T5 lighting

[marcusth]

Ｉam using the 2ft aquazonic 4tubes T5 lighting fixture..i took out 1 tube, allowing my tank to be with 3x24watts of light as i feel 48watts seems bit weak, though initially i use all 4 tubes and algae just came by and knock on the door

However, my rota plants(red) is slowly turning from red to green, same goes to my tiger lotus... i use seachem trace and iron weekly and change water weekly 25%.

I am wondering is it because of the lighting fixture lux issue...any pros can advice me on this??

[BFG]

How long was the tube used for the tank? Quality T5 tube need to be changed at the 9th month mark as the heat will decay the internal part of the tube that it will switch to a different spectrum that is only useful for algae instead of plants. Since you've said algae was returning, my guess is your light tube spectrum has shifted and are only feeding the algae instead of the plants. Change all the tube.

[marcusth]

This is something new to me...it been in used for more than 8months i believe...look like i have to change the tubes then

[zonkkie]

Jeez, i also thought the rule of thumb is one year.

[BFG]

Usually, if you can keep the tube cooled, a year might be possible but since Marcusth was alert enough to the condition of his tank and with his information, I was able to deduce that the tube was losing the correct spectrum. If you see slow plant growth with algae starting to gain a foot hold, chances are your tube need to be changed, providing your water parameter are in order. If you stay with a single brand, you might know when it is time to change the tube. Even expensive T5 tube from ATI need to be changed every 9 month due to the decay by heat.

[marcusth]

TKS alot BFG