Pointless or not

danny zubot · #1 12-14-2004, 05:30 AM

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 · #2 12-14-2004, 05:41 AM

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 · #3 12-14-2004, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danny zubot

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 · #4 12-14-2004, 12:46 PM

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

JohnM99 · #5 12-14-2004, 12:52 PM

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 · #6 12-14-2004, 02:14 PM

Well, scratch that idea.

I did get a sea hare last night to help with the hair algae, ugly little thing.

JohnM99 · #7 12-14-2004, 03:36 PM

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 · #8 12-14-2004, 04:12 PM

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

Rikko · #9 12-14-2004, 07:19 PM

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 · #10 12-14-2004, 08:19 PM

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.