t5 algae

Hi
this is probably an easy question for most of you guys on here. But is there any way I can prevent algae growth in my tanks. I'm assuming the t5 lighting is the culprit.my water quality is good I'm sure, but have only had this problem since I've had t5s in my tanks. I'm sure the planted tank guys must go crazy with this algae? I don't know anything about plants and algae growth,my cichlids tear and dig up plants so I leave the plants up to other guys haha

regards Jason

 

well what what size tank do you have and how many T5's do you have at what wattage?

 

Give us a hint or a pic, what algae is it .. or have a look at some past threads

google ....

site:tropicalaquarium.co.za identify algae

 

It's differs. I have a sun sun with built in t5 lights, not too sure on the wattage. Then I have two four foot tanks, each with 54w t5 , so they're standard size so they're about 240L each. I then have one t5 in a custom 1.8 meter which is about 850L which is quite dull but seems to grow algae just as quick

 

Okay thanks I will have a look. The sun sun grows a green algae , which is difficult to remove which is why I posted this thread. The others seem to grow "normal " brown algae all of which develops weekly

 

no algae is normal. what you need to do is figure out which algae it is and let us know or upload pic to help. algae is not always caused through too much light. other factors like ferts and water quality play a big roll too. try this link to help identify
Aquarium Algae ID (updated May6th '10 Surface Skum)

 

Here is the picture of the algae. The picture is rotated for some reason

 

Ok so this is green spot algae, it is caused from either too hight a light intensity or too long a photo period. What you can do to start off it cut your period which your lights are down by atleast 2 hours or more, next use a credic card or scraper or tank glass cleaner to manually remove it, this should slopw it down a lot! Also make sure your tank gets no direct sunlight at all

 

Thank you so much. How long should lights be on a day. On average would you say?

 

Lights should be on for 7-10 hours, shouldn be on longer than 10 hours

 

Okay thanks man, really appreciate the help

 

Hi, balancing the right amount of light for plant, fish and algae types is the most important thing. you should ideally have some natural light and use the T5 a bit less as they are quite powerful.

 

@dhameer, the tank does receive some natural lighting. I will cut down on the use of t5s quite a bit. It will make maintenance a great load less and easier for me.thank you

 

green spot algae is caused by small ammonia surges and also unstable co2 but blooms with too much light for too long.
a contributer can also be low phosphate.

 

yip, than you should be great

 

If your tank is not planted there is no minimum lighting period. You could have your lights on for only an hour or 2 when you are home for being able to see your fish but otherwise it is not necessary. You need to also look at the kelvin rating of your tubes. In a non planted I wouldn't get more than 6500k.

 

i dont have planted tanks so i only use 39w t5 bulbs for my 4 f tank and iets was great just rite and as said above only need light for when u need to see the fish my tanks i sometimes dont even switch the lights on !