I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not
"powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in texture.
When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water.

I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin CO2
kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond
Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all perl
like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the
surface.

I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours.
Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the
light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the plants?

I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get the
algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I am at
home. Any advice?

chet

Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you dosing
with trace elements?

chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not
"powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in texture.
When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water.

I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin
CO2
kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond
Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all
perl
like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the
surface.

I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours.
Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the
light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the
plants?

I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get the
algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I am
at
home. Any advice?

chet

The tank has five juvenile goldfish. details and photos are available at
http://home.surewest.net/chet/aquariumplants.htm

The tank has been cooking for four months. Water is clear, ammonia is 0,
nitrite is 0, nitrate is 20ppm, pH is ~ 7.5 (with addition of one tbsp per
10 gallons). CO2 is usually ~13ppm

What stats are you looking for, I'll measure it and report.

chet

"kush" wrote in message
...
Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you dosing
with trace elements?

chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not
"powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in
texture.
When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water.

I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin
CO2
kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond
Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all
perl
like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the
surface.

I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours.
Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the
light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the
plants?

I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get
the
algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I
am
at
home. Any advice?

chet

That would be 1tbsp of baking soda. Normally, the water here is really soft
with a kH of about one.

chet

"chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
The tank has five juvenile goldfish. details and photos are available at
http://home.surewest.net/chet/aquariumplants.htm

The tank has been cooking for four months. Water is clear, ammonia is 0,
nitrite is 0, nitrate is 20ppm, pH is ~ 7.5 (with addition of one tbsp
per
10 gallons). CO2 is usually ~13ppm

What stats are you looking for, I'll measure it and report.

chet

"kush" wrote in message
...
Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you
dosing
with trace elements?

chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but
not
"powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in
texture.
When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water.

I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and
Nutrafin
CO2
kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond
Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all
perl
like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the
surface.

I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10
hours.
Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off
the
light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the
plants?

I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get
the
algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I
am
at
home. Any advice?

chet

Xref: 127.0.0.1 rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants:69408

Trace elements. Sorry, missed that. Yes, I was adding Seachem Flourish about
two/three times per week for two months. I have stopped. It didn't seem to
make any difference one way or 'tother.

"kush" wrote in message
...
Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you dosing
with trace elements?

chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not
"powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in
texture.
When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water.

I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin
CO2
kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond
Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all
perl
like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the
surface.

I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours.
Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the
light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the
plants?

I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get
the
algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I
am
at
home. Any advice?

chet

I'm guessing this is your problem. The nitrates should be between 5-10 ppm,
but you say yours is below 20. Is it closer to 0 or closer to 20, are you
able to tell with your test kit? I'm fairly new at this, but I've done a
ton of research on plants in the last 1 1/2 years and have come to gain a
lot of information. I'm guessing your plants are starving for trace
elements and this leaves the algae to take over (feeding off of high
nitrates and possibly phosphates).

Just because plants pearl doesn't mean they're doing good. I've seen algae
problems happen a lot even though plants are pearling. Some of the best
growth and tank conditions I had occurred with only minor pearling.

--
Craig Brye
University of Phoenix Online

"chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
Trace elements. Sorry, missed that. Yes, I was adding Seachem Flourish
about
two/three times per week for two months. I have stopped. It didn't seem to
make any difference one way or 'tother.

"kush" wrote in message
...
Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you
dosing
with trace elements?

chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but
not
"powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in
texture.
When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water.

I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and
Nutrafin
CO2
kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond
Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all
perl
like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the
surface.

I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10
hours.
Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off
the
light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the
plants?

I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get
the
algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I
am
at
home. Any advice?

chet

Don't cut back on lighting! You have the absolute minimum length of time
lights should be on. I find 12 hours a day to be the best, but others may
differ. Adjusting light levels will not be a long term solution to your
problem. The only thing that'll fix the problem is proper fertilization.

--
Craig Brye
University of Phoenix Online

"chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
Trace elements. Sorry, missed that. Yes, I was adding Seachem Flourish
about
two/three times per week for two months. I have stopped. It didn't seem to
make any difference one way or 'tother.

"kush" wrote in message
...
Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you
dosing
with trace elements?

chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but
not
"powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in
texture.
When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water.

I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and
Nutrafin
CO2
kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond
Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all
perl
like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the
surface.

I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10
hours.
Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off
the
light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the
plants?

I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get
the
algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I
am
at
home. Any advice?

chet

On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 19:03:37 -0600, "Craig Brye"
wrote:

I'm guessing this is your problem. The nitrates should be between 5-10 ppm,
but you say yours is below 20. Is it closer to 0 or closer to 20, are you
able to tell with your test kit? I'm fairly new at this, but I've done a
ton of research on plants in the last 1 1/2 years and have come to gain a
lot of information. I'm guessing your plants are starving for trace
elements and this leaves the algae to take over (feeding off of high
nitrates and possibly phosphates).

Just because plants pearl doesn't mean they're doing good. I've seen algae
problems happen a lot even though plants are pearling. Some of the best
growth and tank conditions I had occurred with only minor pearling.


Ok you guys help the newbie out. What is pearling??

WF

Xref: 127.0.0.1 rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants:69416

I'm a newbie too, so no issues. Pearling is the collection of oxygen bubbles
on leaves as the result of photosynthetic behavior of plants. CO2 and other
stuff is converted to oxygen. When the tank reaches oxygen saturation, the
oxygen collects into to bubbles....

I thought it was a good thing...

chet


"WhiskerFish" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 19:03:37 -0600, "Craig Brye"
wrote:

I'm guessing this is your problem. The nitrates should be between 5-10
ppm,
but you say yours is below 20. Is it closer to 0 or closer to 20, are
you
able to tell with your test kit? I'm fairly new at this, but I've done a
ton of research on plants in the last 1 1/2 years and have come to gain a
lot of information. I'm guessing your plants are starving for trace
elements and this leaves the algae to take over (feeding off of high
nitrates and possibly phosphates).

Just because plants pearl doesn't mean they're doing good. I've seen
algae
problems happen a lot even though plants are pearling. Some of the best
growth and tank conditions I had occurred with only minor pearling.


Ok you guys help the newbie out. What is pearling??

WF

My point is, that at under 2 watts per gallon in an 18" high tank, you
shouldn't have your lights on for less than eleven hours at bare minimum.
Therefore, let's look for something else. You're supplementing CO2 so,
particularly at a moderate light level, we'll rule that out as a problem.
Which leaves either an excess or a deficiency of nutrients.

So, three more questions:

How much and how often are you changing your water?
Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH?
What is the water temperature?

And, btw, pearling IS good. It is visible confirmation that photosynthesis
is occurring (algae will pearl, too).




chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
Trace elements. Sorry, missed that. Yes, I was adding Seachem Flourish
about
two/three times per week for two months. I have stopped. It didn't seem to
make any difference one way or 'tother.

"kush" wrote in message
...
Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you
dosing
with trace elements?

chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but
not
"powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in
texture.
When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water.

I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and
Nutrafin
CO2
kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond
Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all
perl
like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the
surface.

I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10
hours.
Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off
the
light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the
plants?

I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get
the
algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I
am
at
home. Any advice?

chet

Oh, OK, I answered one of my questions. your temperature is 76º, so that's
OK.

Also, I'm not familiar with the bio-wheel power-filter. Is that a
mechanical filter that accelerates bacterial breakdown by heavily
oxygenating the water? If so, your CO2 is most likely coming out as fast as
it's going in. That could be an issue, even at moderate lighting, because
you've some fast-growing stem plants in there.

My Rotala indica is one of the fastest growing plant in my tanks. At
comparable light levels, I'd expect to prune four to six inches off it every
week. Is yours growing that fast?

kush wrote in message
...
My point is, that at under 2 watts per gallon in an 18" high tank, you
shouldn't have your lights on for less than eleven hours at bare minimum.
Therefore, let's look for something else. You're supplementing CO2 so,
particularly at a moderate light level, we'll rule that out as a problem.
Which leaves either an excess or a deficiency of nutrients.

So, three more questions:

How much and how often are you changing your water?
Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH?
What is the water temperature?

And, btw, pearling IS good. It is visible confirmation that photosynthesis
is occurring (algae will pearl, too).




chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
Trace elements. Sorry, missed that. Yes, I was adding Seachem Flourish
about
two/three times per week for two months. I have stopped. It didn't seem
to
make any difference one way or 'tother.

"kush" wrote in message
...
Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you
dosing
with trace elements?

chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but
not
"powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in
texture.
When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water.

I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and
Nutrafin
CO2
kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern,
Pond
Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they
all
perl
like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to
the
surface.

I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10
hours.
Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off
the
light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the
plants?

I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually
get
the
algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while
I
am
at
home. Any advice?

chet

"kush" wrote in message
...
Also, I'm not familiar with the bio-wheel power-filter. Is that a
mechanical filter that accelerates bacterial breakdown by heavily
oxygenating the water?

Yes, it is the bio-wheel power-filter. I have it set to the lowest setting
(I like quiet). According to the literature, it is designed to provide a
high oxygen level to nitrifying bacteria that live on the wheel. It does not
generate a lot of surface turbulance. I'll measure CO2 again this evening
and get back to you on the numbers

My Rotala indica is one of the fastest growing plant in my tanks. At
comparable light levels, I'd expect to prune four to six inches off it
every
week. Is yours growing that fast?

It has grown some, but more like two inches in a month. Plus it's getting a
little "leggy". The Amazons, Onion plants, and Anacharis are the racehorces
in my tank.

How much and how often are you changing your water?

~40%-50% every other week.

Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH?

None that I am aware of. I have added Seachem "Flourish" and Seachem "Root
Tabs" and Hikari goldfish food.

I'll get you numbers tonight.

Thanks for your help

chet

Thank you. Never heard of it before and damn sure have not seen it on
my plants yet!

On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 18:45:44 -0800, "chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet
wrote:

I'm a newbie too, so no issues. Pearling is the collection of oxygen bubbles
on leaves as the result of photosynthetic behavior of plants. CO2 and other
stuff is converted to oxygen. When the tank reaches oxygen saturation, the
oxygen collects into to bubbles....

I thought it was a good thing...

chet


"WhiskerFish" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 19:03:37 -0600, "Craig Brye"
wrote:

I'm guessing this is your problem. The nitrates should be between 5-10
ppm,
but you say yours is below 20. Is it closer to 0 or closer to 20, are
you
able to tell with your test kit? I'm fairly new at this, but I've done a
ton of research on plants in the last 1 1/2 years and have come to gain a
lot of information. I'm guessing your plants are starving for trace
elements and this leaves the algae to take over (feeding off of high
nitrates and possibly phosphates).

Just because plants pearl doesn't mean they're doing good. I've seen
algae
problems happen a lot even though plants are pearling. Some of the best
growth and tank conditions I had occurred with only minor pearling.


Ok you guys help the newbie out. What is pearling??

WF

It is a good thing, but doesn't necessarily mean the tank will be algae
free.

--
Craig Brye
University of Phoenix Online

"chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
I'm a newbie too, so no issues. Pearling is the collection of oxygen
bubbles
on leaves as the result of photosynthetic behavior of plants. CO2 and
other
stuff is converted to oxygen. When the tank reaches oxygen saturation, the
oxygen collects into to bubbles....

I thought it was a good thing...

chet


"WhiskerFish" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 19:03:37 -0600, "Craig Brye"
wrote:

I'm guessing this is your problem. The nitrates should be between 5-10
ppm,
but you say yours is below 20. Is it closer to 0 or closer to 20, are
you
able to tell with your test kit? I'm fairly new at this, but I've done
a
ton of research on plants in the last 1 1/2 years and have come to gain
a
lot of information. I'm guessing your plants are starving for trace
elements and this leaves the algae to take over (feeding off of high
nitrates and possibly phosphates).

Just because plants pearl doesn't mean they're doing good. I've seen
algae
problems happen a lot even though plants are pearling. Some of the
best
growth and tank conditions I had occurred with only minor pearling.


Ok you guys help the newbie out. What is pearling??

WF

Got some water parameters using the aqua pharm "master test kit".

Ammonia: 0.0
Nitrite: 0.0
Nitrate: 5.0ppm
kH: Uhhh.. I can't find the directions but it was five drops of
the kH test liquid.
pH: Somewhere between 7.6 and 7.8.
A little discrepancy between the high and low level test
kits.
Temp: 76F
I'd calculate CO2 saturation, if I could quickly figure out kH levels.

I performed a 40% water change this past Sunday.

Is there something I'm missing?

chet


"chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
"kush" wrote in message
...
Also, I'm not familiar with the bio-wheel power-filter. Is that a
mechanical filter that accelerates bacterial breakdown by heavily
oxygenating the water?

Yes, it is the bio-wheel power-filter. I have it set to the lowest setting
(I like quiet). According to the literature, it is designed to provide a
high oxygen level to nitrifying bacteria that live on the wheel. It does
not
generate a lot of surface turbulance. I'll measure CO2 again this evening
and get back to you on the numbers

My Rotala indica is one of the fastest growing plant in my tanks. At
comparable light levels, I'd expect to prune four to six inches off it
every
week. Is yours growing that fast?

It has grown some, but more like two inches in a month. Plus it's getting
a
little "leggy". The Amazons, Onion plants, and Anacharis are the
racehorces
in my tank.

How much and how often are you changing your water?

~40%-50% every other week.

Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH?

None that I am aware of. I have added Seachem "Flourish" and Seachem "Root
Tabs" and Hikari goldfish food.

I'll get you numbers tonight.

Thanks for your help

chet