"Peps" wrote in message
...
I have read lots that stresses the importance of balancing nutients,
light and C02 in a planted aquarium, but little that tells me in simple
terms how.

My latest 55g aquarium is about a month old, is heavily planted and I
inject DIY CO2 which measures about 20ppm. My substrate is just gravel,
into which I push fertiliser tablets, and I add a rotation of different
liquid fertilisers according to instructions (typically once a week).
My
lighting is 2 x 4ft and 1 x 18" flouros (I think that is about 100W).

The tank is well and truly cicled. Nitrates and phospates are very low.

The plants are growing really well - no complaints there, but I have
just begun to the first signs of green algae, and I think brush algae.
Yes - I have a variety of algae-eating fish including 5 SAEs and a
(still small) Bristlenose.

I don't think I should be getting the algae at all!, but I suspect that
given the rate of the plants growth, I am not fertilising enough. (That
is that there are fish-produced nutrients left over for the algae.

None of the fertiliser manufacturers state different doses depending on
the density and growth rate of the plants. This seems wrong.

So... what are the signs to look for that indicate under (or over)
fertilisation? How much should I experiment?

Am I on the right track here?

No manufacturer should indicate dosages as it's empirical. I suggest you
post in r.a.f.plants to draw on their greater depth of experience in
tweaking inputs to control algae.

My less-experienced suggestion would be to stop fertilizing. Everything
will stop growing (or significantly slow) when it has encountered a trace
mineral constraint, and hopefully the algae will be affected before the
plants. Having said that, I usually control brush algae with scissors
;~) cutting off affected leaves (or scrubbing Anubius leaves), but I'm no
expert.

NetMax