LED lights and Sunlight

HI everyone,

I am a new member, and have had my betta fish in a 20 g long divided tank for about two months now. This is my first post, and I apologize if this topic has been discussed in another thread, and no new information arises from this one.

I have gotten most of my information from here, including heating, filtration, food, water maintenance, etc. But I have questions on lighting now.

My questions are:

1) Is putting my fish next to a window a bad thing, considering there is direct sunlight, or just sunlight directly hitting the tank for large amounts of the day?

I saw somewhere that algae grows faster because of that. I have done a full water change, and have a filter, and my water is slightly murky. I do a 20 % water change every week and I use seachem. I want to make it as clear as possible. I think one of the issues is that I have moss balls in the tank.

2) Is using LED light hood a bad idea for the tank?

Considering my tank is in the basement, there are not too many well lit areas that are not next to a window. I am considering getting an LED light hood with a timer.

Thanks

 

You do run the risk of getting algae if there is direct sunlight hitting the tank. I'd try to close the blinds or put shades over the window to block the light.

What color is the murkiness? Milky white? Green?

No, using an LED light is not a bad idea. Do you have any live plants?

 

1) yes, sunlight can contribute to algae, and you said that you have moss balls, which increase the chances of having algae.

Another thing sunlight can do is cause temperature fluctuations. I would definitely monitor your temperature.

2) LEDs are fine. If you want live plants, LEDs will limit you to low-light plants like anubias and java fern.

I do have LEDs. I have had no trouble growing anubias and java fern. But my anacharis doesn't do well, and I can't grow amazon swords under the LEDs.

 

1) yes, sunlight can contribute to algae, and you said that you have moss balls, which increase the chances of having algae.

Another thing sunlight can do is cause temperature fluctuations. I would definitely monitor your temperature.

2) LEDs are fine. If you want live plants, LEDs will limit you to low-light plants like anubias and java fern.

Why would having moss balls increase the chance of algae?

There are LED's with different par ratings that can grow low, medium, high light plants.

 

The color is slightly green. I removed some of the moss balls the other day and now it's less green.

The only live plants were moss balls. Is it recommended to have live plants? I am not sure if it is worth increasing the bioload of the tank.

 

Thank you for the helpful responses. I feel welcome in this community.

 

Could it just be the lighting that makes it appear green? Can you attach a photo of the tank?

Live plants are very beneficial to fish but it's really up to you whether you want to keep them. You don't need to add more fish just to provide nutrients for the plants. There are plenty of low tech low light plants like anubia and java ferns that don't require much. You could also dose liquid ferts like Seachem Flourish Comprehensive once a week with water changes.

 

Why would having moss balls increase the chance of algae?

Good question. I didn't really know the answer, I had just read it somewhere, so I looked around.

Apparently, moss balls are actually an algae called Cladophora. They can spread Cladophora, but it doesn't look like they spread any other type of algae.

 

The color is slightly green. I removed some of the moss balls the other day and now it's less green.

The only live plants were moss balls. Is it recommended to have live plants? I am not sure if it is worth increasing the bioload of the tank.

You said your tank was only two months old. That's still pretty new. The green might go away on its own when the tank is more established. (My tank is just over three months old, and the green tinge went away somewhere in this last month.)

Live plants can be helpful for absorbing nitrates. They don't contribute to the bioload the same way the fish do. Unless they die, they don't produce ammonia. I really enjoy my low-light setup, but plants aren't for everyone.

As I admitted above, I'm limited in experience. The only trouble I've had is with anacharis and duckweed--I must be the only person on earth who can kill duckweed.