Okay, so the tank is looking good but I see a little green algae on the glass and rock. I recently moved and had to reset the tank. It took two to three days to get everything back into the tank. I kept near half of the original water and had some guy top my system off with real seawater. The tank has been set up about 2 weeks and I have since done a water change of 15 to 20 gallons. I sent a water sample to the LFS which revealed "Salt 1.025, Nitrates 0, Nitrites 0, Phosphate 0, pH 8.0 - Sept. 22nd"
I will be checking alkalinity myself later today. Especially since the pH was a little lower than expected.
Anyway, the owner of the LFS suggested my light cycle is too long. T5's are currently on 12 hours a day (9a to 9p). The Metal halides are on from 10a to 8p (10 hours). Its the same cycle I used when it was all T5's. She felt that was why I may be experiencing some algae growth. I always thought you needed light and nutrients for algae to grow. Still I thought it prudent to ask what light cycles you all use as I am new to metal halides.
I will be checking alkalinity myself later today. Especially since the pH was a little lower than expected.
Anyway, the owner of the LFS suggested my light cycle is too long. T5's are currently on 12 hours a day (9a to 9p). The Metal halides are on from 10a to 8p (10 hours). Its the same cycle I used when it was all T5's. She felt that was why I may be experiencing some algae growth. I always thought you needed light and nutrients for algae to grow. Still I thought it prudent to ask what light cycles you all use as I am new to metal halides.
