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Re: Green spot



> From: neil.anderson at asbury_edu
> Subject: Green spot algae
> 
> I am having a problem with green spot algae accumulating on my hard leaf
> plants (Amazon Swords, Bacopa, Anubias, etc.) and glass.  I have to scrape
> the front glass almost every two days.  Although this algae has been
> slightly present for some time, it grew into a problem when I began using RO
> water (reconstituted with Seachem Equilibrium and adjusted to a GH of 5, KH
> 3, and Ph  6.8), and when I added more light in the form of a 110 watt PC
> light strip (6700 K) to an 80 watt strip (T-8 Tritons, 8300K).  This gives
> me a total of 190 watts combined output for this standard 90 gallon tank.
> The lights are on about 11 hours per day.

You switched to RO. Not this again:) I got GS and others have reported a
similar thing when not having any Phosphate in their water. I'm suprized you
got it on the Bacopa though.
> 
> Sometimes it takes me a few days to get the KH up and the Ph down after 30%
> water changes, which I do every 2 weeks.  I am injecting CO2 at the rate of
> about 1 bubble per second through an Eheim ceramic disk diffuser.  There are
> nitrates in the water column, but within acceptable limits-i.e., not high.
> Nitrite and ammonia levels are so small as to not be measureable.

Your KH and CO2 are moving around since you started using RO. Why did you
switch? Your CO2 is a bit low for my taste.
> 
> Should I cut down the duration of light, lower the Ph, try both, or do
> something else?  Thanks for any insight you all might be able to give.

Light ain't it. I got both types. CO2 is some of it. Make sure your CO2 is
good all day not just in the morning or just in the evening. It moves some
due to plants sucking it up. I'd add a small amount of P or switch back to
the tap which might have a small amount of P and add more KH to about 4 then
try a pH of 6.8 for the average for the day. Best thing would be to quit
playing with RO. No more troubles. See what the tap is and adjust your pH to
whatever the pH/KH/CO2 tables indicates for your KH. Add some P if you have
none in your tap. Not much but a small amount if you want to add it. Get a
PO4 kit if you plan on this. Check archives for more info.
Regards, 
Tom Barr