Can You Use LED Lighting to Prevent Algae in a Fish Tank?

Algae organisms are part of all aquatic habitats and ecosystems. They range in complexity from the unicellular to giant seaweed blooms that extend over thousands of kilometers and can grow over 12” a day. All fish keepers can expect algae growing in their aquarium tanks. As long as they’re saltwater plants held in a refugium, like mangroves or chaetomorpha, or part of healthy plankton, you’ll want algae to be a part of the tank ecosystem, but the bloom must be kept under control because it can easily turn harmful. Green or red algae formation is what you want to avoid in both freshwater and reef tanks, and the choice of lighting is a factor in this regard. To a certain extent, LED lighting is one of the most crucial saltwater and freshwater aquarium supplies because it can control harmful algae bloom, but it’s important to understand more about how this organism can be kept in check.

The Photosynthesis Process

Even though calling algae “plants” isn’t biologically correct, these aquatic species share two processes with their botanic counterparts: photosynthesis and chlorophyll production. Given enough moisture and light, algae will bloom. Even when conditions are harsh and minimal, algae will find a way to form, which means taking advantage of any ray of light to stimulate the photosynthesis process. Like any organism with at least one cell, algae will try to survive and reproduce. If the only source of light comes from LED bars atop an aquarium tank, algae will do its best to photosynthesize.

Too Much or Too Little Lighting

Fish keepers illuminate tanks for the purpose of appreciating their species and aquascape, but the main reason should be to provide fish, plants, invertebrates, and plankton with a cycle similar to their natural habitats. In other words, simulating day and night. You would think that a sunlit aquarium would provide the best lighting cycle, but this isn’t always the case. When the lighting system is too luminous, it may result in green spot algae bloom. When it’s of low intensity, it stimulates the growth of brown algae.

Factors Other Than Lighting

Algae growing out of control is a sign of an imbalanced ecosystem. Water circulation, adequate chemistry levels, proper nutrition, cleaning, Nitrobacter colonies, and water changes are as important as lighting in terms of controlling algae growth. With sunlit aquariums, keep in mind that UV radiation will increase water temperature to levels that promote algae bloom, so you should limit exposure to a few hours per day in freshwater tanks.

How LED Light Can Help with Algae Control

With LED light bars providing adequate intensity, freshwater plants and complex saltwater algae such as turtle grass and Halimeda will thrive, thus edging out green spot and brown algae. A planted tank with LED lighting is something all aquarists should strive for because the plants will effectively consume all the nutrients that would normally feed harmful algae. As long as the LED lights don’t emit more than a lumen equivalent of 1.5 watts per gallon, they should be sufficient for stimulating the bloom of beneficial plankton algae bloom.

In addition to LED lighting, there are several other supplies you should acquire to properly care for your aquarium. Whether you need an aquarium temperature controller, beneficial bacteria, a heater, or any other aquarium supply, you can rely on Aquatic Warehouse to provide what you need. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call 858-467-9297 to speak with one of our friendly and knowledgeable representatives.