# How much light is too much?



## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The more light you have the more difficult it is to avoid algae. Without CO2 it is hard to go much above 40 PAR without BBA taking over the tank. I have my LED Finnex Planted plus light giving me about 40-45 PAR now, after a year at 30-35 PAR, no CO2, and after a couple of weeks I don't have any significant BBA. But, I am starting to get some on the filter inlet tube. My tank is 24 inches high, the same as I think yours is.


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## Postal (Apr 8, 2012)

Hoppy said:


> The more light you have the more difficult it is to avoid algae. Without CO2 it is hard to go much above 40 PAR without BBA taking over the tank. I have my LED Finnex Planted plus light giving me about 40-45 PAR now, after a year at 30-35 PAR, no CO2, and after a couple of weeks I don't have any significant BBA. But, I am starting to get some on the filter inlet tube. My tank is 24 inches high, the same as I think yours is.


Do you does Excel and an equivalent in that tank?
I'm hoping that might give me a little bit more range with the lights. Of course, if I can find the right floaters (tank has dual overflows) then that could help as well.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I dose Metricide daily at from 1 to 2 ml per 10 gallons. I had been dosing 2 ml, but I'm down to about 1.5 ml now to try to salvage my vals, which suddenly decided that 2 ml was too much.


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## Postal (Apr 8, 2012)

Hoppy, how much par do you think I would be dealing with using a 60" ATI Sunpower if I only run 2 of the 80w bulbs rather than all 4?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Postal said:


> Hoppy, how much par do you think I would be dealing with using a 60" ATI Sunpower if I only run 2 of the 80w bulbs rather than all 4?


With all four bulbs running, you should get about 100 PAR at 24 inches. With only 2 bulbs, you should get half of that, 50 PAR.


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## Postal (Apr 8, 2012)

Hoppy said:


> With all four bulbs running, you should get about 100 PAR at 24 inches. With only 2 bulbs, you should get half of that, 50 PAR.


Ugh, still too much light.
Without a canopy for a retrofit it's gettimg to be a pain to find low tech lighting for a 72" tank.


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## goodbytes (Aug 18, 2014)

I know Beamswork makes a number of full 6' LED fixtures at reasonable prices that might be worth looking at.

http://www.aquatraders.com/LED-Aquarium-Lighting-Beamswork-Tropical-Fish-p/66379.htm


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

You can reduce the PAR by 40% by putting a layer of gray window screen (from Home Depot, to be more accurate) between the light and the water. That would give you about 30 PAR with two bulbs. You can make a simple screen filter to fit on the light fixture, or make a tank top cover from the screen. Then, if you run 3 bulbs you would get around 45 PAR.


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