[APD] RE: Algae Bloom?? PLEASE READ! Thanks!!

["Vic Di Cosola" <clutch24 at adelphia_net>]

Hi Seweryn,

Thank you for the reply, I ordered the UV light on Thursday, it was suppose
to be here on Friday and NEVER showed before the weekend!  Arghhhh!  You are
sooooo correct about the condition coming back after HUGE water changes,
fertilizing doses, etc.  Within 18 hours of a 70% water change, a dose of
fertilizer, it always comes back with a vengeance! :(  I must keep the water
somewhat clear (at the least) for my high light requirement for the Glosso's
growing a 4" carpet. Amazing plant thus far for me, so I do NOT have the
luxury of "waiting it out." :(   Anyways thanks for the feedback, I will let
the group here know how the UV works out.  Take care,

Vic

---------------------------

<<Message: 5
Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 12:59:43 +0000
From: "Seweryn Bialasiewicz" <s_bialasiewicz at hotmail_com>
Subject: RE: [APD] RE: Algae Bloom?? PLEASE READ! Thanks!!
To: aquatic-plants at actwin_com


I recently experienced exactly what was described... cloudy milky water that
got cloudier and cloudier, and after 2 weeks turned solid green. Maybe a
transition from a bacterial bloom to an algal bloom?? Water changes did
nothing. Not dosing ferts did nothing. Lowering food did nothing. Ditto for
the lights.Adding more nitrifying bacteria did nothing. Waited almost 4
weeks and it still did not get better, so I went out and got a UV
steriliser. Within 3 days, the water was crystal clear. I left the UV run
for another week to be sure, with a partial water change. Afterwards I
unplugged and removed it, and the blooms have not come back since. At it's
peak, I took a water sample and checked it out under a microscope... lots of
small round cells which would not gram stain (or counterstain for that
reason either!), so I assumed they were tiny unicellular algea. Also a fair
amount of different protists, and even some worms (one looked disturbingly
like a hookworm), but the vast majority were the little round cells. You
could wait it out, or spend some $$ on a UV filter (or borrow one!). The
other thing I would watch out for is the O2 levels if you have fish in the
tank, 'cos the huge numbers of organisms in the water might suck up a lot of
it.

- Seweryn>>

>
>--- Vic Di Cosola <clutch24 at adelphia_net> wrote:
> > . . .  A very nice guy here mentioned in my earlier post on cloudy
> > water, that this could be early bacteria/normal??  I'm not set to
> > panic JUST yet, but...2 days after a 50% water change, it's more
> > cloudy than before and seems to be getting worse.
>
>I haven't found water changes to be particularly helpful with the
>clouldiness that comes from a cycling tank. It comes right back. I've
>thought that this was because it's more a matter of the good bacteria not
>yet outcompeting the stuff that clouds the water. You pull out a bunch of
>the bacteria with a water change and it just grows back rather quickly. If
>you try to starve the bacteria, you can end up starving your plants. Hoping
>I learned well from Tom, I try to be sure my plants don't go hungry. And if
>I got impatient, I'd throw on a UV. If it started to turn green on me, then
>I might be even more inclined to use a UV, but I've never actually had
>green
>water, knock on wood.
>
>


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