help with lightin

[paul.k]

how long do u keep ur lights on daily? i keep them on 12 houses i herd that is too long and that is y i get the bad algae growth which makes sense because the algae is mostly where the light is all the time sand bed but not under live rock or on the sand near live rock.

 

[TomD]

lighting

I keep mine on for 9 and I do ok.

A lot of people do acintics for first and last hour but I dont.

 

[this is me]

8 hrsfor the halide and 10hrs for the T-5 actinic.

 

[Duds]

10 halide 12 pc actinic

 

[paul.k]

ya i only have the 50/50 PC lights and the algae is getting ridiculous it some times come in clumps one the sand like in big balls like a spider web i make extra water so i can take out algae every couple days.

 

[naturebatslast]

If your PC bulbs are older than 6 months, that could be part of the problem. Check your nitrates and ask a LFS to test your water to check for phosphates. Also try increasing flow with a another powerhead, or play with the flow in the tank to get the most turbulent amount of flow.

 

[paul.k]

no the PC are only 2 months old i didn't see the algae till i got them but i cant get rid of the light. i just stared with 12 hours per day and in a week i saw a lot of algae growth will cutting the light down help with the algae but not affect the corals i have one zooanthid a green tree coral a Zenia a colt coral a mushroom and a devils and and hammer coral mostly softies and leathers. but i picked up like a dozen snails one huge one who seams to be doing a good job.