NO3 and PO4

[super pig]

Hi there,

I've just bought NO3 and PO4 test kits. Being a newbie, may i know what it is for? According to the LFS owner PH, KH, NO3 and PO4 are the most important chemistry in planted tank. But he did not explain further as the shop was so crowded.

He told me KH should be around 4-5, NO3 10-20 and PO4 1ppm. What if my test shows otherwise? Any ways to bring those to the recommended levels? What are NO3 and PO4?

Also, recently i discovered algae in my tank. Think it's blue algae and beard algae. I also noticed some algae grows on the leaves. May i know how to remove them? Blackout the tank for 2 days? do i need to turn off CO2 as well during blackout? will the plants and faunas survive during blackout?

Sorry for asking so many questions at a go.

Thanks.

[will5]

First of all you should know that those or any test kit are not that accruete in readding the levels we use in the aqrarium.

Second:
No3= Nitrates
PO4= Phosphates

Thrid:
In regrads to your KH it helps if your KH is in those ranges, but you can still grow a large number of plants without a very low KH like that. There are some plants that just will not grow except in soft water i.e. Water with low KH.

The only safe way to lower your KH would be to cut your tap water with Reverse Osmosis(RO) water and or distilled water.

One question about your tank. Algae suggest that something is unbalanced in your tank. So since you are injecting Co2 are you adding some forum of Nitrates and Phosphates to the tank? Before you ask the fish are producing a small amount of nitrates but in a high light planted tank it will be no where near enough.

What size tank do you have and how many watts per gallon (wpg) of do you have?

[Quincy]

You are having blue green algae, an indication that nitrates is low so I believe you should dose more KNO3. BBA is due to inconsistent rate of CO2. Are you using DIY CO2? You could also use excel to clear those BBA. Believe more info is needed regarding the specs of your tank.
Blackout does help in clearing BGA but not BBA and yes please turn off your CO2 during the blackout

[Shadow]

Bro you shouldn't buy test kit without knowing what it i for If you happen to follow Tomm Barr Estimate Index dossing method, you don't need any of those test kit, except maybe KH and pH.

By the way what substrate do you use? If ADA, then expect to have low kH, nothing to be worry about. Singapore water by default is low kH.

Not all algae can be kill by black out, you need to identified which algae first. Post some photo of it if you can, the bro here more than happy to help you.

You might want to share you tank setup.

[barmby]

Hi there,

I've just bought NO3 and PO4 test kits. Being a newbie, may i know what it is for? According to the LFS owner PH, KH, NO3 and PO4 are the most important chemistry in planted tank. But he did not explain further as the shop was so crowded.

He told me KH should be around 4-5, NO3 10-20 and PO4 1ppm. What if my test shows otherwise? Any ways to bring those to the recommended levels? What are NO3 and PO4?

Also, recently i discovered algae in my tank. Think it's blue algae and beard algae. I also noticed some algae grows on the leaves. May i know how to remove them? Blackout the tank for 2 days? do i need to turn off CO2 as well during blackout? will the plants and faunas survive during blackout?

Sorry for asking so many questions at a go.

Thanks.

First, lets look at the basic setup before we can move on to the problem. Do you have sufficient lights ? Is your CO2 sufficient ? Fertilization should be the last on your priority list.

1 Lights
2 CO2
3 Macro Nutrients - N P K
4 Mico Nutrients - Fe and other trace elements such as calcium and etc.