Old Bulbs = Nuisance Algae?

Der_Iron_Chef · #1 07-13-2008, 05:08 PM

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?

DanG · #2 07-13-2008, 05:44 PM

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.

Der_Iron_Chef · #3 07-13-2008, 05:47 PM

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).

sharuq1 · #4 07-13-2008, 05:47 PM

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.

Johnny Reefer · #5 07-13-2008, 07:30 PM

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,

Tom R · #6 07-13-2008, 08:49 PM

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

WhoPoopWrasse · #7 07-14-2008, 12:16 AM

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.

michika · #8 07-14-2008, 12:45 AM

I don't use Zeo, and I did experience a significant increase in film algae when I added on my T5s. For me its a lighting thing combined with my feeding, however in the past feeding never really played a role.

Der_Iron_Chef · #9 07-14-2008, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Reefer

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,

I transferred everything over from my old tank about 2 months ago, and the algae has just gotten worse and worse.

3 bulbs are new, 5 bulbs are old.

The tank is on a wall opposite a window, so it doesn't ever receive direct sunlight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom R

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

I am dosing 0.2ml of ZEOstart2 twice per day on 65G total. This was as per the instructions given to me on the Zeo forum. But I see if you're dosing 0.5ml on 525G, then perhaps I'm way overshooting! It's already difficult to does 0.2ml, though...it seems like almost nothing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhoPoopWrasse

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.

That's me

As for ZEOfood, I'm only dosing the bak and the food two drops, twice per week.

Lance · #10 07-15-2008, 01:23 AM

I run 250W 10K MH, 10K T-5 and pure actinic T-5. Lately I too was getting a lot of film algae on the front glass only, (having to clean it every day). Phosphate levels were fine. I checked the age of the front T-5 and noticed it was 11 months old, so I replaced it Saturday with a new URI 10K and replaced the actinic with a Fiji purple. Haven't had to clean the glass since. (Mind you its only been 2 days). Just a coincidence? I don't think so. The new light had to have had something to do with it.