# Hagen glo fixture...



## ah_gel (Apr 21, 2010)

I have a 2x54watt hagen glo light fixture (T5HO). I was told that it's way too much light for a 12" high tank... I tried removing one of the bulbs but then the light won't turn on... Has anyone else tried this before? Anyone knows how I can have only one bulb on? Will a burnt bulb do the trick?


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## MananaP (Apr 22, 2010)

It will not work i have two GLO fixtures and if one bulb is burnt the other will light up for couple of seconds and die, i think both bulbs are connected in series and in no way you can use only one bulb.


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## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

Really? Both of my fixtures can run with just one bulb in..

I also have 2x54w on a 12" high tank but I'm doing pressurized co2 and dosing nutrients, I just get really fast growth in my plants.


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## tab (Apr 22, 2010)

It depends on the ballast, but most ballasts can be rewired so they will run with only one bulb.


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## catgoldfish (Apr 21, 2010)

Try to put a Atinic bulb in there along with your other one. It gives off a nice light blue light and isn't as bright as the other bulbs. I have one running like that looks great.


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## ah_gel (Apr 21, 2010)

thanks for the replies. The reason why I am trying to pull a bulb out is that my tank has lots of BBA...
I also have pressurized co2 and dose nutrients also... But for substrate I used sand. Could this be the problem?



jkam said:


> Really? Both of my fixtures can run with just one bulb in..
> 
> I also have 2x54w on a 12" high tank but I'm doing pressurized co2 and dosing nutrients, I just get really fast growth in my plants.


 Did you raised your light?
Do you mind sharing your setup?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Are you using a drop checker? If you're getting BBA in a tank with pressurized CO2, it's generally these things:

1. Insufficient CO2.
2. Inefficient or insufficient circulation of the CO2.
3. Ineffective CO2 diffusion method.
4. You have a a leak in your CO2 system leading to #1.

Maybe you can describe your setup to us and we can help more? Obviously your solution will work, which is to reduce the light. That solves many problems. Is this a 33 gallon that you're putting a 4 foot double light over? If so, I don't think the lighting is ridiculously high. It's obviously high light, but I've seen/heard of higher lighting levels than that have worked. Lots of pruning, but still, no algae issues.


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## pacific (Apr 21, 2010)

If you're trying to reduce the light to fight an algae problem, another thing you could try is to reduce the number of hours you have your lights on. I ran into a BBA problem in one of my 10g after I upgraded my lighting to a 36W fixture. Dropping the light timer from 12 hours a day to 10 hours day did the trick. 

I also found targetting the BBA with some Flourish Excel, using a syringe, helped knock it back. That combined with the reduced lighting hours made it go away.


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## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

ah_gel said:


> Did you raised your light?
> Do you mind sharing your setup?


I do not raise my light. I'll start a journal some day, just no time.

Issues with BBA can be becuase of poor circulation too. The other guy a couple posts above me has some good tips on reducing CO2 or why BBA appears.


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## ah_gel (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. 
I left the light on for roughly 6-7 hours a day.

tank: 33g long
Light: hagen glo 2x54watt 
filter: eheim 2217
powerhead: Hydor Koralia 3 
substrate: sand
drop checker: yes (the other end of the tank.. not beside the diffuser)

I place the co2 diffuser below the intake of the filter... and closer to the water surface I have a powerhead beside the intake pipe. Does this create enough circulation?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

So you are using a ceramic diffuser which then has the CO2 sucked into the canister filter? Seems to work for a lot of people. Koralia 3 is pretty powerful too, so you should have plenty of circulation in that tank. Have you had this problem since day one? Or has something changed recently? And the drop checker is showing green from the beginning of the photoperiod to the end? Is the CO2 on 24/7 or are you using a solenoid. If you are using a solenoid, when does it get turned on/off?


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

how is the fert regime?


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## ah_gel (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> So you are using a ceramic diffuser which then has the CO2 sucked into the canister filter? Seems to work for a lot of people. Koralia 3 is pretty powerful too, so you should have plenty of circulation in that tank. Have you had this problem since day one? Or has something changed recently? And the drop checker is showing green from the beginning of the photoperiod to the end? Is the CO2 on 24/7 or are you using a solenoid. If you are using a solenoid, when does it get turned on/off?


That's right and I placed the powerhead there cause not all the co2 gets sucked in the filter so I have the powerhead there to help.
The BBA developed since I switched to this light. The drop checker shows color from green (beginning) to yellowish green (end of day). I have solenoid and the setup is on timer. So co2 is on when light is on and off when light is off.



neven said:


> how is the fert regime?


I followed the EI dosing for 20-40 gal.
1/4 tsp KNO3
1/16 tsp KH2PO4
1/16 tsp K2SO4
1/16 tsp trace 
Macro micro every other day as usual...


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## ah_gel (Apr 21, 2010)

Any insight anyone? 
Would it help if I switch to nutritional substrate?


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## neoh (Apr 22, 2010)

catgoldfish said:


> Try to put a Atinic bulb in there along with your other one. It gives off a nice light blue light and isn't as bright as the other bulbs. I have one running like that looks great.


not if you want to keep plants!


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## neoh (Apr 22, 2010)

you should also try putting the diffuser below the powerhead.


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## Elmo (Apr 21, 2010)

hmmm ... just a thought, but wouldn't changing the ballast from a 2 light type to a single light type solve your problem?


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## halonine (Jun 7, 2010)

I really dont think this is going to help you a whole lot, but i have almost the identical setup. 33g long, hagen t5ho 48" dual fixture, pressurized co2, hydor powerhead, and rena xp1. I am dosing a little bit more nutrients than what is listed for the 20-40 (ei), and co2 is running at 6bps through a ceramic diffuser straight into the powerhead.

My flow is great, no dead spots right now. I'm also using eco-complete as my substrate.

I used to have a bit of a problem with BBA which i solved by more thorough water changes, and raising my lights to about 11" off the waters surface. My lights are on 10hrs a day and the co2 is on the same timer. 

A dramatic solution could be to do a blackout for a few days. I've done it to one of my tanks quite a while back with great success. Didn't lose any plants or fish during the blackout either.

Tyson


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