ichthus Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 I thought brown algae was not enough light...however, nitrates at 5 is hardly a problem. But yup, water changes solve a multitude of problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted September 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 I've read a bit on it, and reducing light hours seems to be a popular response, but I also thought brown was due to not enough light. Anyway, the main culprit seems to be excess nutrients. I'll cut down on feeding, do more water changes and get a new UV tube. Got the cucumber out, and my bristle nose has started working on the algae. Lazy glutton LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 why do you think you need a new light tube? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted September 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Cause I bought the tank second had, was five years old. If they hadn't cleaned it in that time, I'm guessing they didn't change the tube either! Very little light when it's own by itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 UV tube??? do you have a UV sterilizer????, if so then the UV tube needs to be changed every 6 months to a year depending the manufacturer of the bulb, If you are talking about the regular fluro tube then you need to replace every 8-12 months as the regular ones burn out and lose about 90% of their output. its really hard to tell until you put a brand new one next to the old one,then its really obvious. another effect of an old tube is that the spectrum moves more towards the yellow green range which is not as easily absorbed by plants but algae can still use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted September 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Yes, fluro tube, bad choice of term on my part lol. No plans to fry them with UV :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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