# [Wet Thumb Forum]-disconnecting lights to avoid algae ?



## Dror P. (Feb 19, 2003)

will disconnecting the lights, in my aquarium, in the middle of the day, for a few hours, help me avoid algae ?

excuse me for my english...


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## Dror P. (Feb 19, 2003)

will disconnecting the lights, in my aquarium, in the middle of the day, for a few hours, help me avoid algae ?

excuse me for my english...


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

a few people say "yes", but most people just leave the lights on for 10-12 hours straight. 

if you are having an algae problem, there are some algae eaters that are good. also, if you keep your nutrients, lighting, and CO2 balanced, you should get less algae. does this help? if you have any other questions, please ask. we are all happy to help.

JP

PS your english is PERFECT, don't worry about it. besides, you're talking to americans, we don't even speak good english! ;-)


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## chbak014 (Feb 3, 2003)

whats up dror.p how you doing?
well, for me, right now im trying killing the lights for about 4 hours a day. so, what im doing now is having my co2 and lights come on at 8am, then the co2 shuts off at 11am and light got off at 12. then, the lights and co2 come on at 5 again, and i let the co2 run til 8 and lights til 8. i will tell you guys if this works. my friend Justin (who is a jedi-master at aquarium planting) suggested this method. i will keep you guys posted.
-charley

http://www.geocities.com/charleybak/aquarium.index.html


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## b3dlam (Feb 1, 2003)

Dror P,

I dont think switching the lights off midday is a good idea in planted tanks. Reason: To absorb nutrients and grow, plants go through photosynthesis. Plants do not operate at their peak efficiency until 1-2hrs after the lights come on. Algae, on the other hand, has much shorter 'startup' times. They are more opportunistic than higher order plants. Therefore, the midday break will only serve to promote algae. This observation is confirmed by some of my friends who tried this method to control algae.
The underlying problem is most likely to be nutrient imbalance. What are the nutrient and lighting levels in your tank?
i.e.
pH, dKH, dGH, phosphate, temperature, CO2 (pressurised/DIY), fertiliser dosage and schedule....

that should do it for the moment...


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## chbak014 (Feb 3, 2003)

worked for me. i've been noticing that my algae starting to dissipate and actually, my plants have gotten greener and healther. maybe its my lighting times. 10 was too much for my tank. 8 was the magic number.
-charley

http://www.geocities.com/charleybak/aquarium.index.html


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## ekim (Jan 31, 2004)

I agree with B3dlam, it will probally do more harm than good! You will just be adding another variable to your tank!


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## Dror P. (Feb 19, 2003)

B3dlam,

the parameters are:
PH=8, KH=3, GH >16, NO2=0, NO3=100, TEMP=27CEL
i quit fertilizing but it didn't help.
the co2 is DIY.
the lights (i know its not enough) 36 watts (+ reflectors) for 140 liter.
does it help you diagnose the cause for my hairy algae ?

excuse me for my english...


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## ekim (Jan 31, 2004)

Here is 2 problems...

you have 0ppm CO2!!
NO3 100ppm!!, it should be 5-10ppm

How much NO3 is in your tap water?
How much water changes are you doing?
Do you have a really hight fish load?
Can you test the PH again, don't shake it too much?


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## Dror P. (Feb 19, 2003)

ekim,

the no3 in my tap water is 10.
i change 10% of the water every week.
i do not have too many fish (about 20-30 little ones).
i tested the ph twice.
by the way, the ph in my tap water is 8.4

thanks for the quick answer.

excuse me for my english...


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## perrush (Feb 24, 2003)

Hi P.,

lot of work to do here :-(

like ekim said, you've no CO2 (high pH with KH3), that pH MUST go down to around 7.

second, not much light ... I should go for more than 12 hours here. Or bring a third TL in.

third : your NO3 is WAY to high. Tells me your plants aren't consuming enough NO3 and/or your water changes aren't enough. there is no rule how often and how much water you'll have to change, this depends on your own situation and on the used water.

For now I suggest you put in a really fast growing plant (lots off) like cabomba (its cheap) AND
You change your water more, always measure your NO3 before and after the change. In that way you have a clou how fast NO3 is rising.

Fourth : bring that temperature down. Plants don't grow good at 27. 25 or even 24 is better.

Fifth : What about PO4 ?? PO4 is a real algae grower, if your NO3 is that high, I'm pretty sure your PO4 is high too. Should go down also.








Perrush


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## b3dlam (Feb 1, 2003)

Dror P,

This is what I would do:
1. Do a 50% waterchange as soon as possible.
2. Do another 50% waterchange 2 days later.

In the meantime, check your diy CO2 setup for any leaks and that the setup is actually producing CO2. Try to keep the mixture above 20deg if possible and check that the yeast has not gone 'bad'.
Question: How are you putting the CO2 line in the water? e.g. to the filter intake, diffuser etc?

Once you have the CO2 going, I would increase the lighting levels. Another 36watts should be sufficient to keep most plants. In the meanwhile, do not increase the photoperiod (<---sorry Perrush). Increased duration will not compensate for the low light intensity.... Maintain a photoperiod around 10hrs.

As your water supply contains NO3, you will need to make larger or more frequent waterchange. Having said that, once your plants are up and running, your nutrient levels will stablise. A 40% waterchange per week would be my recommendation...


hth


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## perrush (Feb 24, 2003)

_do not increase the photoperiod (<---sorry Perrush)_

never mind. My intention was to drop in a few bunches of cabomba and give it lots of light. In that way they would consume some NO3. (maybe taking the plants out at night ?)

Changing water will help, but he has already 10 mg/L in his tap !! Seems a lot to me.








Perrush


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## Dror P. (Feb 19, 2003)

Perrush,
excuse me for my ignorance but
what is po4 ?
is it measured or calculated ?

(excuse me for my english...)


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## perrush (Feb 24, 2003)

PO4 is phosphate. It's comes into the water by feeding. You can buy testkits for it.
I think PO4 is more important for algae than NO3 (although they need NO3 too).








Perrush


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## Dror P. (Feb 19, 2003)

water change doesn't help at all.
i am changing every day 30% of the water, for 3 day now, but the parameters are the same.
should i continue with the water change although the tap water parameters are: ph=8.4 kh=20 gh>16 no2=0 n03=10 ?

should i add carbon to my filter ?

(excuse me for my english...)


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## ekim (Jan 31, 2004)

The water changes should be helping, keep going with them! 
Is there any dead fish in the tank?
How many fish & what kind are in the tank?
Have you rinsed your filter lately?
What is the NO3 level after the water change?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to help!


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

are your test kits old? if you are having really terrible readings and water changes aren't helping at all, perhaps test your water with another test kit to make sure that your test kit isn't bad. if doing all these water changes isn't helping and then you find out that it was simply a bad test kit, i bet you'd be pretty mad







there's only a small chance your test kit is bad, but i think it's easier to try another test kit before changing water every day for a week. up to you though


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## b3dlam (Feb 1, 2003)

Dror,

In your earlier post, you mentioned that your dKH was 3 while in your later posts, you said it was more than 20!! Can you please confirm which it is?

Once you have got the nitrate levels in your tank to 10ppm, that sound be fine. What is the pH in your tank at the moment? Are the values different just before the lights come on and just before they turn off? 

ekim and jpmtotoro's questions are good ones. The stocking levels are very important whilst good accurate test kits are mandatory....


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## Dror P. (Feb 19, 2003)

good news!
the parameters are improving.
after 6 days of changing 30% of the water,
the parameters are: ph=7.4, kh=3, gh<16, n02=0, no3=25.

ekim,
i think you are right, if i'll continue changing, things will be better.

jpmtotoro,
i'm using tetra 5 in 1 test kit,
and it's exp. is 15.11.04
i guess my aquarium was in bad condition, and now is improving constantly.

b3dlam,
sorry for the confusion, kh=20 is in my tap water.

(excuse me for my english...)


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## b3dlam (Feb 1, 2003)

i am still confused....hehe









Are you adding RO water when waterchanging or are you just using the tapwater? I am having difficulty understanding how the dKH can drop from 20 to 3 so quickly....


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## Dror P. (Feb 19, 2003)

i'm using tap water.
sorry, i can't explain that...

(excuse me for my english...)


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## plantbrains (Mar 11, 2003)

I believe the lighting should either be off for 3-4 days for algae control or just leave it alone. 

Some claim midday off works. But there are other/better ways and growing the plants well is a universal method to get rid of all algae.

Blackout for 3 days is going to be better than the midday method for certain.

The midday method is for scaredy cats that feel that 3 days might kill their plants(I suppose it could if the plants were on their way out already)

Dror-
I would be very suspicious of your test kits, NO3 especially. pH/KH will give you the CO2 level which is a big issue along with NO3 levels in the tank.

Take care of these two items before worrying about other issues. 


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Spaceman Spiff (Feb 22, 2003)

I had a schedule that worked for a while. On for 3 hours, off for 2 then on again for 8. It worked ok at preventing the green spot algae, but when my PO4 levels went outta wack, I stablized the tank at 10 hours.

I'll try it again in the future.

Later.

Doug.


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