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Old 14-02-2005, 07:42 PM
Richard Sexton
 
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In article . com,
steve wrote:

wrote:
Shawn you will never have good results at prevention/reoccurance
without using KNO3.


I took this advice and it has worked for me so far. I did the blackout
for 4 days in my large tank and I make sure to add a small amount of
KN03 weekly at water change time. I monitor the Nitrates and
Phosphates throughout the week and only add KNO3 when the measurable
nitrates are below 5ppm.

A 3 day blackout
50% water at the start and the end
Adding 1/4 teaspoon KN03 per 25 gal after each water change
Then adding 1/4 teaspoon at least 1-2x a week thereafter will prevent
BGA and other algae from ever bothering you.


This is sound advice, as I recommended above. However, I think Tom is
assumming we all have aquatic jungles with low fish loads when he
advises to add KNO3 twice weekly thereafter. Sure, it will ward off
BGA, but without sufficient plant growth you will suffer a green algae
breakout in my experience.


Keep in mind blue green algae (cyanobacteria) thrives in low nitrate
environments so you shouldn't see it in a tank with a lot of fish.

I don't bother withthe blackout, I want my plants to keep going. I
just changes lots of water.

This is, by the way the problem with using algicides such as peroxide or
algae fix to eradicate the bactraial alage (staghorn, bba, cyanobacteria)
whcih seems to be about the only kinds of alage this stuff kills - once
it's killed the algae you now have the problems that your beneficial
bacteria is gone and the rotting dead alage causes a larger
ammonia problkem than you'd otherwise think. Your crypts will love
you - mmmmmmmmm ammonia - but now you'll get the algae succession
you get with a new tank. So, after using algicide youreally need to
change massiuve amounts of water for a while IMO.


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