Brown algae problem on hairgrass/glosso; BBA on bogwood

[budak]

Everything that exists is some chemical (if we regard chemical being elemental).... if this stuff is chemically inert, it won't be any use at all!!! (this 'chemical is bad, non-chemical is good' thing is one of the most unhelpful concepts in the market)

But really, if you lack nitrate, how are your plants going to grow, even if the algae starve as well???? I know it sounds cliche but fix your plants right above all..... from the 1st post, Boon Yong's light is on the low side for the tank size, the lighting period should be extended to 10-11 hours (with NO siesta), and a regular fert regime implemented. I think both CO2 and fert deficiency should be tackled together as well.

Read the links posted on this thread to find our more about plants and fertilisation: click

I think experimentation is always good.... with the accompanying risks..... but at the same time, it's good to find the reasons why a particular solution has been rejected. But of course I am sure we are interested to hear test case results.

[PeterGwee]

Naturetan, I am not asking boon yong to dose a nutrient at a time. What I am asking him is to fix the CO2 and make sure it is really good before embarking on fertilization. His plants are already stunned by now and it will take sometime before it really recovers. Adding all that nutrient back without fixing the CO2 real good (He doesn't have a good hand on that yet..and it takes a couple of days before he will finally get it fixed.) means the nutrients are just plain food for the algae as the plants are pretty much stunned and does not take up much. Fix the CO2(Enough?)+ Light(Enough?) and if both are good, that is when uptake will increase by many folds and excesses should not be much of a problem plus the fact large water change can take care of it.

[naturetan]

----------------
On 10/4/2003 5:45:33 PM

I think experimentation is always good.... with the accompanying risks..... but at the same time, it's good to find the reasons why a particular solution has been rejected. But of course I am sure we are interested to hear test case results.
----------------

Yeah, I agree that experimentation is good. In fact I like doing that only when free. But just to add, I always ensure there's no adverse effect on livestock whenever doing such thing. Hope others do take that into consideration too.

[cheeboonyong]

current status is as such:

Added kh powder. Will keep adding slowly each day and bring up to 3-4 kh before testing for co2 begins.

meanwhile, have taken holistic approach. Have added KNO3 and KHPO4 from Dr Mallick. Alamak, added too much KHP04. NO3 now at ~10ppm and PO4 at unknown levels (>2 ppm). Now I understand why the KHPO4 comes in such a small container. Little bit already very potent. Added MM as a fast grower to suck up nutrients. Got advice that all my plants are slow growers, so maybe should get some fast growers.

Actually increased my co2 to 5 bps but realised that my boraras all started being very inert near the top of water surface. Suspect maybe TOO much CO2. went back to 3 bps.

Took out my bogwood with bba and soak in boiling water. bba are now all toast. best method that I have used, no risk of using bleach.

[MikeKoh]

Hey guys...just a little update on my algone progress. Before that, let me give you a brief profile of my tank.

6ft, fully planted. 6 Asian Arowana (6&quot, PH=6.7, KH=3, Filtration is Sump. Lights 420W. Lights on for 8 hrs. Ammonia=0, nitrite=0, nitrate from 10 to 40 in 3 days fast buildup due to live feeding of 30 froggies once a day.

After administering Algone, it is now 4th day and my nitrate is still at 20. My nitrate build up has slowed down and my algae has stopped growing.

Algone definitely works and is harmless to my fishes. But, 6 pouches of Algone costs about $40 (including delivery) and it lasts only 1 to 2 weeks. hmmm.

Anyone wants to order with me?

[naturetan]

Boon Yong, if you like, you can consider adding a small handful of coral chips into your filter. They will act as a good buffer for your KH problem, and will help reduce your dosing of KH powder.

I'm using that, and not dosing any powder KH/soda, maintaining around 4-5KH/week. This range is only possible if you put roughly the right amount.

[cheeboonyong]

Latest update again

have not managed to raise kh to 3-4 yet. No time to monitor lah. My baby boy was born on Thursday [:]

Have raised NO3 to 10ppm and PO4 to 1ppm. Is that ideal range?

Have raised CO2 to 5 bps. Oops, too much I guess. Fish suffered from CO2 poisoning. No way KH powder can prevent CO2 poisoning right? For CO2 poisoning to take place, the CO2 ppm must be sky high right? I believe 3 bps should be more than enough to reach 20-30ppm then.

May not have time to do the 1.6-1.7 ph test. in any case, food for thought. If the 1.6-1.7 ph drop test is correct, why is it that pure water at neutral ph 7 and 1 kh = <1 ppm CO2 will achieve 20-30ppm at 6.3-6.4 ph at 3-4 kh? Not quite 1.6-1.7 right?

[cheeboonyong]

Put in coral chips now. ph at 5.5. Have no idea what is my CO2 level now, just going by instinct. In any case, have managed to overcome my bba and hair alage problem, somehow...

This is what I did. Stabilise NO3 to around 10 ppm. PO4 < 1 ppm (traces, not zero). Co2 at reasonable level (no way of knowing for sure, just judge whether plants are growing at normal rate). Remove physically all visible algae (i.e., remove all infected hairgrass, since they were the most badly affected). Also, added more fast growing plants. Create stability by NOT changing water for 2+ weeks. I know this is a bit contrary to conventional thinking but someone advised me that I may be overfertilising if I change water every week and add in fresh fertiliser at each change. I'm changing my routine to 30% every month water change. I suppose with my low bioload, this is ok since my NO2 and NH4 is barely detectible.

So far two weeks without problems since implementing changes.