can old mh lights cause bacteria blooms

[timi hendrix]

i wrote what i wanted to know wrong.can the old lights cause bacteria blooms.not algae blooms.sorry for the mistake.thanks.

[sporto0]

The answer is the same, bacteria & algae need light, an old bulb by itself can never cause a bloom, there has to be nutrients to fuel it. The theory behind an old bulb is that the spectrum shifts towards the red, which in some cases may help some algaes grow faster, but still not the main cause. So the short answer is no, your old MH bulbs are not causing a bacteria bloom.

[Reef Bass]

+1. Most likely an overabundance of a nutrient which fuels bacteria growth.

[Ron Reefman]

The answer is the same, bacteria & algae need light, an old bulb by itself can never cause a bloom, there has to be nutrients to fuel it. The theory behind an old bulb is that the spectrum shifts towards the red, which in some cases may help some algaes grow faster, but still not the main cause. So the short answer is no, your old MH bulbs are not causing a bacteria bloom.

sport0,

Glad to see somebody else who doesn't completely buy into the 'old bulbs cause algae' story. I always ask, so which bulb is it that color shifts to red and causes the problem, 6400, 10K, 14K or 20K? They can't all be causing the same problem. I think the old bulb issue is 90% BS and will feel that way until I see scientific evidence.