[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Trading one problem for another... repost
reposted with word wrap on (I hope)...
Observation: want to get rid of all that unsightly algae.
Induce green water for a couple of weeks.
I apologize in advance for asking yet more algae related
questions - but I am frustrated and don't want to let this
get the best of me. If you don't want to yet another algae
post please skip to the next message :) This one is
looooooooooonng.
About 2 months ago, I got reinvigorated about my plant
tank and did a major teardown/replanting. Immediately
following was a plague of brown algae coupled with slow
growth of my plants. I suspected some sort of deficiency
so I stepped up the fertilization regimen. Theory being
best defense against algae are healthy growing plants.
Bottom line... I traded a brown algae problem for a
green/cloudy water problem. The following is an abridged
version (believe it or not). (I have been taking notes with
every dose/water change/etc. Supposedly a good habit :)
Tank setup:
- 120gallon - pressurized CO2 into reactor
- 2 250W MH 12hrs/day - bulbs ~6-8 inches above water -
good reflectors
- eheim 2213 filled with ehfimech and floss - mainly used
to pump water through reactor (btw - almost 10yrs old...
never a problem with the eheim)
- powerhead with sponge prefilter
- Large window allows LOTS of morning light
- Small stands of hygro, and ludwigia
- 10" square stand rotala indica - full height of tank
- One large amazon lots of chain swords - fairly decent
coverage
- Lots of vallisneria and some dwarg sag
Based on my notes, here is the sequence of events.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tank parameters prior to green water bout:
- water clear - some brownish algae lingering on chain
swords and in rotala
- ph6.6 kh 4 gh 4 (cheap test kits)
- Iron maintained 'tween 0.05 and 0.1 (lamotte) - dosed
TMG 25-50ml every 2 or 3 days based on reading
- NO3 maintained at 1.0 to 2.0 (lamotte) - multiply by
4.4 for NO3? - dosed 1/2 tsp every 2 or 3 days based on
reading
- 25% weekly water changes (no dechlorinator used)
- dosed 1/4 tsp MgSO4 ~every 4 to 5 days
- added 1Tbsp dolomite every water change (suspected
possible Ca deficient - leaves curled and distorted. Snails
died out previously. Shells were clear)
- fish seem very healthy - 2 pairs of kribs raising fry
- started dosing PO4 (old PH 7.0 fix - sodium
phosphate/sodium diphosphate) - plants appeared to perk up
somewhat - no PO4 testkit (I know, I know :) Initially
dosed 2 tsp 2 weeks prior to GW and 1 tsp every 2 to 3 days
afterwords
- 10 days before GW - changed filter floss in eheim...
(hadn't cleaned since before teardown... very gross) - nice
green furry algae coating one chunk of driftwood - kind of
nice looking actually
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Green water appeared 1 day after 25% water change
After onset of massively green water:
- Daily 50% water changes for 1st week... guess what..
didn't help
- Need to add KNO3 to maintain ~1/4 tsp with every H2O
change - level ~0.05 to 1.0 (2.2 to 4.4)
- Continued dosing TMG to maintain Fe level at 0.05 to
1.0
- Lighting maintained
After 1 week of GW
- Water changes done only every 3 or 4 days (gets old)
- Lighting maintained
- NO3 not being used - level running at 2.0-4.0
(8.8-17.6)
After 2 weeks
- Enough already... Will is tired, very frustrated, etc,
etc... lights out, CO2 off, no ferts, blackout for 1 week
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Removed blankets last weekend and 50% water change
- 25ml TMG - 2 Tbsp MgS04 (based on Chuck's dosage
calculator)
- Raised lights so bulbs ~12 inches above water
- Used amquel due to possible theory that ammonia spikes
might cause GW and I had not been using amquel before
- Absolutely NO algae anywhere - hygro had grown
bigger/fuller - prior to GW was just the small amount
- Chain swords slightly pail but looked very healthy
- Large Amazon nearly double in size
Now to my dilemma... water still a little hazy after
lights back on but still pretty clear.. However, it is
starting to cloud up again and I am very bummed out. Any
suggestions?
Will