Topic says it all. I'm in a life or death struggle with algae in my
big tank. The two twentys are in fine shape. The cork tank is newly
set up, the honeymoon suite, now nursery, is also clean and brite.

The 55g, now that's another story. It's been going the longest, has
the highest fish load, the most plants, the most light, and the most
fuzzy hair algae I've ever seen. All the plants are (were) covered
with it now. Also, to add to the ugliness and unkempt look, I've got a
nice crop of blue green bacteria trying it's best to cover up my new
dwarf marsh grass.

I took two steps yesterday to combat both. On the one front, I
re-positioned my power head to provide more circluation. It had been
pointing down an UGF lift tube hole for RUGF. Now it pushes water
accross the entire front wall of the tank, providing a circular flow.

To take on the fuzz, I tried the bleach dip approach. I have java
fern, Amazon swords and Crypts that are afflicted. The newer plants
I've added show minimal signs. So, out come half the swords, the
larger cruyts and all the java fern. Into a bucket of 19:1 water to
bleach for 4 minutes. The algae was visibly affected, turning white
and quite dead looking. The plants seemed no worse for wear. After
the rinse, they are back in the tank and pearling O2.

Now a question: How to keep the stuff at bay? Here's the set up:

55g tank, 48L 20H 12W
pH 6.7 with C02 injection at 20ppm
KH 3deg
temp 79f
Nitrates between 5 and 20, fluctuate with the amount of KNO3 I add.
Potassium and Phosphorus added minimally per the dosing pages. I shoot
for the optimun amount. There are a couple of plant spikes (trace
elements) deep under the large plants.

I've got 5 ottos in there, and just added a couple of large amano
shrimp, but those critters aren't going to touch this fuzz stuff if it
comes back strong like this past week.
thanks for any hints, suggestions,
steve

In article .com,
steve wrote:
Topic says it all. I'm in a life or death struggle with algae in my
big tank. The two twentys are in fine shape. The cork tank is newly

When I have a green mess Ichange 80% of the water eevry day till it clears up.
Usually 4-5 days, they 50% every other day so the gravel leeches out
properly.

It's always worked for me so far. Give it a try.

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"steve" wrote in message
oups.com...
Now a question: How to keep the stuff at bay? Here's the set up:

55g tank, 48L 20H 12W
pH 6.7 with C02 injection at 20ppm
KH 3deg
temp 79f
Nitrates between 5 and 20, fluctuate with the amount of KNO3 I add.
Potassium and Phosphorus added minimally per the dosing pages. I shoot
for the optimun amount. There are a couple of plant spikes (trace
elements) deep under the large plants.

I've got 5 ottos in there, and just added a couple of large amano
shrimp, but those critters aren't going to touch this fuzz stuff if it
comes back strong like this past week.
thanks for any hints, suggestions,

Are you over feeding? It doesn't sound like anything other than that to me,
unless there is something in your water out of the tap.

Oz


--
My Aquatic web Blog is at http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith

On 2005-01-17, steve wrote:
Now a question: How to keep the stuff at bay? Here's the set up:

55g tank, 48L 20H 12W
pH 6.7 with C02 injection at 20ppm
KH 3deg
temp 79f
Nitrates between 5 and 20, fluctuate with the amount of KNO3 I add.
Potassium and Phosphorus added minimally per the dosing pages. I shoot
for the optimun amount. There are a couple of plant spikes (trace
elements) deep under the large plants.


Stop dosing phosphorus. Your fish food should provide enough of it.
Keep up the Potassium. Remove algae infected foliage as convenient.
You'll just have to be patient.

http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9

--
"I have to decide between two equally frightening options.
If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman

Stop dosing phosphorus. Your fish food should provide enough of it.

ALL fishfood?

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On 2005-01-18, Richard wrote:
Stop dosing phosphorus. Your fish food should provide enough of it.

ALL fishfood?


Absolutely! ;-)


--
"I have to decide between two equally frightening options.
If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman

In article , js1 wrote:
On 2005-01-18, Richard wrote:
Stop dosing phosphorus. Your fish food should provide enough of it.

ALL fishfood?


Absolutely! ;-)

Ok, well roughly how much phosphate is there in white worms fed pumpernikel
fed to fish 3X a week and nothing else? (my water is pretty cold)


--
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633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net
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Richard wrote:
In article , js1 wrote:

On 2005-01-18, Richard wrote:

Stop dosing phosphorus. Your fish food should provide enough of it.

ALL fishfood?


Absolutely! ;-)


Ok, well roughly how much phosphate is there in white worms fed pumpernikel
fed to fish 3X a week and nothing else? (my water is pretty cold)


It's not what's in the food...it's what comes out the other end of your
fish. ;-)

--
__ Elaine T __
__' http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__

In article ,
Elaine T wrote:
Richard wrote:
In article , js1 wrote:

On 2005-01-18, Richard wrote:

Stop dosing phosphorus. Your fish food should provide enough of it.

ALL fishfood?


Absolutely! ;-)


Ok, well roughly how much phosphate is there in white worms fed pumpernikel
fed to fish 3X a week and nothing else? (my water is pretty cold)


It's not what's in the food...it's what comes out the other end of your
fish. ;-)


It's gotta be in the food, fish can't synthesize phosphate.


--
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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:
In article .com,
steve wrote:
Topic says it all. I'm in a life or death struggle with algae in my
big tank. The two twentys are in fine shape. The cork tank is
newly

When I have a green mess Ichange 80% of the water eevry day till it
clears up.
Usually 4-5 days, they 50% every other day so the gravel leeches out
properly.

It's always worked for me so far. Give it a try.


Thanks for the acvice, Richard. I'll give that a go after the blackout
period I'm trying now.

steve

Ozdude wrote:


Are you over feeding? It doesn't sound like anything other than that
to me,
unless there is something in your water out of the tap.

Oz


Ya know, Oz, I'm not sure. When I was a kid, and warned about
overfeeding Sammy the goldfish, overfeeding meant using only the food
he could eat in 5 minutes. Now, I'm starting to understand overfeeding
from a different prospective. Just a few years ago I had a tank
running crystal clear for two years. What I didn't know is that the
nitrates were probably running in the mid two hundreds! I just had a
humungous bacteria colony able to process all the food.

So when I've been feeding this tank, I've been very careful, and
actually proud of myself for not overfeeding. Or have I been? I feed
once a day, only the amount the neons and angels can eat in about 2
minutes. In that two minutes however, they absolutely gorge themselves
and turn into round balls with head, tail and fins. When I give them
live or frozen brine shrimp, the angel fish have extended stomachs that
look as if they will pop!

So my fish aren't over fed, just ask them. :) But I think I'm
overfeeding my _tank_. With the plants I've got going and water
changes my nitrate levels are staying low, around 10, not more than 20.
After the last water change, the nitrates were only 5 or so. I'm going
to try less food, start 'em off on a new years diet, see if I can keep
the nitrates at zero from food, and then either feed a bit more or dose
KNO3 to boost the plants.

steve

Richard wrote:
In article ,
Elaine T wrote:

Richard wrote:

In article , js1 wrote:


On 2005-01-18, Richard wrote:


Stop dosing phosphorus. Your fish food should provide enough of it.

ALL fishfood?


Absolutely! ;-)


Ok, well roughly how much phosphate is there in white worms fed pumpernikel
fed to fish 3X a week and nothing else? (my water is pretty cold)



It's not what's in the food...it's what comes out the other end of your
fish. ;-)


It's gotta be in the food, fish can't synthesize phosphate.


Heh. No living organism can transmute elements - you're taking me far
too seriously. Wheee...alchemy in the fishtank! My point was that the
phosphate in fish food is used by the fish and then excreted. Of
course, the intial source of phosphate into the tank is the food.

Steve,
ALL fishfood has phosphorus and nitrogen, whether it's plant or animal
based. Phosphorus is an essential component of DNA, RNA, cell
membranes, and the cell's energy systems, and nitrogen comes from
protein. If you're worried, first follow Richard's advice and stop all
phosphate. Personally, with nitrates between 5 and 20, I'd stop dosing
that as well because you're also adding nitrate to the tank with your
fishfood.

See how your plants do for a few weeks after Richard's water change
regime with no added N or P. If your nitrate actually zeros out, you
might add some back. Wait a few weeks more and if you still feel an
irresistable urge to add P, add a fraction of what you were and be
prepared to change lots of water at the first signs of increased algae
growth.

--
__ Elaine T __
__' http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__

Elaine T wrote:
Steve,
ALL fishfood has phosphorus and nitrogen, whether it's plant or
animal
based. Phosphorus is an essential component of DNA, RNA, cell
membranes, and the cell's energy systems, and nitrogen comes from
protein. If you're worried, first follow Richard's advice and stop
all
phosphate. Personally, with nitrates between 5 and 20, I'd stop
dosing
that as well because you're also adding nitrate to the tank with your

fishfood.

See how your plants do for a few weeks after Richard's water change
regime with no added N or P. If your nitrate actually zeros out,
you
might add some back. Wait a few weeks more and if you still feel an
irresistable urge to add P, add a fraction of what you were and be
prepared to change lots of water at the first signs of increased
algae
growth.


k.

(thanks for taking time to reply)

After the blackout and massive water changes, I'll let the thing
stabilize a bit and see where the nitrates stand. Maybe I got a little
too agressive with my dosing, thinking I as some kind 'o plant king.


steve

Heh. No living organism can transmute elements - you're taking me far
too seriously. Wheee...alchemy in the fishtank! My point was that the
phosphate in fish food is used by the fish and then excreted. Of
course, the intial source of phosphate into the tank is the food.

Right, and I only feed live whitw worms fed with pumpernikel 3X a week.
Does this mean I'm adding no, low or high phospahtes? Honest question,
I have no idea.

--
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633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org

Richard Sexton wrote:
Heh. No living organism can transmute elements - you're taking me far
too seriously. Wheee...alchemy in the fishtank! My point was that the
phosphate in fish food is used by the fish and then excreted. Of
course, the intial source of phosphate into the tank is the food.


Right, and I only feed live whitw worms fed with pumpernikel 3X a week.
Does this mean I'm adding no, low or high phospahtes? Honest question,
I have no idea.

Sorry...I thought that was Steve's question. First, you DO have to take
the fish's metabolism into account. If the fish are actively growing,
they may absorb more phosphorus from their food. So the assumption that
what goes into the tank is exactly what passes through a growing fish
and fertilizes the tank is not perfect.

Hmm...My bottle of TetraMin says minimum phosphorus is 1.3% and my
ColorBits are minimum 1.5%. All Hagen NutraFin foods are formulated to
have only a minimum of 0.6% and a maximum of 0.9%. They talk about
their phosphorus philosophy here.
http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/nut...ax/lowphos.cfm

As for worms, tetra delica bloodworms have min 0.9% and I found an
article at
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/c...35746/ABSTRACT
showing freeze dried earthworms at 0.8%, waxworms at 1.2%, and mealworms
varying widely from 0.8% to 1.4% phosphorus depending on the strain.
Hikari reports 0.1% phosphorus max for their freeze dried bloodworms and
tubifex, but that does not appear to be compatible with living worms, so
I doubt their number.

So...you're probably feeding medium phosphate level food, around 0.8% to
1% if your worms are similar to others. As for amount, dunno. I
haven't seen you feed but I know how much a hungry killi can eat!

Is that the kind of info that you were after?

--
__ Elaine T __
__' http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__