GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

22-04-2005, 02:52 AM

wrote:
here's my mixture of solutions:

uv sterilizer
barley straw
lots of aquatic plants

i think that plants and straw alone should control the algae. a uv
sterlizer is harmless to plants and fish. chemicals are the wrong
route, unless it's barley extract, but whatever works for you.

Thanks. Forgot to mention in my first post that I've had some barley
straw going for a month now, so I don't have any blanketweed. (Thank
heavens) Really no troublesome algae other than the green water.

When you say aquatic plants, do you mean true aquatics like anacharis or
anything that takes nutrients from the water including marginals in
baskets and floaters? I'm probably light on the true aquatics - I have
8 bunches of different plants plus a flat of valisneria that's just
getting started.

I wish I could afford UV, but not at the moment. Besides, UV oxidizes
all the nice iron and trace elements I'm adding for the plants so I
wouldn't want to have to run it all the time anyway.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com