Zalawala Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Hi guys, it's time to get new lights. Currently I have 1 blue 20w and one white one 20w, unsure what k rating it is as the writing on the bulb is not there, the white bulb is quite dull, I am assuming the previous owner didn't change them for a while. So...any ideas on which combo of kelvin ratings to go for to get the right algae to grow for my fish to graze on but will also enhance the fish colours? Have blue, yellow, brown/purple coloured fishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Lighting alone won't make the algae grow - except on the glass. You will need an excess of nutrients in the tank for the algae to feed on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalawala Posted February 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Yup know that, I do have higher nitrates, though within the acceptable range for safety of fish. I have read that some people have put plant fert/feed in if the excess nutrients aren't quite up to play. But just looking at lights now as I want to get the order in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Move it in front of a nice bright window that the sun shines in. Then you get free and very powerful lighting. Should do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanityChelle Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 I've found a little red helps a lot on my yellows and rusties. The rusties males in particular look great under it. At the moment, I've got le cheapo stuck on LED strips, and the mixed options work well. http://www.trademe.co.nz/building-renov ... 349984.htm I'm thinking of upgrade to the Current Satellite+ LEDs as my tank is quite deep and the cheapos aren't strong enough. http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-suppli ... -inch.html I'm not sure about growing algae on purpose, but it seems to grow well for me, they're always having a good nibble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalawala Posted February 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Moving the tank is definitely not an option unfortunately, it's a very large corner tank and there is only one place in the house it can fit haha. Those stick on LEDs are pretty neat tho, but just looking at some t8s to replace the current ones atm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted February 7, 2015 Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 Bad quality lights :lol: Excess of blues, 10/12+ hours. High phosphates and perhaps even dosing trace elements/micro nutrients for plants. I find when I overdose Iron I get an excess of string algae (tangles in a mess, doesn't connect to anything) but being grazers I don't know whether the cichlids would eat that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 7, 2015 Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 Algae is often encouraged by an excess of phosphates over nitrates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likoma Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 Bad quality lights :lol: Excess of blues, 10/12+ hours. High phosphates and perhaps even dosing trace elements/micro nutrients for plants. I find when I overdose Iron I get an excess of string algae (tangles in a mess, doesn't connect to anything) but being grazers I don't know whether the cichlids would eat that. Good info. I run our Sanrise lights with all channels on for 6 hours and the only the blue violet channels for an extra 6 hours. This encourages a lush green algae covering that your fish will love. Just make sure you have a good algae scraper to keep the glass clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalawala Posted February 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 So what light spectrum of t8 bulbs should I get? At the moment there is no way I can isolate the two lights so they will be running together for now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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