Ya if I wasn't 600 miles away I would do the WC's for him. The light only has 3 bulbs in it now. For anyone interested the fixture was only $80 and a 10 pack of lights was $25 and it puts put an insane amount of light. I could even see using it for a reef with the right bulbs. Thanks for the input. I'm going do a planted tank in the near future so I can figure out what to do myself.
Help with light and algae problems
- Thread starter MartinBoy
- Start date
That fixture uses only T8 bulbs, so it isn't that bright. You'll get a lot more light by a typical dual-bulb T5HO fixture. And that certainly won't work for any reef tank 
That fixture uses only T8 bulbs, so it isn't that bright. You'll get a lot more light by a typical dual-bulb T5HO fixture. And that certainly won't work for any reef tank
I don't know but I wish I had some pics
It's not a matter of pictures, it's a matter of lumens, and PAR. I've done testing on various light fixtures with a PAR meter. Two T5HO bulbs will put out 3-4x the light that a T8 bulb will. I can put a dual bulb T5HO fixture over a non-planted tank and never have a spec of algae, even though I have 4x the light as you do. I think there's more going on here than we know about, and my guess is, something in the water.
Thanks Jose!! Keep in mind it's a cichlid tank and we just wanted to add some basic java fern and amazon sword plants, but all we got within a week was algae. Not giving up that easy. He also added a UV light due to the fact he does not do WC's often enough and hoped it would help out with some algae? We got our inspiration from this guys tank http://www.fmueller.com/home/aquaristic/240g/
Now I have to get the algae under control and would still like to grow a few plants. HELP!!!
Why does the T5HO produce less algae??
Now I have to get the algae under control and would still like to grow a few plants. HELP!!!
Why does the T5HO produce less algae??
Yeah for java fern you don't even need 3 T8 bulbs, 2 would work just fine. The UV light won't help with algae that's attached to surfaces, but it will help if you have green water.
sounds good! would you recommend any type fish for Frontosa tank to help with algae?
I will hit you up when I do a planted tank Jose but I'm going start small. I want to do a sump like you have on your 190g also.
Cool, let me know! As for fish, I've never really had any luck with fish eating algae. Certain shrimp and snails, and ottos can work pretty good as a cleanup crew though.
