In article ,
Koi-Lo My impersonator is Roy TJ Hauer aka Roy. wrote:

"Richard Sexton" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Koi-Lo My impersonator is Roy TJ Hauer aka Roy. wrote:
Evidently chloride ions don't build up because the outdoor plants thrive.

And if you cut a frogs legs off and tell it to jump and it doesn't it's
obviously deaf.

Water changes would have taken care of any buildups I believe.

No. Do the math.

Well, if I decide to replace all the plants that faded away I will
definitely try to find someone who can advise me on the correct amounts to
add to my tanks. This time I'll make sure I get plants that can tolerate my
hard alkaline water. No amount of fertilizer is going to make them live and
flourish in the "wrong" water.

Incorrect. Plants do better in hard water. And Tom's estimative index whose
link has been posted here many times gives you the correct amounts.

I believe you also said you only have a few small fish in your tanks. Mine
are at capacity and goldfish produce a lot of waste.

Hence the ammonia hence the algae. No surprise here.

High nitrates and phosphates don't cause algae. Ammonia does.

If there was high ammonia in the tanks the fish would have suffered

Not true. They are remarkably tolerant. Try Amano shrimp, THEY'RE
completely intolerant of ammonia, that is, by the time it registers on
a kit, they're dead already.

(especially the platy fry) and it would have shown on my test kits. Ammonia
always reads zero once the tanks cycle. And that's even after a filter
cleaning along with a gravel vac, major water change and Vortex polishing.

Tom and
I have both tried way too high nitrate and phosphate and it does
absolutely
not cause algae.

So then what did? What was the ammonia reading at the time? If there was
ammonia, how did you keep the fish alive?

Beats me, I don't test regualrly for ammonia. I've only tested once when I
fuond a flock of curled up shrimp causes by an ammonia spike when a lot
of new emersed crypts were added. Dead leaves cause a LOT of ammonia even
in a big tank.

In a tank with no nitrate added and a phosphate removing
product - algae grows very well.

So nitrate alone (with phos removed) caused the algae? High nitrate and
Phos together does not cause algae - only Nitrate alone - what about the
ammonia? Did the POTASH cause the algae then? Where does the ammonia come
in and what was the ammonia readings on your test kit when the algae
appeared? Mine always reads zero ammonia and around 20ppm Nitrate. I have
no idea about phos levels since I don't have a kit.

No, higt nitrate and high phosphate do NOT cause alage, they prevent it.

PROBABLY? We can't know that since it works great in my outside tubs and
ponds. Are you saying the all the potassium in the Seachem products
somehow
fought-it-out with the Muriate of Potash and the plants were all deprived
of
this mineral? How can one suppress the other? I added very little MofP.

It's really pointless to speculate what happens when things go wrong with
the wrohg recipe, there's too many failure modes, and frankly who cares?

Do the right thing and things will be fine.

And the right thing is to buy all GregWatson's products and just start using
them willy-nilly and the plants will thrive and the algae will go away?!?!?!

No, use them according to the formulas every body else has and does and
has success with that's been posted here hundreds of times the latest being
the day before yesterday.

Hummm... that's pretty much what I was told the Excel and Flourish products
would do. :-) Since I'm not a chemist nor can I afford the accurate test
kits on the market I have little chance to guess the correct amounts to add
to my aquariums.

You don't need any test kits.

1) Remove all the alage you can mechcnically.

Yes, I've done that several times with the help of the plecos.

Keep doing it.

2) Change 85% of the water a day for two days

I already went that route then used the recommended products - Excel, the
mirconutrients, the iron......

You need to do it again, stop addking KCL and ass KNO3.

3) Fertilize properly.

I am fertilizing properly according the the Seachem products I bought from
Foster & Smith.

You are not adding nitrate. You need to.

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