Purchased a new light should I...

[Slowerthnyou99]

Alright details on my tank are current in my signature. I have the factory light fixtures on my tank right now. They have been sufficient for keeping my plants alive but I have some brown algae growing, and the plants are not exactly thriving per say... Pretty sure the algae is due to the low light. (2 18" 15 watt bulbs, 24" deep tank). I bought a 48" 216 watt quad bulb fixture with fans and all that jazz. My question is; Should I introduce the lighting upgrade in a certain manner? Basically, I want to know if I go from 30 watts of light to 200+ watts of light am I gonna have an uncontrollable outbreak of algae growth? If so, should I start with just one bulb for a few days, then use 2 bulbs, so fourth? I do not think I will use all 4 lights as plant lights I think all 4 will be to much. Thinking I will throw a Actinic bulb just for fish color.

What are your thoughts? Thanks guys(and gals)!!

[Cliff]

That is a really good idea to only use two of the bulbs and not all four. All four bulbs would most likely result in a lot of algae when used without CO2 and high demanding plants. If you can, it might be a good idea to use just one bulb for a few days before using both.

I would not suggest using marine bulbs on a fresh water set-up. The bluer tones can help algae grow in a FW system

The brown algae sounds more like diatoms than algae which are more common in newer set-ups

[Slowerthnyou99]

Thanks, the fixture is fitted with 4 6500k plant bulbs. So I will start with 1, and work my way up. I am super stoked on this tank upgrade. The fixture has 2 separate ballast and moonlights, with a digital timer to control each bank separately. I can't wait until Monday when it is scheduled to arrive. Now I just need to locate some glass to cover my tank so my Roseline Sharks or my Giant Danios don't hop out.