• We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

Orange/brown algea problem

Just to say, me too! My photoperiods are 7 or 8hrs max for my heavily planted tanks. 6hrs to start bc the tank is void of heavy planting in the start and too much light creates algae.

Before I had plants, my light was on in the morning a couple hours to feed and again at 5pm to 9pm to enjoy and feed after work. Not so natural for the fish I suppose.....but better than fighting with algae.

Not sure but if pothos can grow out the tank with your fish, some live plant pulling out excess nutrient can really help to outcompete algae.

Also only one pleco for a 29g right? If your fish will tolerate a snail, those nerites are meticulous algae cleaners. Best I ever had and all kinds. Two of them would keep that tank pretty spotless, works for me.
 
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PredatorPiqued said:
Thank you guys for your time and knowledge!! I thought doing those light cycles was just like mocking the regular daytime night time light idea outside. I will get on this!!
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If you think about it, in nature much of the 12ish hours of daylight the sun will be rising or setting. There are only a few hours where the sun is highest and brightest in the sky. And even then much of the waterways are partially shaded by trees and rocks. So in the wild, there is not 12 hours of bright sun, probably a few hours at most (some areas will always be shaded and never get the full brightness), and the rest of the daylight time, the sun will be rising or setting, and less intense. So the most natural way to mimic the sun in your tank would probably be a ramp-up time of a couple hours where the lights go from 0% to your brightest setting, then a few hours of your brightest setting, and a couple more hours of ramp-down time.
With a ramp timer you could imitate this. Most reef keepers have some kind of ramp up/down to allow the corals to get used to the light and open up. You can buy standalone ramp timers or some LED systems have them integrated.
That is not necessary of course, you could just reduce light time and probably get the same desired affects on algae.
 
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