Im having a hard time.

Discussion in 'Algae' started by starfish2217, May 8, 2011.

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  1. pink4miss

    pink4miss Panda Puffer

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    i agree i have a uv and dont remember going threw any thing as mentioned here with diatoms and i run my lights 11 hours a day
     
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  3. starfish2217

    starfish2217 Horrid Stonefish

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    how much do the UV's cost?
     
  4. pink4miss

    pink4miss Panda Puffer

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    they are all different. i bought mine used on ebay it was cheap. than just bought a new bulb for it since i didnt know how old the bulb was. bulb was working but i felt it best to know when the bulb was put in.
    the unit i have is 160.00 new i paid 17.00 for it used on ebay :) bulb was 40.00 at aquacave. this is the unit i have Aqua UV Classic 8 watt UV Sterilizer w/Optional Wiper by Aqua Ultraviolet - AquaCave
     
  5. starfish2217

    starfish2217 Horrid Stonefish

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    alright thanks! i'll check out Ebay lol
     
  6. panbac2

    panbac2 Astrea Snail

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    I had that problem when i first put in my live rock after 2 weeks of diatoms I cut the lights for a few days and now its pretty good
     
  7. ComputerJohn

    ComputerJohn Panda Puffer

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    WOW, Nice score!!!

     
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  9. starfish2217

    starfish2217 Horrid Stonefish

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    Im gonna cut down on the lights for sure. I don't know how long should I keep them on for...
     
  10. epsilon

    epsilon Feather Star

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    Hey,
    what is your current light cycle?
     
  11. starfish2217

    starfish2217 Horrid Stonefish

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    Well my set up with all my corals has the timer, before it was about 8 hours.. today it was about 6-7 I don't remember.. I don't know how low I should go...
     
  12. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    If the tank has no higher life forms in
    then leaving the lights off completely during the cycle is ideal IME

    turning them on for a few minutes every day so you can see you tanks progress is OK
    but lighting makes no difference to bacteria species thus its not required until you have creatures in there that do need light

    fish are not to bothered either so if your initial stocking is with fish, running the lights for a couple of hours in the evening for viewing pleasure is fine IMO

    better bet would be make the CUC the initial stocking and when these are in providing you have adequate numbers of these cleaners, gradually increasing the amount of light you add on a weekly basis - gives the CUC a chance to deal with any algae nuisances, before they get the chance to reach plague proportions IME

    Diatoms will come and go irrespective of light
    but with the lights off, you dont notice them as much
    and running with lights off until you do start stocking with light requiring species or until you have at least got the core of the CUC into the system
    can help to prevent nuisance algae build up

    Steve