Pointless or not

[danny zubot]

Just thought I'd get some feedback. I reduced my photo period for two reasons. A: to try and fight an algae bloom. B: to reduce heat in my tank.

I did this by putting my MH on a digital timer that starts at 11am until 9:45pm. Every 45 minutes the light turns out for 15 min to cool. I still have 130 watts of pc that remain on for the duration. Is this really going to solve my problems?

Dan

[Delphinus]

To be honest, I doubt it. It may help a bit, but it's only touching the symptoms.

Heat is better addressed through evaporation. Fans over the water surface, and fans in the canopy if you have one, make an amazing difference.

Algae blooms are more likely indicative of a nutrient buildup or imbalance. Lighting may play a factor in algal growth but it's not the only variable. That said, I found that a dinoflagellate bloom, if you're unlucky enough to get one, can really only be addressed by taking away the light altogether for a period of time (at the potential peril of other light-needing organisms). But for hair algae. ... it probably won't help much. (sorry)

[StirCrazy]

Every 45 minutes the light turns out for 15 min to cool. I still have 130 watts of pc that remain on for the duration. Is this really going to solve my problems?

Dan

nope but it will decrease the life of your bulbs. I tried running one bulb at a time (4 hours each) ext.. fans on the sump that come on about 1 hour after the MH and stay on for a couple hours after.. other than that a chiller is the absolute best.

Steve

[JohnM99]

Also, won't this drastically shorten the life of the bulb?

[JohnM99]

Wow. Synchronous posting. You're up early, Steve!

I remember being told that by far the most wear and tear on a bulb of this type is during the time it is either turned on or off. An incandescent bulb can theoretically run indefinitely if left on, I seem to recall.

A fan can be amazingly effective.

[danny zubot]

Well, scratch that idea. :confused: I did get a sea hare last night to help with the hair algae, ugly little thing.

[JohnM99]

Hair algae will grow if there are excess nutrients - more important than light. Feed less, skim more, export nitrogen more with a fuge and macroalgae etc etc.

It is a royal pain.

[Bob I]

Doing that will probably have you buying new bulbs every month. IOW it will kill the bulb. :eek:

[Rikko]

Halides are a type of bulb that suffer from being turned on and off constantly... Kind of reminds of how some long distance truckers leave their diesel trucks running while they sleep because the beast uses up more diesel to start up than to just idle for a few hours.
What other lighting do you have? I know several people who only run their MH for 4ish hours per day and the rest is actinics and full spectrum fluoros.

[danny zubot]

Altogether I have 380 watts of MH and PC ligting. When I get home tonight I'm going to re-adjust my timer to stay on with maybe a cool down period in the after noon. Unfortunately I have to have my lights sitting on the glass top of my tank. I can't hang them due to a concrete ceiling. Can't build a canopy either, its a corner tank and way to hard for me. I think fans will be my best bet.

[muck]

Altogether I have 380 watts of MH and PC ligting. When I get home tonight I'm going to re-adjust my timer to stay on with maybe a cool down period in the after noon. Unfortunately I have to have my lights sitting on the glass top of my tank. I can't hang them due to a concrete ceiling. Can't build a canopy either, its a corner tank and way to hard for me. I think fans will be my best bet.
What about hanging them from a bracket mounted on the wall?
Would that work?

[chrisd]

I have a corner tank too( 54g) and just built a simple box for my 250w halide. it's open in the back so i have plenty of air flow and it's great for heat escape. I just used 2-3 pieces of of regular 2x4x8. The front measures about 26'' long and the pieces are stacked 3 high on their sides for a height of 12" give or take an inch(wierd but when I measured the 2x4s they were actually 2x 3.5). The sides are about 12" long by 3 high again and I cut a piece of 1x6 that I used as the top. The halide and reflector is mounted to the top and the bulb sits approx 8" from the surface of the water. I used wood screws to put it together but hid them on the inside to make it look more clean. I also have a fan on the back that I actually unplugged because I don't need it. My tank sits around 76-78 when the halide is on. All materials ran me approx $25 plus a little more for a can of stain and it took about an hour to make using a skill saw and drill. It's nothing fancy but it does the job and actually looks pretty good.

[muck]

Do you have a pic of that thing hanging around Chris?

[danny zubot]

So far the Sea Hare hasn't noticed the green hair algea. There must be something of greater interest in the tank. Is this normal? On another note, I have noticed about a dozen baby black nudi's in the tank. There are also about 20 to 25 baby snail creaping around now. I guess I must be be doing something right! :smile:

Muck wrote: What about hanging them from a bracket mounted on the wall?
Would that work?

I have tried building a corner shelf behind the tank it with a pole sticking out over the tank to hang it on. What an eye sore, I took it down. I am thinking about a new stand for when I move next summer, with a pole that comes up from behind the tank instead. Until then I'm stuck at 84 degrees. The most I could do is put feet on the reflector to raise it up a couple of inches from the glass.

[chrisd]

Sorry Muck got no pictures. It's as basic as it gets...a three sided box with a top. I have absolutely no carpentry or woodworking skills whatsoever. I just wanted something that looked half decent until I eventually have a custom one built. That probably won't happen for a long time.

[chrisd]

Danny, is it a pendant fixture?

[Fish]

Do you have a pic of that thing hanging around Chris?
Actually I happen to have a couple shots of Chris' tank - enjoy!

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1185chrisdtank-med.jpg




http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1185chrisdcanopy.jpg




- Chad

[muck]

:cool:

[danny zubot]

Sorry I took so long to respond. No Chris I have a mogul socket fixture with a 12 or 14 inch box type reflector, the bulb is 250 watt 14K. I also managed to squeeze a dual 65 watt Pc over the tank.

Chad, your tank is just like mine only with a wood finish. I don't have the stand that goes with the tank, I'm just using a corner style desk. What style of light do you have?

Last night I saw the Sea Hare I bought finally eat some green hair algea. :biggrin:

[Fish]

Danny,
Sorry - that really is a picture of Chris' tank. I just happened to have a picture of it because I was going to get my father-in-law to build a new hood for him.

- Chad

[danny zubot]

Good luck to you! :razz: I tried biulding one for mine and it wasn't easy. I ended up with an open crown for the tank in which I had so soak and bend the wood to conform to the bow. It took me a few tries but I got it looking pretty good, IMO.