Husky for about $20

Would this be fine to regulate the co2 along with a needle valve?

http://www.huskytools.com/Product.aspx?pid=2712cac6-139e-4539-8ac4-31c77aafd8e8&cid=801426


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

boy, I don't know, might, might not. Will if fit on the paint ball tank?
You will need some sort needle valve that will adapt to that and to your tubing.
If it does the same thing as the other one and is only $20, that is a good find.
You might want to post that link in that thread I showed you above, they might know if it will work or not.


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## Demise (Aug 5, 2007)

I'm thinking the male screw part of the co2 tank wont fit so an adapter would have to go from the paint ball tank to the female input of the regulator but other then that I think it should work fine


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

goalcreas said:


> What about splitting what you have now into more tanks. The splitter cost is not that great, there is an octo unit that runs for about $49(I think) at Aquacave


That would work if it weren't for the fact that the c02 tank and setup would be placed in the living room area by the 40 gallon, which is quite distant from the 2 10 gallons in my bedroom and 2 other(5 gallon hex and 2.5 gallon hex in the master bedroom). A great deal of tubing would have to be run from that tank to the other tanks. And the extreme length of the tube may impede efficient and quick c02 flow. Also, that just seems more trouble that it's worth and it is much easier and practical for me to use DIY C02 setups for the other tanks for now.

Otherwise, that is an excellent suggestion. Thanks.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

That sure would make it tough to split up.


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