Plant Care & Supplement

Hey guys!

I have a 40 gallon tank that has been running for about 1.5 years. I use a BeamsWork DA FSPEC light for 8 hours a day and have a bottom layer of eco-complete (spread thinly) topped with fine grain blasting sand. Recently I added 8 root tabs and began dosing excel every other day. Since this tank has been running it has kept algae and it was suggested that excel may help. Different kinds of algae too. The dark green on the substrate, plant leaves are coated, walls are coated, rocks are covered, black kind. It's gotten better but it's always there or comes back quickly after a thorough cleaning. The tabs were added because I added quite a few amazon swords for hiding places for the fish.

How can I get rid of the algae?? Should I have zero nitrates and zero phosphate in the water with so many plants? I use the API Freshwater Master Kit and it reads the lowest option on every measurement (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate). I got a phosphate water test and it reads zero too. It's like nothing is in my water! Is this normal?

 

Can you post some pics? The black stuff sounds like black beard algae which is one of the worst kinds. There are some treatments but it would be best to make sure it’s black beard algae before trying any specific treatments.

 

What kind of substrate do you have? I find some substrates are problematic for algae.

I don’t find API kits to be the most reliable. If you are using test strips, then even worse. I recommend seachem nitrite and nitrate combo kit, and the seachem phosphate test kit. The API ammonia is the only one I find reliable.

A good start would be a thorough clean to remove as much of the algae as possible. Scrape it off everything and rub it off plants. Deep clean the substrate as best you can by vacuuming.

I find the root tabs are good to give any kind of a sword plant an initial boost or head start, but I have also found that liquid fertilizer is also enough to sustain them after that, and stop using tabs.

50 percent water changes once a week is a good thing.

Pictures of the algae would help.

Excel is a good product. Make sure you are using the 5X initial dose once a week the day after a water change and then the 1X dose daily after that. If you use a child medicine syringe you can spot treat some of the algae to kill it.

I don’t know your light specifics and it’s hard to tell you exactly what to do without knowing some data about your light. First thing is I would cut your lighting back to 6 hours a day. Second thing a lot in the hobby don’t account for is the intensity of the light in relation to the depth of your tank. For example in my 125 gallon tank and my 90 gallon tank I may let my lights go at 100 percent intensity but in my 50 gallon tank I may reduce the intensity to 78 percent and in a 20 gallon to 60 percent etc. Once you find the correct intensity then you will find you go back to the hobby standard of 8 hours or maybe more.

Most importantly we are likely to have algae when we have an imbalance of nutrients to light, and yes CO2, however I have found there are work arounds for CO2 in less demanding plants like you have and it’s not required. The most common imbalance that causes algae, when you take light out of the equation for a moment is a chemical imbalance between nitrogen and phosphorus. Hence the nitrate and phosphate test kits.

It is best to keep that ratio as close to 10:1 as possible.

You will hear people say the want to keep their Nitrates as close to 10ppm as possible. If you divide your nitrates by 5 this will give you your desired nitrogen level of 2ppm.

With phosphates you have more of a range to play with, but a small range. I know a lot of people will say phosphates are bad and phosphates cause algae. In a salt water set up phosphates are evil, but in a planted freshwater set up, phosphates are plant food. The middle ground is safe for phosphates in a planted aquarium and although it ok to have a little more or less than this value I suggest you try keep phosphates at 0.58ppm when working with nitrates of 10 ppm. Divide your phosphates by a factor of 3 and the desired phosphorus level is 0.19 ppm

So in simple you want:

Nitrogen levels at 2 ppm and your phosphorus at 0.19 ppm or close too. All that stuff above was to help you convert nitrate levels and phosphates levels to nitrogen and phosphorus so you can appreciate why the test kit values are important in a planted tank.

So anytime you have a zero value for nitrates or phosphates this is not good for plants. Or have a zero value for one but not the other, also bad. Factor in light and we start factoring in the plants ability to compete for nutrients versus algae as light is essential to the growth of both. Algae almost always out competes and wins against plants in nutrient imbalanced and light imbalance environments and excel won’t be able to fix that underlying problem regardless of it being a good algicide and carbon supplement. The nutrient and light issue has to be fixed first before excel can work to do what it was intended to do.

A concept the hobby struggles with is when you have higher nitrates and your phosphate level didn’t rise within ratio, then you have to add phosphorus to increase the phosphates to prevent an algae outbreak when you have adequate lighting. And nitrates under 10 ppm is not desirable either, and you may have to add nitrogen which will boost nitrate levels too.

This is why most times all in ones or comprehensive fertilizers only give us average results with plants or they can cause an algae outbreak, assuming we have lighting all figured out. Without testing nitrates and phosphates at least twice a week, we don’t know if we should be supplementing additional nitrogen or phosphorus to our tanks for the best results in our plants and for combating algae growth.

Personal example when I was starting out of having an algae outbreak in a planted 10 gallon. I had a light rated for a ten gallon and assumed it didn’t need an adjustment was my first mistake. The light had the same intensity as my 6 foot in an aquarium 3 times the depth. That was problem one. Btw I did what everyone does and and recommends and reduce the amount of hours and it didn’t help.

Because I had an enormous algae outbreak, I don’t mean green water. I mean all types of algae growing everywhere. I battled it for weeks with excel and gained no ground. I was using an all in one. I naturally assumed phosphate caused my algae. I bought a phosphate kit and phosphate remover ready to use because I expected high phosphates. I was way off the mark. Nitrates low and phosphates zero and out of ratio. Once I cleaned out all the algae at a water change interval and got my nitrate and phosphate levels in balance by adding doses of nitrogen and phosphate to achieve proper balance twice a week, no algae ever came back and the plants started to grow instead.

Hope this helps.

 

What kind of substrate do you have? I find some substrates are problematic for algae.

I don’t find API kits to be the most reliable. If you are using test strips, then even worse. I recommend seachem nitrite and nitrate combo kit, and the seachem phosphate test kit. The API ammonia is the only one I find reliable.

A good start would be a thorough clean to remove as much of the algae as possible. Scrape it off everything and rub it off plants. Deep clean the substrate as best you can by vacuuming.

I find the root tabs are good to give any kind of a sword plant an initial boost or head start, but I have also found that liquid fertilizer is also enough to sustain them after that, and stop using tabs.

50 percent water changes once a week is a good thing.

Pictures of the algae would help.

Excel is a good product. Make sure you are using the 5X initial dose once a week the day after a water change and then the 1X dose daily after that. If you use a child medicine syringe you can spot treat some of the algae to kill it.

I don’t know your light specifics and it’s hard to tell you exactly what to do without knowing some data about your light. First thing is I would cut your lighting back to 6 hours a day. Second thing a lot in the hobby don’t account for is the intensity of the light in relation to the depth of your tank. For example in my 125 gallon tank and my 90 gallon tank I may let my lights go at 100 percent intensity but in my 50 gallon tank I may reduce the intensity to 78 percent and in a 20 gallon to 60 percent etc. Once you find the correct intensity then you will find you go back to the hobby standard of 8 hours or maybe more.

Most importantly we are likely to have algae when we have an imbalance of nutrients to light, and yes CO2, however I have found there are work arounds for CO2 in less demanding plants like you have and it’s not required. The most common imbalance that causes algae, when you take light out of the equation for a moment is a chemical imbalance between nitrogen and phosphorus. Hence the nitrate and phosphate test kits.

It is best to keep that ratio as close to 10:1 as possible.

You will hear people say the want to keep their Nitrates as close to 10ppm as possible. If you divide your nitrates by 5 this will give you your desired nitrogen level of 2ppm.

With phosphates you have more of a range to play with, but a small range. I know a lot of people will say phosphates are bad and phosphates cause algae. In a salt water set up phosphates are evil, but in a planted freshwater set up, phosphates are plant food. The middle ground is safe for phosphates in a planted aquarium and although it ok to have a little more or less than this value I suggest you try keep phosphates at 0.58ppm when working with nitrates of 10 ppm. Divide your phosphates by a factor of 3 and the desired phosphorus level is 0.19 ppm

So in simple you want:

Nitrogen levels at 2 ppm and your phosphorus at 0.19 ppm or close too. All that stuff above was to help you convert nitrate levels and phosphates levels to nitrogen and phosphorus so you can appreciate why the test kit values are important in a planted tank.

So anytime you have a zero value for nitrates or phosphates this is not good for plants. Or have a zero value for one but not the other, also bad. Factor in light and we start factoring in the plants ability to compete for nutrients versus algae as light is essential to the growth of both. Algae almost always out competes and wins against plants in nutrient imbalanced and light imbalance environments and excel won’t be able to fix that underlying problem regardless of it being a good algicide and carbon supplement. The nutrient and light issue has to be fixed first before excel can work to do what it was intended to do.

A concept the hobby struggles with is when you have higher nitrates and your phosphate level didn’t rise within ratio, then you have to add phosphorus to increase the phosphates to prevent an algae outbreak when you have adequate lighting. And nitrates under 10 ppm is not desirable either, and you may have to add nitrogen which will boost nitrate levels too.

This is why most times all in ones or comprehensive fertilizers only give us average results with plants or they can cause an algae outbreak, assuming we have lighting all figured out. Without testing nitrates and phosphates at least twice a week, we don’t know if we should be supplementing additional nitrogen or phosphorus to our tanks for the best results in our plants and for combating algae growth.

Personal example when I was starting out of having an algae outbreak in a planted 10 gallon. I had a light rated for a ten gallon and assumed it didn’t need an adjustment was my first mistake. The light had the same intensity as my 6 foot in an aquarium 3 times the depth. That was problem one. Btw I did what everyone does and and recommends and reduce the amount of hours and it didn’t help.

Because I had an enormous algae outbreak, I don’t mean green water. I mean all types of algae growing everywhere. I battled it for weeks with excel and gained no ground. I was using an all in one. I naturally assumed phosphate caused my algae. I bought a phosphate kit and phosphate remover ready to use because I expected high phosphates. I was way off the mark. Nitrates low and phosphates zero and out of ratio. Once I cleaned out all the algae at a water change interval and got my nitrate and phosphate levels in balance by adding doses of nitrogen and phosphate to achieve proper balance twice a week, no algae ever came back and the plants started to grow instead.

Hope this helps.

I have a thin bottom layer of eco-complete topped with fine grain blasting sand. The lighting could be it..it's a BeamsWork DA FSPEC and I'm down to 8 hours a day (just changed the timer to six hours actually). I'm not sure how to check depth or intensity and other than making a contraption to hang it or something further from the tank then there's no way to adjust the intensity.
I chose these plants because they're beginner friendly and easily cared for but having to dose two different supplements twice a week and excel daily seems more advanced than I had anticipated with these plants. Is this the routine forever or until the imbalance is rectified?

 

I cleaned the tank yesterday so not a lot to photo but I was able to find a few.

 

I have a thin bottom layer of eco-complete topped with fine grain blasting sand. The lighting could be it..it's a BeamsWork DA FSPEC and I'm down to 8 hours a day (just changed the timer to six hours actually). I'm not sure how to check depth or intensity and other than making a contraption to hang it or something further from the tank then there's no way to adjust the intensity.
I chose these plants because they're beginner friendly and easily cared for but having to dose two different supplements twice a week and excel daily seems more advanced than I had anticipated with these plants. Is this the routine forever or until the imbalance is rectified?

The routine is forever. All aquatic plants need nutrients and unfortunately eco complete is not nutrient rich and fish waste won't provide everything a plant needs.
Excel is optional because it's mostly an algaecide. What are the two other supplements? Most people like to use an all-in-one, that's one bottle of fertilizer that will provide everything you need. If you're in the US, Nilocg Thrive is a great all-in-one.
Your algae problems may very well be caused by your water's lack of nutrients. Lack of nutrients leads to deficiency, poor growth, and stalling, and an unhealthy plant is an algae magnet, because algae will feed off the microscopic decay.

 

The routine is forever. All aquatic plants need nutrients and unfortunately eco complete is not nutrient rich and fish waste won't provide everything a plant needs.
Excel is optional because it's mostly an algaecide. What are the two other supplements? Most people like to use an all-in-one, that's one bottle of fertilizer that will provide everything you need. If you're in the US, Nilocg Thrive is a great all-in-one.
Your algae problems may very well be caused by your water's lack of nutrients. Lack of nutrients leads to deficiency, poor growth, and stalling, and an unhealthy plant is an algae magnet, because algae will feed off the microscopic decay.

I meant supplement nitrogen and phosphate twice a week as the two supplements. So getting the all in one that you recommended would raise the phosphate and nitrate levels to those you suggest? I added some pictures as well.

 

Whole tank photo for reference

 

I meant supplement nitrogen and phosphate twice a week as the two supplements. So getting the all in one that you recommended would raise the phosphate and nitrate levels to those you suggest? I added some pictures as well.

The 10:1 ratio that !poogs! mentioned can only be reached if you're measuring your own levels and adjusting each nutrient individually, which isn't possible with an all-in-one. People mix their own dry fertilizers if they want to do that. Personally I don't think the ratio matters too much as long as you're kind of in the 5:1 to 15:1 ballpark, it's just a guideline to help people get enough nutrients into their tanks. Nilocg Thrive will get you somewhere near there. I think the ThriveC version will be the best option for you, since you're low tech and not heavily planted. Nice looking tank btw

 

If you know how many lumens the light is and the depth of the tank, I could maybe give you a ball park figure. Or if you could tell me how many inches the the light is I could look it up. For most led lights Nicrew sells a very affordable dimmer timer.

I would increase your substrate depth so you have a total of 3 to 4 inches. Your eco complete is not something I would have recommend. Anytime a substrates advertises they are nourishing with major and minor trace elements I walk away, because you don’t know the impact that is going to have on the aquarium environment and water parameters in a planted tank is a small bit of a science. It’s an easier gig if your substrate is benign, this gives you better control of elements and nourishments. Just my opinion to keep it simple , I’m sure some users love eco complete and have not had any issues.

Even with an all in one it’s no guarantee. You still need to test nitrate and phosphates. Sometimes one size fits all fits you and you get lucky, sometimes it doesn’t and you need to raise one or the other or both. This morning was a test date for me. Even though I use a comprehensive fertilizer I still needed to add phosphorus to 4 tanks, and only one tank needed nitrogen. A fifth tank didn’t need anything.

Nitrogen and phosphorus levels are affected by many things.

The type of food you feed.
How often your feed
The quality of the food
How many fish you keep
Filtration, more specifically bio filtration
Lighting
Etc

Unfortunately keeping plants isn’t plant and go. It required a little bit more routine then just keep fish. Even low tech planted tanks need some extra effort.

 

The 10:1 ratio that !poogs! mentioned can only be reached if you're measuring your own levels and adjusting each nutrient individually, which isn't possible with an all-in-one. People mix their own dry fertilizers if they want to do that. Personally I don't think the ratio matters too much as long as you're kind of in the 5:1 to 15:1 ballpark, it's just a guideline to help people get enough nutrients into their tanks. Nilocg Thrive will get you somewhere near there. I think the ThriveC version will be the best option for you, since you're low tech and not heavily planted. Nice looking tank btw

Lol.

I assure you what I do is nothing complicated. The only reason I got onto this was to remedy an irritating algae issue in a small tank I couldn’t remedy for close to a year.

Measuring nitrates and phosphates is not complex. Knowing what values you want to be at is a given. Seachem make a phone app that does the calculations once you convert your test kit values to nitrogen and phosphorus. The supplements are in liquid form, you input where you are at and where you wanna be, the app tells you how many ml you need based on the volume of water in the tank. Bam

You are right 10:1 is not an exact science because you phosphorus levels always have an acceptable range for 10 parts nitrogen. Hence that alters the ratio. For that reason I play it safe and aim for the middle ground of the range which is 0.19ppm of phosphorus.

Sometimes you get lucky with an all in one and you fall within the ranges for both. I use an all in twice a week as well, and check my balance of nitrogen and phosphorus twice a week too. I am by no means high tech.

When you have a problem, you have to look at what the numbers are telling you, otherwise you are going blind looking for a fix.

 

If you know how many lumens the light is and the depth of the tank, I could maybe give you a ball park figure. Or if you could tell me how many inches the the light is I could look it up. For most led lights Nicrew sells a very affordable dimmer timer.

I would increase your substrate depth so you have a total of 3 to 4 inches. Your eco complete is not something I would have recommend. Anytime a substrates advertises they are nourishing with major and minor trace elements I walk away, because you don’t know the impact that is going to have on the aquarium environment and water parameters in a planted tank is a small bit of a science. It’s an easier gig if your substrate is benign, this gives you better control of elements and nourishments. Just my opinion to keep it simple , I’m sure some users love eco complete and have not had any issues.

Even with an all in one it’s no guarantee. You still need to test nitrate and phosphates. Sometimes one size fits all fits you and you get lucky, sometimes it doesn’t and you need to raise one or the other or both. This morning was a test date for me. Even though I use a comprehensive fertilizer I still needed to add phosphorus to 4 tanks, and only one tank needed nitrogen. A fifth tank didn’t need anything.

Nitrogen and phosphorus levels are affected by many things.

The type of food you feed.
How often your feed
The quality of the food
How many fish you keep
Filtration, more specifically bio filtration
Lighting
Etc

Unfortunately keeping plants isn’t plant and go. It required a little bit more routine then just keep fish. Even low tech planted tanks need some extra effort.

Unfortunately emptying the tank and starting over isn't in the cards. More (and different) substrate is one of my deepest regrets but you live and learn. But certainly plant and go wasn't my gameplan.

Perhaps an "Aquatic Plants for Dummies" forum is more my lane because the ratios and individual elements to dose and everything from this thread has really confused me more than I thought! I'm just not sure what to do at this point.

So my takeaway is to get a different water kit, buy phosphate and nitrogen, and dose those until ideal numbers are shown?

 

Unfortunately emptying the tank and starting over isn't in the cards. More (and different) substrate is one of my deepest regrets but you live and learn. But certainly plant and go wasn't my gameplan.

Perhaps an "Aquatic Plants for Dummies" forum is more my lane because the ratios and individual elements to dose and everything from this thread has really confused me more than I thought! I'm just not sure what to do at this point.

So my takeaway is to get a different water kit, buy phosphate and nitrogen, and dose those until ideal numbers are shown?

My light is the 36in beamswork da fspec and the depth to substrate is 12-13 in

 

I meant supplement nitrogen and phosphate twice a week as the two supplements. So getting the all in one that you recommended would raise the phosphate and nitrate levels to those you suggest? I added some pictures as well.

Using an all in one is definitely I starting place. Like Mak said earlier and I fully agree with, if the nutrients in your tank aren’t feeding you plants because they have stopped growing due to an imbalance, then instead of growing your plants the lights and available nutrients are growing your algae. This may solve the problem once you get your lighting in a check, it may not. It won’t be an immediate thing it will take about a month to see the difference. If it doesn’t solve the issue, you need to look at what the numbers are telling you. Adding the all in one will increase the values blindly, but there are other factors in play then just what you add, which affect whether you are able to maintain the ratio.

Sorry if I am complicating it. I really don’t mean too.

 

The 10:1 ratio that !poogs! mentioned can only be reached if you're measuring your own levels and adjusting each nutrient individually, which isn't possible with an all-in-one. People mix their own dry fertilizers if they want to do that. Personally I don't think the ratio matters too much as long as you're kind of in the 5:1 to 15:1 ballpark, it's just a guideline to help people get enough nutrients into their tanks. Nilocg Thrive will get you somewhere near there. I think the ThriveC version will be the best option for you, since you're low tech and not heavily planted. Nice looking tank btw

So the ThriveC increases phosphate and nitrogen? With these hardy plants, is homemade ferts and individual nutrient tracking necessary?

 

Whole tank photo for reference

That’s a good looking tank

 

So the ThriveC increases phosphate and nitrogen? With these hardy plants, is homemade ferts and individual nutrient tracking necessary?

Sorry

To make it real simple.

I like your tank. It looks real good. Don’t tear it down. I only replied to help you with algae problem.

If you are not using an all in one, pick one and start there. A few have been recommended to you. I use seachem comprehensive, but the other ones are just as good. All these all in one have nitrogen and phosphorus and a lot of other good stuff in them to grow plants.

Consider a Nicrew dimmer. They work wonders. They are universal depending on the volts and amps of your light. There is a chart to figure it out. I will look up the lumens for your light bar. How many inches was it ?




If this doesn’t fix your algae problem in a month or so, look up this thread and send me a message. I will help you figure out your numbers. It never hurts to have a good nitrate and phosphate kit on hand.

This was the app I was telling you about to make quick dosing calculations if you ever need it.

 

Lol.

I assure you what I do is nothing complicated. The only reason I got onto this was to remedy an irritating algae issue in a small tank I couldn’t remedy for close to a year.

Measuring nitrates and phosphates is not complex. Knowing what values you want to be at is a given. Seachem make a phone app that does the calculations once you convert your test kit values to nitrogen and phosphorus. The supplements are in liquid form, you input where you are at and where you wanna be, the app tells you how many ml you need based on the volume of water in the tank. Bam

You are right 10:1 is not an exact science because you phosphorus levels always have an acceptable range for 10 parts nitrogen. Hence that alters the ratio. For that reason I play it safe and aim for the middle ground of the range which is 0.19ppm of phosphorus.

Sometimes you get lucky with an all in one and you fall within the ranges for both. I use an all in twice a week as well, and check my balance of nitrogen and phosphorus twice a week too. I am by no means high tech.

When you have a problem, you have to look at what the numbers are telling you, otherwise you are going blind looking for a fix.

I didn't think it was dw. I never test because it's such a hassle. The Estimative Index method, which Nilocg Thrive is modeled on, is also called the no need for test kits method. Tom Barr himself doses a 4:1 ratio of N to P and thinks the ratio is baloney. As long as you have non-limiting nutrients the way you dose doesn't matter. But to each their own

So the ThriveC increases phosphate and nitrogen? With these hardy plants, is homemade ferts and individual nutrient tracking necessary?

Sorry to confuse you, OP. Yes, ThriveC increases phosphate and nitrate, which are essential plant nutrients. No, you do not need to mix your own fertilizer or track anything beyond the standard API tests. I rarely even do that much. As you can see, there are many different schools of thought when it comes to the hobby.

 

Sorry

To make it real simple.

I like your tank. It looks real good. Don’t tear it down. I only replied to help you with algae problem.

If you are not using an all in one, pick one and start there. A few have been recommended to you. I use seachem comprehensive, but the other ones are just as good. All these all in one have nitrogen and phosphorus and a lot of other good stuff in them to grow plants.

Consider a Nicrew dimmer. They work wonders. They are universal depending on the volts and amps of your light. There is a chart to figure it out. I will look up the lumens for your light bar. How many inches was it ?

View attachment 735319

If this doesn’t fix your algae problem in a month or so, look up this thread and send me a message. I will help you figure out your numbers. It never hurts to have a good nitrate and phosphate kit on hand.

This was the app I was telling you about to make quick dosing calculations if you ever need it.

View attachment 735313

Thank you! It's nice to hear some positive feedback. There's a few things I'd like to do aesthetically but it's my first tank so I'm learning.

Here is the info for my light!

 

I didn't think it was dw. I never test because it's such a hassle. The Estimative Index method, which Nilocg Thrive is modeled on, is also called the no need for test kits method. Tom Barr himself doses a 4:1 ratio of N to P and thinks the ratio is baloney. As long as you have non-limiting nutrients the way you dose doesn't matter. But to each their own

I would agree with you and agreed with Barr for years. Until I had a problem. Then you are 100 percent right, to each his own. Then my blind faith went out the door and I had to look at the numbers and do some some of my own tinkering, which meant back to basics on the literature of plant keeping. Like I said earlier. Sometimes one size doesn’t fit all. When I fixed my problem with light intensity and the ratio the algae problem was eliminated and I switched my thinking for all my tanks, but it is not everyone’s solution for their tanks. Just advice.

 

I would agree with you and agreed with Barr for years. Until I had a problem. Then you are 100 percent right, to each his own. Then my blind faith went out the door and I had to look at the numbers and do some some of my own tinkering, which meant back to basics on the literature of plant keeping. Like I said earlier. Sometimes one size doesn’t fit all. When I fixed my problem with light intensity and the ratio the algae problem was eliminated and I switched my thinking for all my tanks, but it is not everyone’s solution for their tanks. Just advice.

How do you go about determining what the intensity SHOULD be? I can buy a dimmer and just play around to see if the algae changes or plants grow faster..

 

I would start by cutting down on your lights to 4-6 hours.

I would also pick up a SAE and a few nerite snails ( they do amazing jobs )

As far as excel don't over dose or you will find a lot of the plants will die.

 

How do you go about determining what the intensity SHOULD be? I can buy a dimmer and just play around to see if the algae changes or plants grow faster..

SWAG , scientific wild guess.

Your light is 5000 lumens. On a 36 inch bar for a 40 gallon tank. Your tank appears to be a 40 gallon long. 48X12X16. You said the depth to the substrate is 12 to 13 inches. I realize the light sits above the water a few inches from your picture. That amount is lumens to me is intense considering it is a low tech set up. Your colour temp is 10,000 K which is also very bright white. I’m not surprised you have algae.

I would suggest based on some of my aquariums and my light bars, you may want to dial that to about 70 to 75 percent, so 30 to 25 percent less light and work from there.

You will like the Nicrew timer for its ability to do a sunrise and sunset. I like being able to program 3 percent light for during the day, just enough light to give it a glow and wake the fish and not trigger photosynthesis is plants and algae, and then light up for your evening viewing pleasure.

 

I would start by cutting down on your lights to 4-6 hours.

I would also pick up a SAE and a few nerite snails ( they do amazing jobs )

As far as excel don't over dose or you will find a lot of the plants will die.

I have two nerites in there now. I slightly underdose the excel to make sure I don't hurt anything. Only about half a capful every other day. And starting today I'm at 6 instead of 8 hours of light.

 

SWAG , scientific wild guess.

Your light is 5000 lumens. On a 36 inch bar for a 40 gallon tank. Your tank appears to be a 40 gallon long. 48X12X16. You said the depth to the substrate is 12 to 13 inches. I realize the light sits above the water a few inches from your picture. That amount is lumens to me is intense considering it is a low tech set up. Your colour temp is 10,000 K which is also very bright white. I’m not surprised you have algae.

I would suggest based on some of my aquariums and my light bars, you may want to dial that to about 70 to 75 percent, so 30 to 25 percent less light and work from there.

You will like the Nicrew timer for its ability to do a sunrise and sunset. I like being able to program 3 percent light for during the day, just enough light to give it a glow and wake the fish and not trigger photosynthesis is plants and algae, and then light up for your evening viewing pleasure.

Is this light more suited for high tech tanks? I put the 20in version on my 10 gallon last week so I'll probably have issues with algae in that one too. I'll give the dimmer a shot!

 

SWAG , scientific wild guess.

Your light is 5000 lumens. On a 36 inch bar for a 40 gallon tank. Your tank appears to be a 40 gallon long. 48X12X16. You said the depth to the substrate is 12 to 13 inches. I realize the light sits above the water a few inches from your picture. That amount is lumens to me is intense considering it is a low tech set up. Your colour temp is 10,000 K which is also very bright white. I’m not surprised you have algae.

I would suggest based on some of my aquariums and my light bars, you may want to dial that to about 70 to 75 percent, so 30 to 25 percent less light and work from there.

You will like the Nicrew timer for its ability to do a sunrise and sunset. I like being able to program 3 percent light for during the day, just enough light to give it a glow and wake the fish and not trigger photosynthesis is plants and algae, and then light up for your evening viewing pleasure.

Clarification, when I say 70 to 75 percent, I mean on a dimmer have 70 75 percent light setting, still give 6 to 8 hours of light as a starting point.

 

Is this light more suited for high tech tanks? I put the 20in version on my 10 gallon last week so I'll probably have issues with algae in that one too. I'll give the dimmer a shot!

I wouldn’t say one way or another. I think sometimes we forget to look at the specs on a light bar and think a light is a light. I think the manufacturers try to make a decent light for a variety of users, and it up to the end user to dial it in properly.

 

How do you go about determining what the intensity SHOULD be? I can buy a dimmer and just play around to see if the algae changes or plants grow faster..

Base it off the PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) of your light, then lower if needed. Luckily some hobbyists have access to PAR meters and share their data:


If your tank is 16 inches tall, standard 40 gallon, your PAR is going to be 50 ish depending on maybe substrate depth and light height above the water.
This is variable depending on who you ask, but low light is generally up to 30 PAR, medium light up to 60 PAR, and high light after that.

Unfortunately there's no way to know what PAR will be after a dimmer, but I'd aim for 70-80% as poogs said.

Is this light more suited for high tech tanks? I put the 20in version on my 10 gallon last week so I'll probably have issues with algae in that one too. I'll give the dimmer a shot!

Not necessarily It won't put out enough on a tall tank, but on a short tank it may. Also spectrum and such may not be to some people's liking, it all depends