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Re: Tom Barr's thoughts



Hey all....


Tom, I have some questions....You wrote:
<<I think perhaps high DO levels combined(or not) with the CO2 levels is the
cause. At high DO levels even in high nutrient places/environments the algae
typically would be at a disadvantage if it started growing since some other
algae (or plant) is doing well(and producing all this DO).>>

1. DO? Dissolved organics? Why would this affect algae nutrient uptake, and not the other greenery? 

2. Assuming that I was right to assume dissolved organics, why wouldn't we just filter through peat to start and establish the aquarium, therefore eliminating algae's chance to even get a foothold? 

3. If it is dissolved oxygen, it all makes sense. Faster growing plants (any healthy, active plant for that matter) use up the nurtrients in their photosynthesis and other activities, if you can call them that, and make all esential nutrients unavailable to the algae. Weakend by the deficiency, algae are unable to maintain. Your dissolved oxygen would just be the byproduct of plant kicking algae's butt.....or something like that. Our job is to be sure that we give "plant" what it needs to get the job done. We'll *never* exactly agree on what that is. 

Plant whooping on algae seems to be the key to lots of other stuff: fish longevity, water clarity, maintenance time, snail population, substrate life, etc, etc.....

I've had algae pearl in my tanks before (bittersweet;). I think, at one time or another, we've all seen the tides reversed in favor of algae as the dominant consumer, and therefore the main producer of DO...... This is all common sense, "no duh!" stuff, but isn't that where we always get back to? 


My $.02.....other thoughts?...

John Wheeler

p.s. can someone plz mail me, offlist, the address for the "law suit support fund" thing? I lost that issue. TIA