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manually removing them by cutting
Hi,
I run a 36Wx2 PL light on a 2.5 ft tank for 12 hours a day. I get plenty of spot algae on both the glass as well as on the older glosso leaves.
I have no other forms of algae.
I understand that nothing eats spot algae and it has to be removed manually. Well, that's fine with glass but how to remove on glosso leaves? Perhaps the issue is actually to prevent/minimise the spot algae in the first place.
What are the conditions that would lead to more spot algae that I should avoid? I heard that excessive Fe dosing and more light would encourage spot algae. is this true?
Cheers
Boon Yong
manually removing them by cutting
When the K, NO3 and CO2 are good, adding PO4 is the trick. High trace levels make no difference that I can see and I've tested at 2-3x the amounts I add which is about 2-3x the recommended amounts on most products. I add roughly 5mls 3x a week of traces per 80 liters of tank.
Gloss should certain outpace most any algae also.
Regards,
Tom Barr
Juz wondering whether this happens to all of U guys. Me a newbie with a 20gal tank, cycled about 2 months now. Plants & fish so far OK.
Problem with spot green algae on tank wall ... lots of them & grows quite fast. Removed them by scrapping & they regrow in shortly less than a week. Algae crew not able to take care og them, though Oto tried.
Water parameters: ph6-6.5, KH3-4, CO2 indicator OK, NH3: nil, NO2 Nil, NO3: 5ppm (slight). Fe 0.5-1, PO4: trace.
Lights: 12 hours, 2 15W PL.
Tried searching on this topic.. seems like a perenial problem for planted tank. But just wondered if U guys experience such growth rates. Saw NA Chan's tank... also full of them.
Anyone kind enough to share experience?
Aside: Sorry, ahd to put my qn here ,cos can't post under new topic. Bounced back as "Error!. Credentials doesn't match" Don't know why this happens.[]
I don't have any spot algae except perhaps once a month or so on the glass but that's not much, it never grows on the plants.
See your NO3(is this a good measurement and do you dose KNO3?) and PO4(trace=too low).
A number of folks report much less glass algae and green spot when using PO4. Plant uptake in a fully planted tank with CO2 etc, will exceed 0.2ppm a day.
Green spot is very similar to higher plants in their sub celluar structures and they and Chara are the likely contenders to ancestors of land plants. My bet is much more on Chara but GS is pretty good also.
This makes them pretty tough to deal with and few critters will touch either species.
Regards,
Tom Barr
Hi Tom Barr,
I use TMG, dosed only 1/2 dose on 2 occasiosn afer water change. Can't remember the value of the NO3 & PO3 (will check that whem I get home)... using Sera NO3 & PO4 test kit.. color change is the 1st colour bar just after the NIL level... NO3 light brown, PO4 tinge of blue. Any help at all (that much data I can provide for now).
Read about PL light with different Kelvin affecting alage growth. Mine x36W PL(sorry for wrong typo in earlier post) 10000K each. Does that play a role in algae growth?
[
Hi Tom,
Checked again. NO3: 10mg/L, PO4: 0.1mg/L.
So is the NO3 sufficient? Looks like low PO4 may be the reason here heh? Shall I dose some PO4? Which commercially available solution should I use? Florish PO4?
Get the CO2 in the good range during lighting period is important (20-30ppm), GH (magnesium and calcium is also important...singapore water is about 3dGH..I dose a bit of seachem equilibrum to hit 5dGH).
Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger
Thanx Peter. But I have not been testing GH.. only tested KH. Look like have to get a GH test kit. BTW, I'm already dosing TMG which contains K, Mg S, B, Cu Fe, Mn, Mo & Zn. NO CALCIUM. So if I were to add Seachem Equlibrium, I'm afraid I might overdose... probably can use only a small amount (how do U gauge?) or omit TMG when dosing Equilibium. BTW, any other ways to up the Calcium apart from Equilibrium? Will Calcium carbonate tablets do? Only thing is CaCO3 tablet very difficult to dissolve & leave behind lots of powdery sediments.
Pardon me for my silly question. I'm a newbie mah.
[] [
I've not tested my tank parameters yet. will go out to get a kit soon. in any case, I was under the impression that N & P(phosphoros) are usually abundant due to fish food while K (potassium) is the one that's usually missing. Seems like Puffer's situation is the reverse, with P low. After testing, I'll see if my situation is the same as Puffers.
Cheers
Boon Yong
Puffers,----------------
On 3/25/2003 12:51:55 AM
Checked again. NO3: 10mg/L, PO4: 0.1mg/L.
So is the NO3 sufficient? Looks like low PO4 may be the reason here heh? Shall I dose some PO4? Which commercially available solution should I use? Florish PO4?
----------------
Yes. Looks like you have low PO4. Try to raise to about 0.5ppm.
You can use KH2PO4 from hydroponics store like Dr. Mallick's or nurseries. You can also use Seachem Flourish Phosphorus, relatively hassle free. You can also use Fleet Enema(NaH2PO4), medication for constipation, from pharmacies.
Probably you may want to hold adding Ca, unless you are clearly seeing Ca deficiency.
Boon Yong, yes, N and P are found in fish food and fish poo. However, in tanks with high light, chances are the demand of plants on N and P exceeds that from the fish food and fish poo. In such cases, you would need to supplement N & P. A test on NO3 & PO4 will give you an indication of the status of your tank. However, if you have a healthy & algae-free tank, you are probably already on the right track.
BC
Puffers, one more thing, keep an eye on the NO3 level. Upping the PO4 will likely increase the uptake of NO3. Ensure that the NO3 is kept around 5~10ppm level.
BC
What options do I have to dose N & P? Especially since a lot of fertilisers are N & P free.
Cheers
Boon Yong
Boon Yong,
First you must determine what's your NO3 & PO4 level to know how much you need to dose.
NO3:
KNO3 available from hydroponics store like Dr. Mallicks(see LFS list) or maybe some nurseries.
PO4:
KH2PO4 available from hydroponics store like Dr. Mallicks(see LFS list) or maybe some nurseries.
Fleet Enema(NaH2PO4/Na2HPO4) from pharmacies. (It's a medicine for constipation.)
Bc
Thanx BClee, tried getting flourish P but juz run out of stock (NA), & Seacam equilibrium too. Don't know where else sell; caled a few place but all don't carry it. May be go get KH2PO4 form Dr Mallick. BTW, how to dose fleet enema?
Checked paramets again today: Fe 0.5mg/L, GH 3-4, PO4 still 0.1mg/L. Bought a Ca test kit (Sera bramd, meant for marine tanks), level of calclium 60mg/L. Is that all right? These Mmarine test kit should calculate freshwater stuff right? What is the recommended Ca level in fresh water tanks? (Marine 400-450mg/L.
Interestinglt, noticed my Yamato turn orange, then next empty shell seen (probaby moulting). Some die juz shorty after moulting... hem, wonder if Ca is low & they can't regenerate their sheels & hence die. Any input on this?
Oops...sounds like nitrite poisoning is happening to your shrimps. Check your NO2 level..[]...Shrimps don't die after moulting..I saw my shrimps do that before. The joker left his shell on the plant and swim off to other places...the shell is clinging onto the leaf! LOL [
Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger
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On 3/25/2003 11:16:39 PM
May be go get KH2PO4 form Dr Mallick. BTW, how to dose fleet enema?
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I depends on the concentration of the brand you buy. Just check the label for the conc. and do some calculations.
...or test for PO4 before dosing, add a couple of drops, test after dosing, then you get a feel how much you are adding.
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Checked paramets again today: Fe 0.5mg/L, GH 3-4, PO4 still 0.1mg/L. Bought a Ca test kit (Sera bramd, meant for marine tanks), level of calclium 60mg/L.
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The rest of the parameters look alright. 60mg/L(or ppm) contributes around 2+ dGH. Look fine.
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Interestinglt, noticed my Yamato turn orange, then next empty shell seen (probaby moulting). Some die juz shorty after moulting... hem, wonder if Ca is low & they can't regenerate their sheels & hence die. Any input on this?
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This could mean anything. Just continue to monitor your shrimps. Could even be fishes attacking the shrimps... at least it happened to me.
BC
you can generally get seachem products at
biotope, petmart,na, aquamart and polyart.
at the current moment, polyart has the largest range I think.
most places other than petmart sells at RRP
NO2 level NIL, NO3: 10mg/L (safe)----------------
On 3/26/2003 2:29:17 AM
Oops...sounds like nitrite poisoning is happening to your shrimps. Check your NO2 level..[
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Any way, did a search on Ca requirements for planted tanks. No much info on this.
Checked paramets again today: Fe 0.5mg/L, GH 3-4, PO4 still 0.1mg/L. Bought a Ca test kit (Sera bramd, meant for marine tanks), level of calcium 60mg/L.
---------------
The rest of the parameters look alright. 60mg/L(or ppm) contributes around 3+ dGH. Look fine.
Hi Bro,
read about keeping Fe at 0.1ppm. However, my Sera Fe test kit gave a table on Fe concentration & action... say Fe at 0.5-1mg/L is safe.
TMG that I'm using contains 0.07% Fe... so dosing at recommended dose will add 0.35ppm Fe already. Slight confused over this.
Am I right to say that the 0.1ppm is the daily concentration, so at 0.5-10mg/L with weekly to fortnightly water change, the equilibrium of 0.1ppm is established?
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