Question about new Surf 4x

[NotEntirelyJak]

Hey guys,

I started a new surf4x 8 days ago and still do not have an algae in my scrubber. Its as white as it was when I first got it. My tank has lots of hair algae and continues to grow algae on the glass. I am only using half of the lights as suggested and have the lights on for 18 hours per day.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[SantaMonica]

Welcome.

Sounds like the light needs to be shaded. Put a black cloth over half, or 3/4, of the light to really dim it down. And only one plug should be plugged in of course. Keep 18 hours.

We are going to start including shade cloths with these soon, because the lights in combination with the bright white surfaces are very powerful.

[NotEntirelyJak]

ok thanks I will try this.

[NotEntirelyJak]

I am still having some issues with my scrubber. I put the shade over half of the lights and when growth started I removed the shade. I ran it for about a week or so with only half the lights on. Then I turned on all of the lights about a week later. I was continuing to have growth so I increased the light interval to 20 hours. Now about a quarter of the scrubber is thick green growth that I want but the rest is the yellow growth that it talks about the instructions. So I am trying to figure out where to go from here. I assume I need to cut the lighting. But how should I do that? run half the lights for 18 hours or run all the light for 18 hours? Also how do I advance the lighting from here?

[SantaMonica]

If the green growth was the part that used to be shaded, then brush out the non-green growth in your sink, and put the shade back on. Only the green growth should get the full light. The empty parts should still be shaded.

Only use 1 power plug. And the un-shading steps should be very slow. Let the whole thing fill in, before plugging in the second plug.

The 4x has very strong lights, and it can overpower new growth easily. But once covered in green or darker growth, the lights provide the intense photosynthesis needed.