light - how many watts?

[aqua]

hi

currently my tank specs:

4 by 2 by 2
8X36 watts PL 10 hours daily
co2 25 - 35 ppm

my tank is about 2.88watt per gallon. do i need to reduce? is it too much for a 4 feet tank? will it contribute to algae problem?

cheers

[Simon]

How old is the tank? Depends alot on the type of plants and your fertilisation regime. Excessive lights without proper fertilisation will lead to algae problems.

[Star-flog]

For your watts should not be a issue for 4ft tank. I may be wrong, it's better to have more light then you think or expected. No issue in your case.

The algae grow is part and parcel of this experience, if you have new tank, trying to plant some fast growing plants for its to sbsorb all the excess and later it should be okay.

I'm new too and followed someone else advice on this forum, now I kept the Algae at its minimum level.

[aqua]

hi

i got lots of java fern and nana inside the tank which is 6 months old. normal fert dosage is 40 ml profito liquid fert, 15 ppm kno3, 25 ppm k2so4, 1.5 ppm kh2po4.

i have just remove all my cripus plants from the background and replace with even more java fern.

so do i need to twitch the dosage and the lighting regime?

cheers

[Sleepy_lancs]

Aqua,

For Java and Nana tank, its rather bright. Although Java fern do thrive well in strong light, Nana on the other hand are septic to Green dot algae (unless you shade them using your java ferns). IMHO, I suggest you reduce your light to about 1.5-2 wpg (you may wish to switch on more lights say for 2-4 hours to simulate mid afternoon sun) that would allow your tank to grow nicely. You can maintain the your current light qty if you have more alot of java ferns but just be careful with the amount of fert you put in (Tip: Java ferns likes a little potassium).

[aqua]

hi

i have just reduced the lighting to 6X36 duration to 9 hours.

so Sleepy_lancs, do u mean i need to dose nore k2so4 to help grow the java fern?

cheers

[Sleepy_lancs]

Aqua,

Nope.. As long as they are not exhibiting deformed growth. You don't need to add more. BTW, its not the duration.. just maintain your 10 hours.... If you wish, you may have the duration of light up till 12-14 hours since java is a tropical plant.