lowering light: Less hours or dimmer ?

[CT_]

So after upgrading my 5g to a 15g I've started to get ALL the algae.  my rocks have some kind of green.  I'm seeing a bit of thread algae, some that may be black beard, i cut that leaf off and burned it, and green spot. 

 

I'm guessing I should lower my light.  I'm running what was advertised as PAR 60 light from NICREW, given the brand isn't one of the top end it may be lower in reality.  I can press some buttons and dim my light or adjust my timer from 10hr to say 8hr.  Is there a better option of the two?  I realize to first approximation 80% intensity or 80% period is the same photons/day but nothing in the world is actually linear and I wouldn't expect plant/algae growth to be linear either. 

 

My gut says shorten the period because i want to get higher light all the way to the bottom to the montecarlo I'm attempting to grow.  But I'd like to hear thoughts from others.

 

Either way I'm going to also split my photo period so I can have more enjoyment while I'm home.

 

I'm also considering "liquid carbon" but there's a warning saying val is sensitive, though I don't know what "sensitive" really means in this case.

[Yanni]

I think that your gut is right. I would shorten the lighting period and also try doing some water changes. Liquid carbon would work but val might melt because of it. Maybe try getting some algae eaters like snails, shrimps, or otos. Those would take care of some of the algae. 

[CT_]

39 minutes ago, Yanni said:

I think that your gut is right. I would shorten the lighting period and also try doing some water changes. Liquid carbon would work but val might melt because of it. Maybe try getting some algae eaters like snails, shrimps, or otos. Those would take care of some of the algae. 

I have 3 otos and 17 neo shrimp in there (in theory I can't ever see more than a few at once)

[Dirtydave]

Bently Pasco recently did a vid on that very subject. He is the king of plant care on youtube.He said it varies from plant to plant.Some like lower light for longer periods and some like the higher light for shorter periods.It stems from the natural environments they come from.I wish I could tell you the ideal thing to do on specific plants but I'm not Bently Pasco.Im dirtydave a 65 year old fish nerm.