Lighting - too much?

sgt__york

sgt__york

Member
I have a 75 gal tank i'm getting running again. Wanted to know peoples thought on lighting. Seems like I get a lot of contradicting info.
I am setup to run 4 - 48" VHO buls over the 75 gal tank. 2 actenic blue & 2 super actenic white (50/50). I usually buy the U.R.I. brand. The ballasts are remotely located under the tank - so it keeps some of the heat out of the top.
My question is - is this TOO much light??
I understand these VHO bulbs are 110watss ea = 440 watts of light. I generally timed the blue to run 10hrs, the whites (50/50) to run about 6hrs. The blues ran 2hrs before and after.
My LFS tell me it's ample and great light. Enables me to put lower light needig corals lower in the tank - and higher light corals higher. That the fish don't really care.
HOWEVER, i'm wondering about the link between hair algae & sinobacteria to light.
BRIEF HISTORY & PARANOIA...
I had this 75 gal running for 5yrs - with 80lb of Live Rock and about 6 fish (1 achilees tang; 1 blue hippo tang; 2 percula clowns; 1 dwarf yellow peel angel and a cleaner wrasp)
I have NO IDEA what i did right.. lol.. but i managed 3.5yrs without the FIRST SHRED of hair algae or sino. Then all of the sudden the sino took over my tank. On the rock, on the sand, on the glass. The "daily" time and frustration it took to 'attempt' to keep the tank clean slowly overwhelmed my enjoyment of the tank. I fought it for about a year before giving up. This was about 3yrs ago. I took 2yrs off and am now getting started again.
I'm just cycling right now. I'm using a bioball wet/dry (4.5gal of bio balls) for filtration. I have approx 7x of full tank turnover; 11x over the bio ball (by use of a 2nd pump that recycles sump water) and nearly 17x of water current/movement inside the tank.
I have 40lbs of BASE rock; and 20lbs of LIVE rock introduced with plenty of coraline algae and a touch of culoupra (sp).
I'm in day 4 of my cycle - and finally getting ready to put the hood/lights back on the tank.
I'm paranoid to no end about the hair algae and sino - alth i understand there are other ways (chemically, phosphate sponges, etc) to fight those problems now.
Is this great lighting for this tank or an overkill (which i'm known for)?
 
frankl15207

frankl15207

Member
It's not too much light. I currently have the same setup, but am only running two of the 110 VHO's and the other two 40 NO until the tank completely matures (300 watt total). The only corals are soft and 4 watts per gallon is sufficient. Some run as much as 10 watts per gallon.
Why you had the hair algae problem that far into the tank developement, I'm not sure, but it may have been a nitrate accumulation.
When this tank was first set up and some hair algae formed on the rock, I added turbo snails, red and blue leg hermits and it was gone in less than a week and never returned.
 
jacksonpt

jacksonpt

Active Member
No, that's not too much, all though you may see in increase in your algae, may want to consider only running them for 8 hours a day. FWIW... I've got 500w of MH light over my 44g tank and everyone seems pretty happy. My maroon clown could use a pair of sunglasses, but everyone else loves it.
 
demosthenes

demosthenes

Active Member
Well, there are two ideas that come to mind as possible reasons for a cyano outbreak. 1. The high-bioload finally caught up to you with the nitrates, and thus, cyano. 2. You mentioned 3.5 years of success, but I'm unsure of frequency that the lights are changed, so the Kelvin rating may have gone down, happens as bulbs age. With the wrong Kelvin rating, persistent and tiresome algae grow, and then you have a problem. For all I know, it could be a mix of both, one or the other, or neither. Just a suggestion. On the lighting though, seems fine to me. GL with the tank.
 
anthony812

anthony812

Member
o yea one more tip, i suggest trying to remove bioballs from your system it might be the cause of high nitrates which leads to algae in your tank. Bioballs are nitrate factory :)
 
adrian

adrian

Active Member
Ha, he said too much light ;) You should see the small power plant over my 75 :D Although it is possible to have too much light, some corals come from deep water and dont appreciate a ton of light, I dont think this is a problem in your case, I would even go as far as to say underkill ;) HTH
 
demosthenes

demosthenes

Active Member
Sgt_York, do you have a sn? I would like to discuss something with you, but it would spark a heated debate, as it has in the past, and don't want to start one back up again. You can post your email address, or if you don't wish to put it on the board, you may email me at the address below, just be sure to include your name somewhere in the post. It is about nitrate and/or causes, and I don't want a public debacle. So, just let me know or something.
PS Anyone wishing to know what this has to do with, just email me and put SWF-Nitrate in the subject line, and I'll be happy to help you, but I just don't want some huge argument/debate to ensue.
 
demosthenes

demosthenes

Active Member
Here is the email I prepared in case I got any questions. Still in good fun, tell me if you think friendly debate would ensue:
Hi, you are probably wondering about what I was talking about on SWF.com. I didn't want to post it on the board, as it was not worth it to start a heated debate, but wanted to make sure that Sgt_York, and all who were interested, that the removal of bio-balls, was an unneccessary comment, and also untrue. People associated bio-material with nitrate factories, as they seem to produce nitrates. Well I say to those select few, what then would happen to the ammonia and nitrite, if they were not converted to nitrate? Bio-balls/material enable the nitrogen cycle to be completed, and thus the removal of harmful ammonia and nitrite. Sure nitrate is the end product, but if it were not for the bio-matter, our systems would be loaded with ammonia and nitrite, not healthy. Should nitrates become a problem, there are ways to combat it. Such as a DSB and/or a refugium, however, I cannot stress enough the fact that bio-balls, and their counterparts, are not, and should not be called, nitrate factories. The nitrate would end up in our systems anyway, and just because the bio-balls happen to make the conversion, they do not simply, produce nitrate, and their presence is no more detrimental than your LR in your aquarium. Both serve the same function. What I have said may be countered by the argument that bio-balls, and all bio-matter for that sake, catch detritus and such, and keep it in the system until it can be broken down, well then I say, that too can be combatted. Simply use a prefilter and rinse it daily/hourly, or as often and frequently as needed. This too can be argued against stating the prefilters will capture pods and kill them, well, if you are concerned about decimating your pod population, simply hook up a refugium, if your DIY, they can be quite cheap, and then you have no worries. Well, now you know why I didn't want to state this on SWF.com, as I would state one thing, it would be argued against, and I would defend said statement, and so on. I hope I have been able to arm you with some useful information, and wish you luck in the hobby. Demosthenes
 
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