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Re: Pearling and Algae question



RMoore7167 at aol_com wrote:
> 
> Well I finally made the leap to CO2 injection.  All my plants (except one)
> are pearling. I have a few questions:
> 
> 1-  Does pearling signify that plant is growing and has plenty of nutrients
> or does it just mean theres respiration?

As far as I know, this assumption is correct. Pearling, as you know,
occurs when the aquarium is saturated with O2 and the plants continue to
produce it. It makes sense to me that if the plants are producing enough
O2 to pearl, that they are healthy and doing well (since O2 is only
produced when photosyntesis is occurring).

> 2-  How long does it take if there is appropiate nutrients before I notice
> anything.

I'm not sure what you are asking here.

> 3-  algae problem is getting worse now. both I believe you call it greenspot
> and general slim on glass. below are particulars of 55 gal tank. I need to
> scrape about once every 4-5 days.
> 
>     Have 8 SAE fish
>     2- guoromis
>     2 tetras
>     1- angel fish
>     oh yea I have been fighting snails like you wouldnt believe. Prolificate
> little guys.

I leave the smails in. Although I have about twelve billion it seems
like, I never have to clean algae off my glass and they eat leftover
fish food if there is any. They don't seem to be hurting the plants.
They seem to only eat the older leaves that fall off.
 
>     Ammonia     0
>     Nitrite     0
>     PH          6.6
>     KH          2.0
>     CO2     15ppm
>     lighting        161 watts  96 and 55 w subcompacts
>     water change    I do about 25% every week when home
> 
> 4-  If KH is too low what do I add and how much. Wheres the formula? And if
> ph is too low I will just decrease number of bubbles injected? Right now 1
> bubble/ 4 secs.

Check out George's site for the specifics about this: 

http://www.frii.com/~gbooth/AquaticConcepts/index.htm

You will want to check out the "Water Chemistry" section in particular.

> 5-  Do I need to test for something else? If so what and how do you manage if
> there is a problem

Iron, nitrate, and maybe phospate. Iron is a useful indicator to
determine the status of the other trace elements. Plants will start
showing deficiency symptoms pretty fast at the rate they grow in our
aquariums without additions. If you want to see what happens when
various trace elements are missing, have a look at
http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1997/dec/aquatic/default.asp or
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/nutrient-deficiency.html. Iron
is generally kept between 0.1 - 0.2 mg/L.

-- 
Jerry Baker

References: