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Algae on Tank walls, etc.
In previous posts to the APD, I have discussed this “green surface algae”
that is starting to appear on most inanimate or slow-growing items in my
tank. By “surface algae,” I mean it grows on the surface of items in my
tank, not on the surface of the water. I just want to clarify and be
specific. It’s kind of dusty and can be easily removed from my tank walls
with an algae scouring pad. However, sometimes it is harder to remove; more
like hard green spot algae. When it grows on my rocks and driftwood, it is
darn near impossible to remove without a good, hard scrubbing. In my old
tank (which was acrylic), this stuff used to appear 3-4 days after a water
change and was a little more difficult to remove. Now in my new tank (which
is glass), it is much easier to remove from my tank walls, but it starts to
appear after only 2 days. It seemed to get worse after I added TMG and PO4
per Tom Barr’s recommendations for a routine tank maintenance and dosing
schedule. I’m not saying it’s due to the nutrient additions; it’s just an
observation.
The tank has only been up and running for just under two weeks. The first
week, I didn’t see any of this algae, and I was hoping I’d luck out and not
get it at all! Unfortunately, it started rearing its ugly head a few days
ago. I just performed a 75% water change tonight after scrubbing all my
tank walls and using a toothbrush to comb BGA out of my Riccia and Christmas
Moss and off of my driftwood and rocks. Following the water change, I added
my dechlorinator, TMG, PO4 and Potassium. Unfortunately, I had to us
Flourish Potassium rather than dry K2SO4 because I ran out of the dry
nutrient. I went shopping for K2SO4 (Sulfate of Potash) and/or KCl (Muriate
of Potash) to no avail. I couldn’t find it anywhere! Is there a specific
product or brand name I should look for when I’m hunting for this stuff? Or
is it just out of season, and I’ll have to wait until spring when garden
centers start stocking fertilizers and plant-care products?
Anyway, I took a few digital photos of this algae that’s coating my walls
before I did my water change tonight. Please forgive the poor resolution of
the pics. It’s a really old digital camera!
http://home.attbi.com/~gamera/fullimage/AlgaeLeft.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~gamera/fullimage/AlgaeLeft2.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~gamera/fullimage/AlgaeRight.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~gamera/fullimage/Stones.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~gamera/fullimage/Stones2.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~gamera/fullimage/TankWall.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~gamera/fullimage/TankWall2.jpg
Thanks in advance,
Gamera
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