Help with efficient lighting...

[MyGiants]

and here's a very similar scenario to the OPs. 75g tank, wanting to run 4x or 6x T5HO bulbs. see everybody's responses

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/general-planted-tank-discussion/111763-ok-let-me-have.html

There is not one set method to growing plants. Every method will still grow plants. Just some tanks will grow better then others. Of course if you have more light will require more co2. Again this is not my argument. I only stated that running four T5HO on a 100g tank is not to much light IMO. Your tank going green with 4 T5HO was not the cause. Many many people like myself run 4 T5HO on smaller tanks and never get green water. As I first stated there were other things going on with your tank that caused your pea soup water not just having 4 bulbs.

 

[MyGiants]

An established filter does not always trump adding more plants in the beginning. If you really understood what happens when filter breaks down waste it turns it into nitrates. You've heard of Nitrates? its a nutrient that is mostly harmless to your fish but is a nutrient that will grow algae if build up coupled with high light. If you had more plants from the get go they would of been consuming this nitrate. Good chance you would of never had pea soup water.

 

[jcardona1]

An established filter does not always trump adding more plants in the beginning. If you really understood what happens when filter breaks down waste it turns it into nitrates. You've heard of Nitrates? its a nutrient that is mostly harmless to your fish but is a nutrient that will grow algae if build up coupled with high light. If you had more plants from the get go they would of been consuming this nitrate. Good chance you would of never had pea soup water.

under the EI method you do 50% water changes every week, so again, this is useless info. where do you suppose these massive amounts of ammonia and nitrates come from? from 10-15 1/2" little fish? the bio load from these fish is almost non existent.

why do you think we as plant keepers dose for nitrogen/nitrates? because the levels that natually exist in the tank are not enough for plants, unless you have a massive bio load of fish which is usually not the case in a planted tank.

hate to break it to you, but nitrates do not cause algae. if anything, low levels of nitrogen indicate of nutrient imbalance, thus causing algae.

can you seriously let me know where youre getting this information from? it's getting a little ridiculous at this point

 

[jcardona1]

If you had more plants from the get go they would of been consuming this nitrate. Good chance you would of never had pea soup water.

so high nitrates were the cause of my green water. yup ok

guess that explains why my water remained crystal clear afterward, even while adding 1/2 tsp of KNO3 three times a week (thats nitrates in case you didnt know)

 

[MyGiants]

OMG! Your tanks full of plants now consuming nitrates. You have to add nitrates now cause all your plants are consuming it. if you would of stocked more plants from the get go very good chance you never would of gotten green water. I bet anything if you did a nitrate test when your water was green it show a very high level of nitrate.

 

[MyGiants]

under the EI method you do 50% water changes every week, so again, this is useless info. where do you suppose these massive amounts of ammonia and nitrates come from? from 10-15 1/2" little fish? the bio load from these fish is almost non existent.

why do you think we as plant keepers dose for nitrogen/nitrates? because the levels that natually exist in the tank are not enough for plants, unless you have a massive bio load of fish which is usually not the case in a planted tank.

hate to break it to you, but nitrates do not cause algae. if anything, low levels of nitrogen indicate of nutrient imbalance, thus causing algae.

can you seriously let me know where youre getting this information from? it's getting a little ridiculous at this point

You prove my point. Lets take a look at your pea soup tank. Not very many plants if any I can see. A school of fish you feed these fish I take it and high lighting. You say you had a biological filter, how big? You say nothing has changed but 2 less bulbs. So you were dosing as if you had a full tank of plants? or you were not dosing at all. What has changed is your tank is now stocked full of plants. Try taken out all your plants and lets see what happens with algae.

 

[jcardona1]

OMG! Your tanks full of plants now consuming nitrates. You have to add nitrates now cause all your plants are consuming it. if you would of stocked more plants from the get go very good chance you never would of gotten green water. I bet anything if you did a nitrate test when your water was green it show a very high level of nitrate.

wrong. so wrong. you wont see 'high' nitrates with the EI method. do a little research on this method. youll see what i mean

 

[MyGiants]

wrong. so wrong. you wont see 'high' nitrates with the EI method. do a little research on this method. youll see what i mean

So when you first setup the tank and had hardly no plants but fish you were dosing. hum...

 

[jcardona1]

You prove my point. Lets take a look at your pea soup tank. Not very many plants if any I can see. A school of fish you feed these fish I take it and high lighting. You say you had a biological filter, how big? You say nothing has changed but 2 less bulbs. So you were dosing as if you had a full tank of plants? or you were not dosing at all. What has changed is your tank is now stocked full of plants. Try taken out all your plants and lets see what happens with algae.

man you are really thick headed. this is getting old. you dont know how to read very well that is the problem. i told you that 'after' pic was many months down the road after lots of plants were added.

after removing the UV light, i only used two bulbs. co2 and ferts were being added all along, before and after the uv light. this did NOT CHANGE. the water remained clear and no more algae.

a few months down the road i get bored with the setup so i begin to add lots of plants. you are failing to understand that all the plants you see in the 'after' picture have nothing to do with the situation as it was many months apart. i told you time and again, that after removing the uv light and running less light i had no more algae.

can i make that any more clear to you? i dont know what i need to do. draw a picture? a timeline?

- setup tank w/ high light/ferts/co2
- get green water
- install uv light
- water clears up
- remove uv light
- start using only 2 bulbs
- a few months later add more plants
- take a pic
- myGiants see pics and is confused, thinks im lying
- CO2 & FERTS DID NOT CHANGE, EVER, NOT ONCE.

there, can you follow that? you give me a headache. i need a beer now

 

[jcardona1]

Try taken out all your plants and lets see what happens with algae.

this is an idiotic suggestion. when you take out the plants its no longer a planted tank, and changes the whole ball game. i could put a lot of T5HO on a non-planted tank and get no algae at all.