Originally posted by RAYRAYPICO
i have a large amount of algea growing in the tank and the lfs told me to cut back on the lighting. so i am going to cut back from 9hrs to 7 hrs. this gives me less time to squeeze two feeding into my tank. is it possible to feed without lighting. i know this will make food more plentiful for the nocturnal scavengars but will my tang, tomato and chromis eat without lighting?????????????
Cutting down your lighting will slow the algae growth. I presume you are talking about hair or slime algae. You already have a cleaning crew so possible they have not caught up with the algae. Another consideration is that your tang and mandarian are very happy having that algae to graze on.
If your tank is relatively new, say about 6 months or so, the algae growth will slow as nitrates are consumed by the algae. Also you could introduce desirable algae to compete with the undesirable for the nutriants. That way you have a better looking tank and the tank is still being stabilized by algae.
One thing to do would be just to clean the front of the tank and allow the algae to grow on the sides and back.
If all that does not work, try cutting down on the amount of light in the tank not the hours. If I remember right you had two lights. You could try one light every other day to see if the algae slows down.
Overall, I think most people would be happy to have your problems. Seems like you have an excellent tank
