[ShaneSmith]

About how long chronologically will this algae phase everyone talks about kick in?
I waited 3 weeks to put the fish in and only planted sparsely. I have 3.3 wpg over a 20High but overall i would say i have medium light b/c some(15watts)of that light comes from t12. I run the t12 all day and the t5's (48 watts double reflector) for 2-5 hours depending on how i feel. Did i somehow skip it or is it still coming? i did not use any mulm and had a brand new filter. i have added 3 ppm NO3 from a nutrient solution with phosphates and K as well as some CSM+b. The tank has been running for about 7 weeks now. I've never had a tank this spotless its kind of freaking me out, i always took a little algae growth as a good sign. Plants are fine and appear to be growing. Co2 is good.

 

[Bert H]

What's the old saying - ' don't look a gift horse in the mouth'. If your plants are doing well, it sounds like the combination which you hit upon has worked. At 7 weeks, I would have expected to see some stuff.

Check out this thread in the fert forum about a 'slow' start to an aquarium. What you're doing has similarities to this in that your lighting is fairly minimal for a short time. (I'm not counting the 15W which is on for longer times).

 

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Hi ShaneSmith,

I agree with Bert H, if you were going to have a major algae "bloom" I would have thought you would have see it by now. If I have one, it usually starts about the 2nd or 3rd week, usually in conjunction with a spike in ammonia/nitrogen.

If it were me, I would probably maintain status quo or if I were to change anything I would do only one of the following at a time: light period; ferts; or bio-load; and allow a reasonable period after each change for the aquarium to reach equilibrium.

Congratulations on a "clean" start!

 

[Jorgens]

Not to hijack your thread but if one does go thru that cycle, how long can one expect it to last? And is there anything else besides cut back on lighting for a bit to combat?

Congrats on a clean start...I wish I could say the same.