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Coral Vue Hydros

Lighting / algae question


Chronicles

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Hey guys, I've been reading a lot here and finaly decided to post my question.

 

I have a 10gal fish only tank with an Eclipse 1 system on top. I have a think sand base and currently have a yellow tail damsel, 3 stripe damsel, common clown, chocolate chip star, and a white "anemone" crab.

 

My question is, I used to have a freshwater tank before I decided to go saltwater, so with my old hood I had a 18" fluorescent tube light which emits a purpleish color. When I just recently got my Eclipse system it came with an 18" 15w bulb that produces a much whiter light. Durring the cycle process for about 3weeks I used the old hood before I just got my Eclipse. Since getting the eclipse I just noticed a little brown algae in a spot on the sand and a small spot on the side of the tank. My question is, is this normal? Is it because the new "Daylight" bulb? Would I be better off with the darker looking purple or going to a higher Kelvin bulb like an 18000k?? So basicly what is the best temp bulb for a fish only system? How to I stop the algae, or do I want some?

 

Thanks in advance for your responces, I've learned a ton of info since I started this over a month ago.

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I'm not going to lecture you about adding so many fish right away. Algae growth is totally normal at this stage of the game. You will get strange and wonderful algal blooms for the next few weeks or months.

 

If you only have one bulb on your tank, corals really arent an option. Get a bulb with a 50/50 spectrum for nice coloration on your fish, or one 10000k.

 

Good luck

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Yeah I started w/ 1 damsel over 3 weeks ago, then added another about 1 1/2 weeks ago, and just added the clown yesterday. The eclipse box says "full spectrum lighting", and the bulb says "Natural Daylight". I intend to keep it fish only, however I have thought about an anemone later on in a few months. Is there anything bad about using the purple one? I've read much much more for this then I do any of my college classes and I want to do it right. Eclipse has the option of adding another bulb if I wanted to. Right now the purple one is in, I guess I'll switch back to the white one untill I go out to the pet shop tomorrow. Thanks for your reply.

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An anemone would die swifly under stock Eclipse Lighting. You need to get brighter lights of proper spectrum to keep an anemone alive, and even then they are very finnicky.

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Why do you have 5 fish in a 10 gallon tank?

 

 

Originally posted by Chronicles

Hey guys, I've been reading a lot here and finaly decided to post my question.  

 

I have a 10gal fish only tank with an Eclipse 1 system on top. I have a think sand base and currently have a yellow tail damsel, 3 stripe damsel, common clown, chocolate chip star, and a white "anemone" crab.

 

My question is, I used to have a freshwater tank before I decided to go saltwater, so with my old hood I had a 18" fluorescent tube light which emits a purpleish color. When I just recently got my Eclipse system it came with an 18" 15w bulb that produces a much whiter light. Durring the cycle process for about 3weeks I used the old hood before I just got my Eclipse. Since getting the eclipse I just noticed a little brown algae in a spot on the sand and a small spot on the side of the tank. My question is, is this normal? Is it because the new "Daylight" bulb? Would I be better off with the darker looking purple or going to a higher Kelvin bulb like an 18000k?? So basicly what is the best temp bulb for a fish only system? How to I stop the algae, or do I want some?

 

Thanks in advance for your responces, I've learned a ton of info since I started this over a month ago.

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I have 3 fish in a 10gal tank.

 

oooh I see, no it's a 3 stripe meaning it has 3 stripes, it is 1 fish. Also it's fish only so there is a lot more room w/o all that LR.

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3 fish of that size in a fish only is fine as well as the bulb if you don't plan on coral (I second the anemone aint gonna make it long so loose it now). The brown is a Diatom bloom that should mysteriously disappear in a couple weeks so don't worry, it is normal.

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Haha, it's ok, yeah as for the anemone, I'm not even going to try for a long time. A quick question though, do they need lots and lots of LR to roam around on? The lady at the shop didn't tell me it was an anemone crab, I found that out on my own. So being I have that and a clown, I only figured LATER get one. I'll go get a 50/50 light since this one only says Full Spectrum and I don't know much more then that. Thanks guys. :)

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