Animal wrote:
I'll try to be a little more detailed in my info(I didn't want to overload
the newsgroup)The carbonate hardness is 71.6
The general hardness is-17.9
Nitrate-0 That's why I think I have BGA(cayanobactiria)
Phosphate-0
Iron-No tester for iron
Ph-8.0
Stocking level are medium to low...4 adult angels,4 3
inch botias,and 2 otto cats.
From what I've read LOW nitrates cause BGA,and normally I do 70 gallon water
changes per week(I thought it was getting rid of the algae)but that may have
contributed to the algae problem!
The tank itself is heavily planted,it did have 40 watt flo bulbs on a timer
for 12 hours a day but I reduced it to just 2 bulbs 12 hours a day to reduce
the algae.There is no gravel just play sand so its easy to keep the tank
clean(just stir it up with the gravel vac).
I get my KNO3 at a local hydroponics store but it's pretty expensive,if
there's a cheaper place I'd like to know.
Thanks again for the informative answers,you people are the best!
Overload THIS newsgroup??? Not likely. ;-)
I have had BGA from low nitrate in planted tanks. What happens is that
it lives on the iron & trace ferts, potash, and phosphate you provide by
fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Plants can't fix nitrogen so all they're
getting is what little nitrogen they can scavenge from your fish.
Cheap place for ferts:
http://www.gregwatson.com. The Plantex CSM+B
Greg sells is very good stuff. My plants have never shown any
deficiencies when I dose it.
You actually need more of both nitrate and phosphate for your plants.
The poor little guys are starving. :-(
Here's what I did for BGA in a high light planted tank.
1) Dose nitrogen up to 10-15 ppm and phosphate to 1 ppm. Use Chuck
Gadd's calculator to calculate how much fertilizer you need. The KNO3
will also provide some potash.
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_p...osage_calc.htm
2) Black out the tank for 3 days, siphoning out the dying BGA daily.
Short blackouts don't hurt plants because they can store sugar but they
kill algae pretty well.
3) Turn ALL the lights back on.
4) Fertilize NPK and carbon for strong plant growth. Start adding CO2
or Flourish Excel, dose NPK regularly. You probably don't need extra
Mg++ or Ca++ because your water is hard. Root fertilize crypts and
swords. This should get your plants growing like crazy. Test nitrate -
you'll be surprised how much nitrate you need in a tank with a low fish
load and lots of plants.
5) Limit iron. If you use a lot of iron & trace element fertilization,
lower the dosage. I started dosing half and it turned out to be plenty
with my Flourite substrate. Watch your plants for signs of chlorosis
and adjust iron fertilizers until plants are green and healthy but algae
doesn't grow. It's better to limit iron than phosphate to control algae.
It took my tank about three weeks to come back to equilibrium after it
ran out of nitrate and the BGA started to grow. If you're fertilizing
well and adding CO2/Excel , you'll be surprised how little algae you have.
--
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