seachem phosguard or any competing product

[charleslyk]

hi,
i am contemplating getting the seachem phosguard to aid in removing phosphate. However, i would like to know if anyone here has used it and if so, your comments and result of it.

Thankz a lot

Charles

[DEA]

works after a fashion
but if you're going to get algae from other sources (ie, not arising from PO4) all the phosguard in the world won't good you any good

i find having healthy plants to be the best way to remove phosphates
second is by changing water

[charleslyk]

hi DEA,
from much articles i have read on e www, my only conclusion would be this. "If P is limited, so does algae coz algae are 'highly' dependent on P." With P being < 0.1ppm in singapore water, the only additional P input would be fishfood. ie. ignoring leaching from substrate.

As such, wouldn't phophate aid in removing the remnants of the phosphate assuming i feed sparingly?

I'm just trying to see if i can get rid of the little wats-left of the BBA in my tank.

Charles

[DEA]

the sears-conlin paper only considered P as the prime cause for algae
there are plenty of people who have zero P but have algae infested tanks
ergo, P isn't the end all and the be all

personally, i find buying all the remove this, remove that stuff to be quite redundant when your plants are healthy
if you only have traces of bba, the plants will take care of them
i gave up on phosguard because i didn't see any difference

insofar as i know, phosguard is the only one available

[vinz]

Other then P, the other main culprit is nitrates. Check your nitrates. If it is high as well, then add K to improve the plants usage of N and P.

[wks]

DEA and vinz are right, no point buying these products as I believe prevention is better than cure. A correct feeding schedule coupled with regular water change is the right way to fight algae, not using N or P removal chemicals.

In my case, I used the following simple methods to ensure my tank does not get infested with algae.

a) Know the type of plants u want to keep and their light/nutrient requirements. I go for low light plants such java ferns and avoid stem plants so that I can do less maintenance and the tank does not look messy in a short time. I decided to keep the light wattage to 72 watts for my 3 ft as my tank suffered from BBA outbreak when I increase the lighting to 144 watts in order to grow riccia. Now I grow riccia near water surface and it provides shade for the low light plants.

b) Know the type of fish that u want to keep. I keep big fishes out as I know they demand more food regularly and this will pollute the tank easily. It will add pressure to the filter as well as my plants which are generally slow growing. Hence I chose barbs, danios, tetras and rasboras. I feed them 3 times a week, knowing that the small fishes do not get to eat everyday in the wild. This also means that nitrates and phosphates are kept at tolerable levels. If u are too busy to change water(occasionally) the tank can still cope without any algae outbreak. I deliberately left my tank alone for 8 weeks(only top up water lost through evaporation), no algae outbreak and the fishes are fine too.

c) Keep some algae eaters. Otos, yamato shrimps, snails, plecos(not any type) and other algae eaters help to keep some algae in check. They are efficient cleaners as they will clear any uneatern food or rotten vegetation which also provide nutrients to algae.

[bclee]

Using Phosguard may not be the best solution. It may just simply removing too much P such that your plant might not get enough.

Keeping your plants healthy is the main key.

BC

[loupgarou]

best way for me:

a) change water, take out soft plants (eg: hornwort).
b) nuke the tank with azoo anti algae chemicals for 3 days. this kills of the bba.
c) change water, put back soft plants (cos they melt otherwise)..

---------------
I do this only when I "accidentally" overfeed with like 3 servings of BBA fert (erm beefheart) daily rofl.

[AirStern]

just wondering where can i get Azoo Black Brush Algae Remover