Does The Glass Top Block Required Lighting?

[smilliej]

I have a 13gallon tank which does not have a hood, but a glass top which the lighting just sits on top off. I have to regularly clean the glass of salt buildup, but was wondering if the degradation of light quality can cause problems with water quality, fish or inverts, and algae etc...
I have excessive green algae growth at the moment, and have been unable to successfully prevent my fish from contracting ich... no fish at the moment.
I also have a ball coral, which i read does not do well in the aquarium, and shuts down after about 5 months, which it is in the process of doing right now.

 

[smilliej]

here is my tank , u can see the light.

 

[smilliej]

This is the green algae problem that i have... any idea's about getting rid of it?

 

[pfitz44]

Tell us a little more about your setup. How long have you had your tank? Do you have any Power Heads?? Filteration? Water Parameters? Whats that bas in teh right ahnd corner of the tank?? Are you running an undergravel filter?? When was the last time you vacd your CC??

 

[thomas712]

Without knowing much more about your water quality and system I can tell you that having a glass top is not very good for your system.
They trap heat, retard gas exchange which could ruin your pH, collect salt spray and water which leads to an algae buildup which in turn does cut your usable lighting down.
Thomas

 

[oceanists]

yeah you dont want to to be closed in but it is a good idea to shield your tank from dangerous UV or get a UV strerilzer

 

[yeffre kix]

Originally Posted by Oceanists
yeah you dont want to to be closed in but it is a good idea to shield your tank from dangerous UV or get a UV strerilzer
:notsure:
You don't want the glass top. The tank needs to be open for cooling and oxygen exchange. I have fans blowing over my water and the heat is very controled without a chiller. (Thats with 1900 watts of lighting)
Not to mention the pain of cleaning the glass regularly.
If you want to cover the tank look into a canopy of somekind that can hold the lights and still provide ventilation.

 

[maeistero]

i also see a window in the background. sunlight propagates algae pretty well, so you may think to move it out of the sun?

yeffr, that's a lot of lighting, omg! :scared:

 

[oceanists]

Originally Posted by Yeffre Kix
:notsure:
You don't want the glass top. The tank needs to be open for cooling and oxygen exchange. I have fans blowing over my water and the heat is very controled without a chiller. (Thats with 1900 watts of lighting)
Not to mention the pain of cleaning the glass regularly.
If you want to cover the tank look into a canopy of somekind that can hold the lights and still provide ventilation.

What i met was all you need is to put a shield in your light space otherwise if he has MH he will poison his fish with dangerous uv rays
if it doesnt have one
not on the tank itself

 

[ruffian]

Hi All!
I hope I'm not being rude by jumping in on this post with my own problem, but I read all of your replies about the glass top on this tank and thought OMG! I also have a tank (100 gal) with a totally glass top and a huge light assembly that sits on top of the glass.
My water parameters are always nearly perfect, but last summer I had a horrible time with the tank over-heating (now I know why ) and I lost a couple of prized fish before I devised a setup to keep the tank cool. Obviously the guy at the LFS either doesn't know what he's doing or knows I don't know what I'm doing quite yet and sells me the stuff he can't get rid of. When I told him of the over-heating, he wanted to sell me a chiller for $700. Even I'm not that stupid.
From what I read here, I should buy some type of hood instead and maybe a fan?
Thanks, Laurie

 

[oceanists]

sounds like you need to raise your light off of the glass maybe setup a canopy for it and hang it or get yourself a couple of computer fans to get some movement in there and vented out , i wouldnt go buy a 700 dollar chiller thats for sure , especially when you can get them online for like 200

 

[smilliej]

I'm feeling pretty discouraged about my tank. My first lot of fish were all killed by white spot, and the most other inverts i have put in there have died for one reason or another.
I have had my water quality checked by my LFS, and aside from the pH being a little low, everything else was normal. I guess the temperature and lighting might be the culprit...!!!
My 60ltr tank consists of:
- an under gravel filter
- an internal spong filter with power head
- about 6 kg of live rock
- around 5cm of crushed coral on the bottom.
- a twin tube light system with both blue and white light, both set of 10hrs per day.
- temp is 27 degrees
I have a large amount of green algae which I am trying to control with Clearmec plus phosphate and nitrate absorption ( the bag you can see in the top left corner), which has been in the tank for 2 weeks, no visible improvement of green algae yet. I am also treating the tank with PurpleUp, a coralline algae accelerator.
I have a few questions:
1) should I clean the filter out weekly, and with fresh or tank water?
2) could the lighting have something to do with the excess algae, and also the stress of on the fish that causes the white spot?
Anyone that can help out, i really enjoy my tank, but feel terrible remorse when one of the little guys dies, and am feeling i should switch to fresh water... help....
Jenny

 

[thomas712]

Originally Posted by smilliej
My 60ltr tank consists of:
- an under gravel filter
- an internal spong filter with power head
- about 6 kg of live rock
- around 5cm of crushed coral on the bottom.
- a twin tube light system with both blue and white light, both set of 10hrs per day.
- temp is 27 degrees
I have a few questions:
1) should I clean the filter out weekly, and with fresh or tank water?
2) could the lighting have something to do with the excess algae, and also the stress of on the fish that causes the white spot?
Jenny
1. Get rid of the under gravel filter, they are no good on saltwater tanks.
2. Get rid of the crushed coral and find some aragonite sand. Crushed coral is a very poor biological filter.
3. Your temp can't possibly be 27 degrees can it? Try for 78-82 degrees.
4. Find out about your lighting system, is it Normal output? total wattage?
5. What is your other filtration like? any mechanical? Sponge filter is also very week filtration.
6. What about calcium and alkalinity? Give me an actual test score for nitrate if possible as well as the others.
Thomas

 

[smilliej]

Hi Thomas,
Thanks for the quick reply.
1. Get rid of the under gravel filter, they are no good on saltwater tanks.
Really? It was supplied with my original tank setup, althought I dont go to that lfs anymore.. What do you suggest for a Nano (13gallon), at the moment I have the undergravel and the sponge filter. It's a failry small setup, is there a simpe method for filtration on a nano?
2. Get rid of the crushed coral and find some aragonite sand. Crushed coral is a very poor biological filter.
I had thought about that, but my LFS suggested that it wasnt required. I will speak to them about it. I am also planning on getting a cleaning crew, again, what do you suggest for such a small tank?
3. Your temp can't possibly be 27 degrees can it? Try for 78-82 degrees.
huhum, im in Australia so it was 27degrees celsius. which is around 81 F
4. Find out about your lighting system, is it Normal output? total wattage? hhhmmm, my lighting blew yesterday (me being clumsy), so im going to puchase a new one today.
5. What is your other filtration like? any mechanical? Sponge filter is also very week filtration.
6. What about calcium and alkalinity? Give me an actual test score for nitrate if possible as well as the others.
Im due to test again this evening, will let you know.
Jenny

 

[oceanists]

i wouls go with a small waterfall powerfilter , although i dont know much about nano ,,,,,,........ but i do know enough that the CC in such a small tank can make your levels swing out of control quite easy