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Old 18-07-2003, 11:15 AM
LeighMo
 
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Default another algae question

My aquarium has been set up for about two months.

It is still a fairly new tank, then. I wouldn't panic. Algae outbreaks are
common in new tanks.

20H. When you said it was probably a 20 watt I decided to check. The bulb in
the hood is only a 15w. What would be a good wpg? I think I've read 2 in
this group maybe.


If you want a planted tank and don't want to inject CO2, 2 wpg is a good
number. Right now, you have less than one wpg, in a fairly high tank. Even
your swords might not survive in the long term.

If you don't want to upgrade your lighting, choose plants like java fern, java
moss, and anubias. They will be fine in your tank. A low-light tank, if you
choose the right plants, can be very beautiful and easy to maintain.

At any rate, I would not put more than the recommended amount of Tetra
FloraPride in the tank with your current lighting. You may be better off not
using it at all. I suspect it's not doing your plants any good; if they don't
have enough light, fertilizer won't help.

I change about 1/3 of the water every two weeks.


You might want to up that to every week, at least until the algae problem is
solved. In fact, consider doing a large (50%) water change right now, to
eliminate some of the fertilizer you've been adding.

My gouramis are about 3" each. I also added a pleco, about 4" and two
glo-lite tetra's since I wrote this. Their 12 gallon Eclipse went on the
blink.


The increased bio-load might affect the algae. You may find a different kind
growing. Or the brush algae you have might take off. (A lot of people report
BBA prefers acidic water, and water tends to get more acidic with more fish in
the tank.)

Speaking of pH, your pH seems a bit low for your KH. With a KH of 2, your pH
should be about 7.2. Yours is 6.5. Are you adding something to the tank to
lower the pH?


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/