Chilliman
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2018 9:01 pm
Location: Minnesota

Does reservoir size effect algae growth?

Do bigger reservoirs have less problems with algae? Thanks

pepperhead212
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 2851
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:52 pm
Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b

Welcome to the forum!

What kind of setup do you have, and how large is the reservoir? Smaller tanks can get overfed, STS, faster than large ones, like an aquarium getting more easily over crowded, when small, even with the same biomass/gal. Just less of a "cushion effect".

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13961
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

The size does not matter, only the amount of light. With a lot of light you will get green algae, with very dark conditions, the algae will be brown. The algae, at least here, comes mainly from the water and secondarily from algae in the air. If you live in an arid environment, there is probably less algae in the air. If you live where it is very wet the lichen on the roof, sidewalks, and growing on trees are often the source of the algae.

The reservoirs do need to be cleaned and bleached after every cycle or the bacteria will also build up. If you are using ebb and flow with hydroton or cinder, the build up of dirt, roots, bacteria and algae will eventually cause issues and they need to be cleaned or replaced about every 12-18 months.

Chilliman
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2018 9:01 pm
Location: Minnesota

Thanks for the responses. I was using Solo cups painted black to start peppers. Maybe they needed a second coat of paint. I also wasn't using a ppm meter and the water was just filtered through a Brita. Thanks again



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