Re: [APD] Haze -- or - wimpy leaves and messy brown stuff

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

--- David Terrell <Dave at TerrellClan_com> wrote:

> . . . After this 
> most recent iteration of rinsing, as usual, I get a white
> haze in the 
> tank.  This has lasted almost a month now and I can't
> figure out how to 
> get it to go away! 


Probably just a bactrial bloom that will go away of it's
own accord, when the bioload and the surface bacteria and
plants are all roughly in harmony. Right now you probably
have a surplus of "messy brown stuff" and the surface
bacteia and plants can't keep up. The sometimes occur after
the first few weeks and last for days or weeks. If you add
a flocculant, it might clear the water temporarily.


> . . . Now, when I rinse that sponge what I do is shut off
the
> sump pump and 
> let the tank water gather in the sump.  I then take off
> the sponge and 
> gently squeeze it in the sump tank water.  I read
> somewhere, some time 
> ago that you should only rinse in the aquarium water to
> not disturb the 
> colony in there too much.  

I might be reading you incorrectly but it soulnds like
you're rinsing the filter media into the aquarium system.
If so, then do this, take some water from the sump or
aquarium and put it in a bucket and rinse the sponge in
there, then dump that out. You want to remove all that
"messy brown stuff" from the aquarium water system; rinsing
into the sump won't do that, although the water change
right after helps some.

> The other annoyance is that my Amazon Swords are
> displaying a strange 
> deficiency that I cannot recognize because this is the
> first time I've 
> gotten such growth.  I've looked up deficiencies on the
> web but found 
> none that fit this.  The newer leaves are a very pale
> green, wavy and 
> appear almost translucent.  Other plants also display
> this behavior, but 
> not quite to the same extent.  My anubius leaves
> eventually get covered 
> with very dark green spots and seem to melt away from
> those spots.  My 
> Java fern seems to be doing alright, although, seems to
> be growing at a 
> far slower rate than other plants listed. 


Javas will do that.

> . . . I'm not sure
> what my plants 
> are all complaining about?  The only one that seems to
> somewhat enjoy 
> the current chemistry is a rubin sword, though it also
> has more wavy 
> tendencies than before.


If nitrates are measuring only 5 -10 ppm, but you have
ample light and you're adding CO2, trying adding 50% more
ferts- say halfway between your regular dosing. If that
seems to help, you even try a little more. Keeping up water
changes and removing from the aquarium what collects in the
filter.

I don't know what the phosphate limiting level is with
Watson's PMDD but I wouldn't wouldn't try to limit plant
growth by limiting the phosphate -- that always made my
tanks go goofy. 

Good luck, good fun,
sh

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