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Old 20-08-2003, 11:32 AM
LeighMo
 
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Default Algae Algae Algae

OMG. That photo reminds me of "Creepshow," the segment where the alien plant
stuff grows all over Stephen King. g

I keep my light 8-10 hours a day.


You should have the lights on 10-14 hours a day. Most plants are tropical, and
eight hours a day of light isn't enough. Put the lights on a timer, it's worth
it.

Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20, CO2 5-10, Tank size 65G.


Can you get your CO2 higher? Somewhere between 20 and 30 would be good. And
do you fertilize? Also, what kind of plants do you have? You need some fast
growers to suck up the nutrients.

If this were my tank, here's what I'd do. Put all the lights back on. 144W
over 65 gallons isn't that much, especially considering how deep a 65 gallon
tank is. Put the lights on a timer, so they're on 12 hours a day. Increase
CO2 to 25 ppm, or thereabouts. Fertilize with a complete fertilizer, such as
Tropica Mastergrow or Seachem Flourish. Add some fast-growing stem plants,
like Hygrophila, water sprite, etc. And add some algae-eating critters to the
tank - true SAEs, snails, Amano shrimp, or something like that.

In the long run, trying to starve the algae (of light or nutrients) doesn't
work in a planted tank. Because plants need the same things algae does.
Instead, try to give the plants everything they need to grow. If the plants
are doing well, the algae will go away.


Leigh

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