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Re: NO water column fertilizer





>
>Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 00:29:28 PST
>From: "Raymond Wong" <myapisto at hotmail_com>
>Subject: substrate water column fertilizer
>
>Hi everybody, just wanted to know if any of you out there use just substrate 
>fertilizer without using water column fertilizer..


Hi, I have 2 such tanks that no algae issues to speak of. Both tanks are
lightly populated.................................................and get
almost no attention at all besides feeding.

Both tanks have a fair amount of light(2-3watts/gal)
Both tanks have a hagen filter set to slow and a stick heater.
Both tanks have deep gravel- one flourite and one rich sand+iron tabs
Both tanks get fed well once a day.
Like Diana Walstead's tanks these have little to no CO2 and a mature
substrate(hers are soil or something close and mine are mulm and flourite or
sand and tabs +mulm).

Light fish populations. Remember this one.
Deep gravel too.
Little water changes(once a month or every 2-3 even) 
I will add a very small dose of TMG(tropica master grow) at this time but
not much.

Adding the food is adding something to the column and fertilizing in a
sense.
The flourite tank does awesome IMO. The tank gets very abused and neglected
yet is growing like mad even after the CO2 is turned down or off. The tank
is 2-3 inches down from evaporation when I do get to cleaning it. I haven't
seen any algae nor cleaned the glass for some time(4-6months). Not bad, eh?

Very light additions of fish and good regular feedings, deep gravel(flourite
is the best or maybe/perhaps soil?) things should go well. KH and GH should
be looked at and considered too. Mine's about 5KH and 9GH. Ph is 7.8 out of
the tap, PO4 is 1.12ppm.
In the flourite tank the A.reineckii is blood red as are a couple of other
red plants and little deficiencies can be found.

 The stunting/slowing of growth rates is caused by lack of CO2
namely..........quite like the real world of ponds and lakes etc.
FWIW
Tom Barr