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Which fert should I reduce to cut algae growth?
I have a 75 gal low light (3x 30w fluros) tank with about 50-60% plant
cover, and approx 100 small fish (good balance of varieties, including bottom feeders, loaches, corys etc). The plants are all common varieties, eg., java fern, java moss, elodea, amazon swords etc etc. Each week I do a 50% water change and add the following Seachem products: 35ml Excel, 3ml Supplement, 4ml Nitrogen, 4ml Phosphorous, 10ml Potassium, 7ml Iron. Filtration is an Eheim Pro II 2028. No doubt many of you will be horrified at that brew, but I can assure you it works, and the tank looks fantastic--terrific plants with moderate growth and fish that are very happy and healthy. I'm completely satisfied with the look, it's beautiful, just what I wanted. But ........ There is a small problem with algae. It's not serious, but about once per month I have to trim some outer leaves off due to a dark green, dense algae which forms along the edges of the leaves (and on the driftwood). I am confident I don't overfeed (well, maybe just a tiny, tiny bit once in a while), so I guess the algae is the result of overfertilising. So my question is, which of the above ferts should I start reducing to try to achieve perfection? I don't want to change the whole regime, because, as I said, it works. I just want to tweak it a bit to reduce the relatively minor algae problem. Thanks for any constructive advice. |
blank wrote:
Seachem products: 35ml Excel, 3ml Supplement, 4ml Nitrogen, 4ml Phosphorous, 10ml Potassium, 7ml Iron. dense algae which forms along the edges of the leaves I am confident I don't overfeed (well, maybe just a tiny, tiny bit once in a while) I've been seeing some of that same kind of algae lately. Unfortunately, I can't honestly claim not to overfeed, as I'm definitely guilty of it. I'm trying to change, really I am. So my question is, which of the above ferts should I start reducing to try to achieve perfection? I would start with reducing or eliminating the phosphorous, and see what happens. Unfortunately, there is no fast, sure-fire way to figure it out, you'll just have to experiment with small changes and see what effect they have. The fact that you do such a large water change each week should help speed the experiment. -- Eric Schreiber www.ericschreiber.com |
"Eric Schreiber" eric at ericschreiber dot com wrote in message ... I would start with reducing or eliminating the phosphorous, and see what happens. Unfortunately, there is no fast, sure-fire way to figure it out, you'll just have to experiment with small changes and see what effect they have. The fact that you do such a large water change each week should help speed the experiment. OK, thanks Eric. You are a highly respected contributor to this group so I will cut the Phosphorous back to 3ml for a month or so and watch what happens. Much obliged. |
"blank" wrote in message ... OK, thanks Eric. You are a highly respected contributor to this group so I will cut the Phosphorous back to 3ml for a month or so and watch what happens. Much obliged. OOPS, I meant cut it back BY 3ml. But what the hell, I will eliminate it--what good is 1ml going to do anyway :) |
blank wrote:
You are a highly respected contributor to this group If that's the case, this group is in SERIOUS trouble! I'm just a noob hobbyist who reads a lot, and has had some small luck with a planted tank. Really. I will cut the Phosphorous back to 3ml for a month or so and watch what happens. Much obliged. Let us know how it goes. -- Eric Schreiber www.ericschreiber.com |
In article ,
blank wrote: "blank" wrote in message ... OK, thanks Eric. You are a highly respected contributor to this group so I will cut the Phosphorous back to 3ml for a month or so and watch what happens. Much obliged. OOPS, I meant cut it back BY 3ml. But what the hell, I will eliminate it--what good is 1ml going to do anyway :) Cut the phosphate and you'll get green spot algae. WHat you have sounds like red algae, can you get a good pic of it? -- Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org http://www.mbz.org | Mercedes Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org 633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net 1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org |
"Richard" wrote Cut the phosphate and you'll get green spot algae. WHat you have sounds like red algae, can you get a good pic of it? Yes, OK, I've taken the photos, but am having problems sending them. Once I work it out I will post them to the binaries group and send an update to this newsgroup. |
On 2005-01-11, blank wrote:
eg., java fern, java moss, elodea, amazon swords etc etc. Each week I do a 50% water change and add the following Seachem products: 35ml Excel, 3ml Supplement, 4ml Nitrogen, 4ml Phosphorous, 10ml Potassium, 7ml Iron. Filtration is an Eheim Pro II 2028. If you do a search, you'll find interviews and articles from Seachem reps who basically say that a tank stocked with fish should produce enough nitrates and phosphates to feed the plants in a tank. Seems like you only need nitrogen and phosphorus if you have little to no fauna. I add Flourish, Excel, and potassium. My algae has come under control even with it sitting next to a window. -- "I have to decide between two equally frightening options. If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman |
OK, the photos are on alt.binaries.aquaria--dont ask me how I managed it,
because Im not sure myself. But anyway, something worked. So any advice on my algae problem much appreciated. |
In article , js1 wrote:
On 2005-01-11, blank wrote: eg., java fern, java moss, elodea, amazon swords etc etc. Each week I do a 50% water change and add the following Seachem products: 35ml Excel, 3ml Supplement, 4ml Nitrogen, 4ml Phosphorous, 10ml Potassium, 7ml Iron. Filtration is an Eheim Pro II 2028. If you do a search, you'll find interviews and articles from Seachem reps who basically say that a tank stocked with fish should produce enough nitrates and phosphates to feed the plants in a tank. Seems like you only need nitrogen and phosphorus if you have little to no fauna. I add Flourish, Excel, and potassium. My algae has come under control even with it sitting next to a window. Keep in mind Excel is an algicide. -- Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org http://www.mbz.org | Mercedes Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org 633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net 1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org |
On 2005-01-13, Richard wrote:
Keep in mind Excel is an algicide. Hmm... That makes the end of this interview more clear now. http://www.aquabotanic.com/carbon.html -- "I have to decide between two equally frightening options. If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman |
"Richard" wrote in message ...
Keep in mind Excel is an algicide. Not really. In fact, algae grows quite well with excel, it seems to like it. -- Margolis http://web.archive.org/web/200302152...qs/AGQ2FAQ.htm http://www.unrealtower.org/faq |
In article ,
Margolis wrote: "Richard" wrote in message ... Keep in mind Excel is an algicide. Not really. In fact, algae grows quite well with excel, it seems to like it. Yeah, really. You must have way more algae than it can handle then. If you write to Greg, CEO of Sea-Chem and ask him if it's safe to grow Cladophoa he'll tell you no, it'll kill it. But US Government regulations prevent him from claiming it's an algicide. It may not be a great algicide but the acetyl compound in it that releases carbon is death on algae. (Even acetic acid kills algae in small doses). -- Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org http://www.mbz.org | Mercedes Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org 633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net 1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org |
Richard wrote:
You must have way more algae than it can handle then. If you write to Greg, CEO of Sea-Chem and ask him if it's safe to grow Cladophoa he'll tell you no, it'll kill it. But US Government regulations prevent him from claiming it's an algicide. Does it work with all kinds of algae? It may not be a great algicide but the acetyl compound in it that releases carbon is death on algae. (Even acetic acid kills algae in small doses). Hmmm... I guess I should stop using Excel on my alage-eating shrimp tank then... ;-) -- Victor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam he Email me he |
"Richard" wrote in message ...
Yeah, really. You must have way more algae than it can handle then. If you write to Greg, CEO of Sea-Chem and ask him if it's safe to grow Cladophoa he'll tell you no, it'll kill it. But US Government regulations prevent him from claiming it's an algicide. Of course seachem is going to say algae won't grow with it, they make the product. I go by experience. Algae grows better in my 20 with excel than it does in my 75 without. The oto's and bushy nose plecos love it though, so that's okay. -- Margolis http://web.archive.org/web/200302152...qs/AGQ2FAQ.htm http://www.unrealtower.org/faq |
In article ,
Margolis wrote: "Richard" wrote in message ... Yeah, really. You must have way more algae than it can handle then. If you write to Greg, CEO of Sea-Chem and ask him if it's safe to grow Cladophoa he'll tell you no, it'll kill it. But US Government regulations prevent him from claiming it's an algicide. Of course seachem is going to say algae won't grow with it, they make the product. I go by experience. Google says there's a lot of poeple that use it and have no algae. Algae grows better in my 20 with excel than it does in my 75 without. The oto's and bushy nose plecos love it though, so that's okay. That's hardly evidenece. I have a buhc of tanks and some are an unholy green mess and others are sparkling crystal clean. They all get the same regiment. In other workds, without any controls, nothing has been shown let alone proved. -- Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org http://www.mbz.org | Mercedes Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org 633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net 1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org |
It proves that algae grows well with excel.
If a product is good for plants it is going to be good for algae which are just small plants. If a product is bad for algae it is going to be bad for plants. It is pretty simple really ;op -- Margolis http://web.archive.org/web/200302152...qs/AGQ2FAQ.htm http://www.unrealtower.org/faq |
In article ,
Margolis wrote: It proves that algae grows well with excel. If a product is good for plants it is going to be good for algae which are just small plants. If a product is bad for algae it is going to be bad for plants. It is pretty simple really ;op Both are factually incorrect. One anectodal unctrolled setup does not prove the former and peroxide disproves the latter. -- Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org http://www.mbz.org | Mercedes Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org 633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net 1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org |
On 2005-01-13, Margolis wrote:
Algae grows better in my 20 with excel than it does in my 75 without. The oto's and bushy nose plecos love it though, so that's okay. Not defending Seachem, but you may have conditions better suited for growing algae in your 20 than in your 75 that has nothing to do with Excel. -- "I have to decide between two equally frightening options. If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman |
On 2005-01-14, Margolis wrote:
It proves that algae grows well with excel. Whoa, you have to be a bit more scientific than that before you go around claiming proof. If a product is good for plants it is going to be good for algae which are just small plants. If a product is bad for algae it is going to be bad for plants. It is pretty simple really ;op Technically, algae are not plants as they do not have leaves, roots, or flowers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae -- "I have to decide between two equally frightening options. If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman |
"js1" wrote in message
... Not defending Seachem, but you may have conditions better suited for growing algae in your 20 than in your 75 that has nothing to do with Excel. that may be, but if excel is an algicide it should be killing the algae, regardless of the conditions. Instead the algae is healthy. -- Margolis http://web.archive.org/web/200302152...qs/AGQ2FAQ.htm http://www.unrealtower.org/faq |
In article ,
Margolis wrote: "js1" wrote in message ... Not defending Seachem, but you may have conditions better suited for growing algae in your 20 than in your 75 that has nothing to do with Excel. that may be, but if excel is an algicide it should be killing the algae, regardless of the conditions. Instead the algae is healthy. Absolutley not. Excel is not called an algicide because it hasn't passed government tests and qualificartion as an algicide. None the less in years of beta tests at Sea CHem they found it inhibits alage grown and your one tank does not change that fact. Aquarium Pharmecuticals "Algae Fix" is a government recognized honest to god real algicide and won't kill some alage under some conditions either. Making a blanket statement from a sample of one is unsound. -- Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org http://www.mbz.org | Mercedes Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org 633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net 1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org |
On 2005-01-15, Richard wrote:
Making a blanket statement from a sample of one is unsound. Nah, it's called usenet! ;-) -- "I have to decide between two equally frightening options. If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman |
"js1" wrote in message
... On 2005-01-14, Margolis wrote: Technically, algae are not plants as they do not have leaves, roots, or flowers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae did you go to that site you linked to? It say's algae are plants here is the opening sentence on that page: "The algae (singular is alga) comprise several different groups of living things that produce energy through photosynthesis. They are generally regarded as simple plants, and some are related to the higher plants " -- Margolis http://web.archive.org/web/200302152...qs/AGQ2FAQ.htm http://www.unrealtower.org/faq |
"Richard" wrote in message ...
that may be, but if excel is an algicide it should be killing the algae, Absolutley not. absolutely yes. algicides kill algae, that is the definition of algicide. do you work for seachem? Me saying it doesn't kill algae certainly has gotten you worked up. -- Margolis http://web.archive.org/web/200302152...qs/AGQ2FAQ.htm http://www.unrealtower.org/faq |
In article ,
Margolis wrote: "Richard" wrote in message ... that may be, but if excel is an algicide it should be killing the algae, Absolutley not. absolutely yes. algicides kill algae, that is the definition of algicide. do you work for seachem? Me saying it doesn't kill algae certainly has gotten you worked up. Work? Well, I don't care about your one tank. The rest of the world, as a quick check on google will show, has results consistant with Sea Chem's claims. -- Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org http://www.mbz.org | Mercedes Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org 633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net 1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org |
On 2005-01-16, Margolis wrote:
"js1" wrote in message here is the opening sentence on that page: "The algae (singular is alga) comprise several different groups of living things that produce energy through photosynthesis. They are generally regarded as simple plants, and some are related to the higher plants " You must have missed the part where it says, "All algae lack true leaves, roots, flowers, and other tissue structures found in higher plants." -- "I have to decide between two equally frightening options. If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman |
"js1" wrote in message
... You must have missed the part where it says, "All algae lack true leaves, roots, flowers, and other tissue structures found in higher plants." they may lack those, but they are still simple plants. They lack the structure of HIGHER plants, but that doesn't mean that they are not plants -- Margolis http://web.archive.org/web/200302152...qs/AGQ2FAQ.htm http://www.unrealtower.org/faq |
Your world must be very small. The only references I found about excel
being an algicide (algaecide) on google were posts you made. Nothing else. No research by seachem anywhere indicating this is an algaecide. There is no government regulation preventing seachem from calling an algicide and algicide. There are regulations though that prevent companies from making false claims. -- Margolis http://web.archive.org/web/200302152...qs/AGQ2FAQ.htm http://www.unrealtower.org/faq |
On 2005-01-17, Margolis wrote:
Your world must be very small. The only references I found about excel being an algicide (algaecide) on google were posts you made. Nothing else. No research by seachem anywhere indicating this is an algaecide. There is no government regulation preventing seachem from calling an algicide and algicide. There are regulations though that prevent companies from making false claims. You're the only person who has claimed anything absolutely. http://www.aquabotanic.com/carbon.html Can algae feed on Excel? No. I'm sure this may raise a few eyebrows ;-) since at face value this would be a reasonable expectation. But, for reasons Uncle Sam won't let us discuss, all I can say is that algae can't feed on Excel and I will leave it as an exercise to the reader to deduce why this is the case (big picture folks, no chemistry involved ;-). Gregory Morin, Ph.D. ~~~~~~~Research Director~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seachem Laboratories, Inc. www.seachem.com 888-SEACHEM Notice no claims of algicide by Seachem. Though, from the above comments, it's not unreasonable to infer that perhaps Excel is at some level an algicide, but Seachem is not willing, or not allowed, to make sucha a claim. You are the one who, on anectdotal evidence, claims absolutely that Excel is not an algicide and is in fact good to grow algae with. Excel's primary claim has been that it can be a source of carbon for plants: http://www.aquabotanic.com/carbon.html Does Excel's added carbon work enough to provide plants what they need without the need of CO2 injection? That depends on your definition of need ;-) We have been using the product here for several years (during the testing phase) and all of our planted tanks have been doing extraordinarily well. We do not use any CO2 injection. We usually have to cut and trim every few weeks or so. However, if your goal is to have the kind of growth where you would need to cut and trim weekly (because the plants grow out of the tank every week) then you're not going to see that with Flourish Excel as the sole carbon source. But using Flourish Excel as the sole source of carbon is certainly not going to leave the plants lacking for carbon by any stretch. Perhaps if you had given the water parameters of the tank in which algae is growing well for you, there'd be a more interesting argument about algae growth and how Excel may or may not be affecting it, not about your flawed syllogism. -- "I have to decide between two equally frightening options. If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman |
"js1" wrote in message
... You're the only person who has claimed anything absolutely. http://www.aquabotanic.com/carbon.html Can algae feed on Excel? No. I'm sure this may raise a few eyebrows ;-) since at face value this would be a reasonable expectation. But, for reasons Uncle Sam won't let us discuss, all I can say is that algae can't feed on Excel and I will leave it as an exercise to the reader to deduce why this is the case (big picture folks, no chemistry involved ;-). Gregory Morin, Ph.D. ~~~~~~~Research Director~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seachem Laboratories, Inc. www.seachem.com 888-SEACHEM Notice no claims of algicide by Seachem. Though, from the above comments, it's not unreasonable to infer that perhaps Excel is at some level an algicide, but Seachem is not willing, or not allowed, to make sucha a claim. You are the one who, on anectdotal evidence, claims absolutely that Excel is not an algicide and is in fact good to grow algae with. all that says is that "algae can't feed on it". It is a far leap to say that means that it kills algae or that it is an algicide. and on top of that, it sounds like complete and utter marketing bs anyway. Why would the government prevent them from even talking about why they thought algae couldn't use this as food? If it is valid scientifically it would be permissable. -- Margolis http://web.archive.org/web/200302152...qs/AGQ2FAQ.htm http://www.unrealtower.org/faq |
In article ,
Margolis wrote: Notice no claims of algicide by Seachem. Though, from the above comments, it's not unreasonable to infer that perhaps Excel is at some level an algicide, but Seachem is not willing, or not allowed, to make sucha a claim. You are the one who, on anectdotal evidence, claims absolutely that Excel is not an algicide and is in fact good to grow algae with. all that says is that "algae can't feed on it". It is a far leap to say that means that it kills algae or that it is an algicide. Snippets of email from Dr. Greg Morin, CEO of SeaChem: There are products which claim to kill algae but I didn't know they might have to meet any EPA qualifications. Yes, they do. They _should_ have an EPA registration # on them. If not, they are "illegal" products if they are also claiming to kill algae. Remember, it is only the claim that counts as far as EPA is concerned. I can't endorse or discuss your product in any event but it certainly has me puzzled now. If there were a product that really was effective for algae but didn't harm plants or invertebrates, I would certainly be interested in it if there were a scientific study of some sort. AFAIK SeaChem has a very high reputation. We would need to do that for EPA registration to make that claim, but the costs of doing that and the registration/application process far outweigh whatever we would hope to make off such a product. The government sets the financial burden so high it is just not worth it ... I *think* a scientific study of a specific chemical compound could investigate certain effects upon various organisms without contravening any product marketing regulations, however I am not an expert on these matters. Further, we could discuss those findings on public forums couldn't we? A product containing that compound could then reference the study or people could endorse the product citing the study... I am very puzzled! A 3rd party would have to do such a study and even then we could not disclose any findings showing algacidal activity... the 3rd party could and others could discuss it... but we could not ... yes it is crazy but that's how it is unfortunately. We could do it but since we could not disclose anything it kind of defeats the purpose of doing it. -Greg -- Gregory Morin, Ph.D. ~~~~~~~President/CEO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seachem Laboratories, Inc. www.seachem.com 888-SEACHEM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later that same day: I realize there are governmetn regulations concerning what you can and cannot say about stuff. I maintain a culture of cladophora algae ("moss rocks"). It would be good to know if Flourish Excel is harmfull to them at regualr ot higher dosage. Ie, a warning would be handy. To answer your question, algae will not fare too well when Flourish Excel is dosed as recommended. Yes, a warning is probably a good idea. It had not been thought of to date as typically algae is not desired in a planted aquarium. -Greg Morin -- Gregory Morin, Ph.D. ~~~~~~~President/CEO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seachem Laboratories, Inc. www.seachem.com 888-SEACHEM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So is Excel an algicide? Certainly not. Have people found it inhibis algae growth? Most have. Have you tried seevral large water changes? How often do you change water in this problem tank? -- Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org http://www.mbz.org | Mercedes Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org 633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net 1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org |
Richard wrote:
A 3rd party would have to do such a study and even then we could not disclose any findings showing algacidal activity... the 3rd party could and others could discuss it... but we could not ... yes it is Sounds like an interesting research project for a grad student in chemistry/biology/biochemistry... I'd be willing to co-supervise the research if anybody is interested. :) -- Victor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam he Email me he |
To answer the original question...
Most environments have one 'rate limiting' nutrient- that is, the lack of one nutrient constrains growth much more so than others. In marine environments, it is often iron, in freshwater lakes, it is often phosphorus. For example, in the case of your body, it's iron, which your body goes to great lengths to tie up and make unavailable and pathogens go to great lengths to get at. (Often by blowing up red blood cells and grabbing the iron in the hemoglobin) |
How about a better source (encyclopedias are great for primary school
projects)- http://www.sidwell.edu/us/science/vl...arya/Protista/ http://www.sidwell.edu/us/science/vl...karya/Plantae/ http://clab.cecil.cc.md.us/faculty/biology1/plants.htm http://www.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=t&id=17 Bottom line about algae being plants - it depends. On the algae, and on who/when is classifying them. Tony "Margolis" wrote in message ... "js1" wrote in message ... You must have missed the part where it says, "All algae lack true leaves, roots, flowers, and other tissue structures found in higher plants." they may lack those, but they are still simple plants. They lack the structure of HIGHER plants, but that doesn't mean that they are not plants -- Margolis http://web.archive.org/web/200302152...qs/AGQ2FAQ.htm http://www.unrealtower.org/faq |
All plants are Eukaryota. Algae are a kind of plant. All algae are
eukaryota. Algae are distinguished from other plants by their lack of cellular differentiation. All algae have chloroplasts. All plants have chloroplasts, which are captured bacterial symbionts. The capture event is over a billion years back, if rRNA is any good as a molecular clock. (So far, so good, at least) Unlike most other organelles in plant cells, chloroplasts have their own DNA and control their own division and replication apart from their host. Unfortunately, some people off handedly call cyanobacteria, green sulfur, green non-sulfur, purple non-sulfur, and purple sulfur photosynthetic bacteria algae when they're not- they're Prokayota, commonly refered to as bacteria. Further reading on the web: Explanation of celluar differentiation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_differentiation Lynn Margulis' endosymbiont theory: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/3/1071 The Tree of Life: http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html The Ribosomal Batabase Project http://rdp.cme.msu.edu/index.jsp |
BBA= poor CO2 issues.
Nothing to do with reduction, 90%(or higher) of the time: folks need to add more CO2, PO4, not less. Things you do not want to add: too many fish, fish food, NH4, not clean filters, general neglect, lack of prunign, etc. Keep in mind that Excel adds carbon as well. Adding CO2 properly could be considered a mild algicide as well:-) Regards, Tom Barr |
Green algae are still considered in Plantae, Charophyceans/Coleocheteae
are very plant like and have differentiated cells, in many ways so do Caulperales, kelps etc, they went a different pathway but are extremely successful and very plant like. Byrophytes are an odd group as well. BGA, Cyanophyta/Cyanobacteria (whatever you prefer to call them, Cyanobacteria works well) are very unlike ANY other group of bacteria, so much so I'd consider them almost in their own group, they possess thyalkloids, but not chloroplast. Most folks that do the work on this group are phycologist, not microbiologist, most of us retain the term BGA as a common name. Zoo folks call Divisions, phylums and plant folks call phylums Divisions, depending on what side of the fence you are on. I did like that you referred to algae as "a type of plant". Regards, Tom Barr |
js1 wrote:
On 2005-01-11, blank wrote: eg., java fern, java moss, elodea, amazon swords etc etc. Each week I do a 50% water change and add the following Seachem products: 35ml Excel, 3ml Supplement, 4ml Nitrogen, 4ml Phosphorous, 10ml Potassium, 7ml Iron. Filtration is an Eheim Pro II 2028. If you do a search, you'll find interviews and articles from Seachem reps who basically say that a tank stocked with fish should produce enough nitrates and phosphates to feed the plants in a tank. Seems like you only need nitrogen and phosphorus if you have little to no fauna. I add Flourish, Excel, and potassium. My algae has come under control even with it sitting next to a window. I use Florish, Excel and Potassium and I have no algae either, been using it for years, especially the Excel. Kay |
Richard wrote:
In article , Margolis wrote: "Richard" wrote in message ... Keep in mind Excel is an algicide. Not really. In fact, algae grows quite well with excel, it seems to like it. Yeah, really. You must have way more algae than it can handle then. If you write to Greg, CEO of Sea-Chem and ask him if it's safe to grow Cladophoa he'll tell you no, it'll kill it. But US Government regulations prevent him from claiming it's an algicide. It may not be a great algicide but the acetyl compound in it that releases carbon is death on algae. (Even acetic acid kills algae in small doses). Richard, I have been using Excel for years for my plants and for algae control, ever since I have used it, I have never had any algae in my tanks. My plants grow nicely and I don't have to worry about algae. Kay |
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