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Re: [APD] Uv and GDA



Well, I know a number of folks that have UV's and they have GDA
also.

All a UV can possibly do, it kill what passes through it.
So if you scrub good and get most of it off surfaces, a lot will
pass through the UV and die.

Any motile spore will.

But..........it does not address that nice place where the UV
does not get to: the tank itself.

Will/can it help with GDA? Yes, will it cure it? I doubt it.
There's no way to get it all from the tank, there's always some
laying around.

But it mayy help to beat it back far enough, to where the alga
does not bother agressively growing and if some floats around
after cleaning, the UV will get it.

Same deal with any mechanical filtration that's in the 5 micron
or less range.

So your observations about in line with what one might expect.

Regards, 
Tom Barr

www.BarrReport.com 

 
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2007 09:45:35 -0500
> From: Thomas Narten <narten at cs_duke.edu>
> Subject: Re: [APD] Fight against GDA!!!
> To: aquatic plants digest <aquatic-plants at actwin_com>
> 
> All you quick-fix artists (as well as those seriously
> frustrated with
> GDA) may welcome this.
> 
> I appear to have gotten my Green Dust Algae under control
> through the
> simple addition of a UV filter. (e.g.,
>
http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/turbo%2ctwist/Class//T1/F62AX+0047+0773/EDP/32618/Itemdy00.aspx)
> 
> Background (from an earlier post):
> 
> > Well, I have had GDA for quite a while now (months), and it
> is tough
> > to get rid of. One of the big problems for me is that the
> plants can't
> > get in front of it, and starve it out. That is, even stem
> plants like
> > ludwigia, will be coated with the stuff in less than a week
> after new
> > growth. Thus, the plants just can't get ahead.
> 
> > In my tanks, I can see the algae on the glass 36 hours after
> scraping,
> > and the tank looks awful after 4 days. Cleaning the glass
> has the
> > problem that one can see some of the algae floating off into
> the
> > water. Some of it inevitably floats away as you scrape.
> 
> > I've tried running a diatom filter (it turns green in 1-2
> days), but
> > that has not been enough to get ahead.
> 
> > It has been sugggested that a UV filter might help (to zap
> the
> > spores). I'd be interested in hearing from others on this.
> 
> Here is what I did (for completeness):
> 
> > Folks,
> 
> > Just a quick update on my tank, as it's been the topic of
> much
> > discussion. Main problem: Green Dust Algae (GDA) growing so
> fast that
> > new growth on plants was covered in less than a week, and
> the plants
> > consequently couldn't outcompete the GDA. This has been a
> steady state
> > situation for many months... More tank details below.
> 
> > Neil, you suggested that Green Dust Algae (GDA) may be
> related to
> > Blue-Green Algae (BGA), so adding erythromycin might help
> knock it
> > out.
> 
> > Well, I looked at my tank closely and saw that I was
> actually starting
> > to get BGA, and was right at the point of having a fairly
> serious
> > problem with it. So I added 3 capsuls of Maracyn. I also
> installed a
> > UV filter on the same night. That was 6 days ago.  Today,
> the BGA is
> > gone (no surprise), but the GDA seems to be really
> struggling as
> > well. I haven't done any of the other things I should (water
> change,
> > scrape glass, etc.  - hopefully tonight!), but after 6 days,
> the algae
> > on the side of the tank is noticable, but not anywhere near
> as thick
> > as what I previously was seeing after only 3-4 days. The GDA
> > definitely seems on the defensive.
> 
> > My only (minor) regret is not being able to say with more
> certainty
> > whether it was the UV or Maracyn that has had the biggest
> impact,
> > since I added both at the same time.
> 
> > But in any case, I'm hopeful that I'm over the hump with
> this nasty
> > stuff.
> 
> > Tank details:
> 
> > 75g, 4 X 55W compact fluorescents, CO2 injected (a little
> more than
> > one bubble per second) bubbled into the intact of a canister
> > filter. I've also got an airstone on the tank. I'll have to
> go measure
> > the pH/KH to give the CO2 concentration in the water, but in
> the past
> > it was pretty good.
> 
> > Substrate: flourish.
> 
> > Water is circulated via a cannister filter (intake on one
> end of tank,
> > output on the other). Plus I also have a power head with a
> sponge
> > filter for mechanical filtration.
> 
> > Moderate Fish load: 1 full grown angel, 6 rainbow fish (full
> grown),
> > 5-6 bolivian rams, 3 full-grown SAEs, 6 dwarf frogs, 2
> gouramis...
> 
> > I'm now ading Tropica Master Grow, on order of 10-15ML every
> 3-4
> > days. This has helped a lot, compared to a few months back,
> when many
> > plants weren't growing at all. I've tested for
> macronutrients
> > (nitrate, phosphate, potassium) and they do not appear to be
> limiting
> > factors.
> 
> (I suspect the Maracyn was not the key factor, here, but since
> I did
> use it, I can't say definitively that it wasn't also a
> factor.)
> 
> The above was about 2 weeks ago. I can say that now, some 3+
> weeks
> since adding the UV filter, the GDA problem is a fraction of
> what it
> was. I still have it in my tank, but it is an order of
> magnitude less
> of a problem than it was before. I view it is a largely under
> control.
> 
> Thomas

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