# Too much light with Fluval 3.0?



## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

sande005 said:


> 20g high tank. Basic Marineland package. Modular LED set, with an added clip on led, running 12 hr/day. Crypt, three anubis, a little elodea and a little hornwort. Plus a sickly sword. On the assurance of the LFS that they were easy, just recently planted two clumps of micro sword (oops! - guess I was lied too!). Plain gravel substrate. Ph was at 8.2, Nitrates at 40. Everything else at 0. Tap water is soft, with Ph of 7.8 and no nitrates. Had been using Flourish, Potassium, Nitrogen, Phosphorus on a weekly basis. Using Excel every other day. Plants would go through a boom and bust cycle (which is why not much elodea and hornwort - it boomed, then died off). No algae for many months. 10 fish - basic neons, rasbora, bleeding hearts, 1 pleco.
> 
> Got serious about improving things about 10 days ago when the main light gave up the ghost. Got the Fluval 3.0 Pretty much have it set on the default 10 hr period, on highest output levels, with an additional 1 hr "sunrise" and "sunset". Did daily water changes and now have the Ph down to 7.8, and nitrates down to 5. Added plant tabs to all the rooted plants. Just started upping the ferts to 2x/week. But, green algae is starting to grow on the glass. And of course just found out, in a week I will have to leave it unattended for two weeks.
> 
> Recommendations as to light levels, so I don't come back to green soup? Yet don't want to hurt the plants, which seem better, if not dramatically better? Thinking of dropping it to a total of 10hr, and reducing the overall main intensity by 10%. Should I go less?


Hi sande005,

If it were my tank I would put it on a timer @5 hours per day maximum and 50% output; no sunrise, no sunset.


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## sande005 (Mar 2, 2018)

Thanks Roy - with the Fluval, it is easy to do just that from the phone. Very neat light fixture, which of course cost more than my whole tank setup....
Will set the reduced time and intensity before I have to leave.

Ted


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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

Yep, I agree, limit the lights, particularly whilst you are away. You can always build them up again later when you can supervise. With excel you really want to be dosing every day as it only lasts 24 hours.


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