GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

10-12-2004, 09:26 PM

wrote:

Try your cheap test kit.

Good idea. I'll try a different brand test kit at the same time to
double check. But I had that low/high cycle 3 days in a row now.

Your fish food and fish could not add that much PO4 if they wanted to.

Yes, that's what I thought. I'm glad this is the case.

Why do you have Rowphos in your filter?

I'm curious as to the effect very low phosphates have on algae and plant
growth, first hand and in my own aquarium and setup. You can only know
if you try. I can then eliminate that from the equation, if need be.

It's possible it's expended and leeched it out back into the tank.

The marketing on Rowaphos says that it doesn't leech.

That will not have any bearing on algae nor is a solution to any algae
problem with a planted tank.

Do you realize plants remove PO4 very rapidly?

Not fast enough in my tank, apparently. My amazon swords and
cryptocorynes are pretty slow growers.

I dose 3ppm of PO4 per week to my tanks.

My tap water could probably be sufficient as it already contains copious
amounts.

I have no algae. I've dose PO4 for over a decade, no algae.
I'd reconsider your entire approach to algae.

I think fast growing plants could be an answer. I've been searching for
hornwort, for example, over the last few weeks without any success.
Seems to be hard to get at the moment. What would you suggest? What
plants do you have?

Focus on plant growth, not algae.

I do that too. I've just started experimentally dosing with potassium.
I've upped CO2 levels.

Healthy plants = no algae.
So give the plants what they need.

I can hear them say "Feed me, Seymour!"

It's all a big experiment at the moment.

There is just so much conjecture and opinion about algae. What seems
best in one aquarium setup does not follow for another. I can only try
everything until I find that which suits my tank best.

Finally, I'm just very suspicious about a huge dose of pH adjuster I
gave to the tank 4 months ago. That was an experiment that went wrong. I
believe this could be the cause of the current high PO4 levels, if not
bad test kits. Yes, could be leeching from the sand substrate and much
could lay buried too and awaiting the gravel clean for exposure.

Thanks for your opinion. Gives me some hope.

Nikki