Quote:
Originally Posted by jaguayo
They are 26W, 6500K and 1600 lumens each
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Again, that is a lot of light. Bear in mind also that the lumens on these bulbs are stated as "initial" lumens because the actual number of lumens decreases dramaticaly with both distance from the source and with time. The lumens actually reaching the bottom of your tank are much fewer in number than the inital lumens on these bulbs (which are not designed or intended for aquarium use).
Th 6500 range is good for lighting things up in a room and makes colors "pop", but you run into trouble with algae because so much of that color spectrum isn't even photosyntetically available radiation. Take a look at lighting articles that adress this topic, such as those linked to from the page I shared in my previous post. In simple terms, a lot of the light you provide from those "daylight" bulbs isn't available to plants. Most of it, in fact, is not. Algae however relish it. When you light up a tank with colors that plants don't use and which algae find beneficial, you're feeding the problem, literally.
So you have some options. First, you really need to cut down on the light unless something is using it, and you can't possibly cram enough plants into a 30 galon tank to absorb that amount of light. Second, to combat algae, don't feed it light. Get a CFL for aquariums that doesn't include the colors that algae like. Go back to my original link and poke around for the section on that website that sells CFLs for aquariums.
Third, nourish your plants to the degree that they will out-compete algae for nutrients in the tank. This is actually harder than it sounds. It takes a good deal of study and practice to master, and it takes both time and money to make that happen. Look up "estimative index" on google, or go to
Aquarium Plants - Barr Report - Subscribe to the Barr Report and learn how to set up your tank as a planted tank that will flourish and remain free of algae. If you insist on higher light, you will need to supplement CO2. Unless you are a plant afficionado, you may not find this worth the cost in both time and money. If you don't want to learn how to use CO2 /correctly/ then cut down on the light.
Please also remember that the old watts-per-gallon rule is out the window with newer light technologies. Really that became irrelevant with the onset of the T5 flourescent bulb generation, and CFL bulbs even moreso.
Algae problem
