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#1
07-13-2008, 05:08 PM
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Old Bulbs = Nuisance Algae?
Does anyone have direct experience relating to this? Does anyone believe that old bulbs can greatly contribute to nuisance/film algae?
The reason I ask: I have been running Zeovit for about 6 weeks. My nitrates read 1-2ppm. I have no hair algae or cyanobacteria to speak of. Clam, SPS and Gigantea Anemone are all healthy, coloring up and thriving. I feed heavily. But I'm getting a really crazy film algae all over the glass every single day....sometimes I'll clean it in the morning and it'll be back at night! Insane. Thoughts?
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~Drew 10G Nano * 10G Sump * Deltec MCE 600 Skimmer * JBL Viper 150w MH * Zeovit * Vortech MP40W Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. ~S. Ertz  
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#2
07-13-2008, 05:44 PM
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as bulbs age, they can shift spectrum, so yes, old bulbs can contribute to nuisance algae. Have you measured your phosphates? What type of water do you use? RODI, RO, tap?
How old are the bulbs? You shouldn't have to change T5's till 9-12 months or so. Granted better bulbs should resist the colour shift better than cheaper bulbs, but there's no guarantee of that.
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#3
07-13-2008, 05:47 PM
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My bulbs are at least 12 months old, if not more. I don't have a phosphate test kit, so no....I haven't measured those.
But I am running Zeovit and my TDS out of the RO/DI is 0-3 on any given day. I regularly (weekly) flush the RO membrane as well. The old bulbs are ATI and Geisemann, so they're high quality...but definitely old. Edit: I should note that 3 bulbs are newer (1-3 months) and they are Korallen Zucht Fiji Purple and Coral Light (x2).
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~Drew 10G Nano * 10G Sump * Deltec MCE 600 Skimmer * JBL Viper 150w MH * Zeovit * Vortech MP40W Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. ~S. Ertz Last edited by Der_Iron_Chef; 07-13-2008 at 05:51 PM.
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#4
07-13-2008, 05:47 PM
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As well as what DanG said another contributor could possibly be the film algae is just soaking up some of the extra nitrates/phosphates from feeding heavily, which in turns leads to a somewhat misleading test result.
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120g build thread 48g-upgraded to 120g old pics old 48g build thread Pics.... more recent pics seahorse pics Last edited by sharuq1; 07-13-2008 at 05:59 PM.
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#5
07-13-2008, 07:30 PM
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How long ago did the algae start?
Three of how many bulbs in total are new? (Or put another way...how many bulbs are old?). Is your tank near a window? Does it get a significant amount of ambient or direct sunlight? I'm a believer that the longer summer days can contribute to algae growth. (Particularly on a new setup. My reef's algae was out of control this time last year. Now that it's been running 18 months, life is good). Cheers,
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Mark.
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#6
07-13-2008, 08:49 PM
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What is your water capacity? How much ZEOstart2 are you dosing? ZEOstart2 will contribute to a green slime on the glass. I have redused my dosing as per info on ZEOvit.com.
My water capacity is 525G and I am currently dosing 0.5 ml once a day. Tom R
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#7
07-14-2008, 12:16 AM
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I've been on zeo for 6 weeks too! Are you Der Iron Chef on Zeo forums too?
I read that you should cut the zeofood by half if you have clear slime algae. I had 2 year old PC's that I just changed on friday but I never noticed more algae since starting zeo or having old lights.
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Louise  Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish and you get rid of him all weekend  http://www.canreef.com/photopost/sho...user=4356&sl=w
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