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Re: thread algae/headstanders
>From: WORKINGSW at aol_com (Anne Hull Seales)
>>>What is the wisdom and experiences of the readers of this list? I seem to
>remember using some species of barbs many years ago to munch on filamentous
>algae. Are there fish which like to eat this stuff?<<
>
>one of our local fish stores swears that Anostomus anostomus (or was it
Abramites hypselonotus? A
>headstander type, anyway...) will eat thread algae.
Anne, thanks for the tip. If headstanders like to eat Pithophora, it would
be be worth getting one. It will be a trip to see then munching on the
clusters at the top of the powerhead. :-)
Neil
>
>------------------------------
>
>From: huntley at ix_netcom.com (Wright Huntley )
>Date: Sat, 21 Oct 1995 14:10:59 -0700
>Subject: AQUAMYTH #1 More Light for Deep Tanks -- NOT!
>
>This is one of a (proposed) series of posts aimed at exploding (or at
>least questioning) some of the mythology that is frequently repeated
>here.
>
>I'll start in my area of expertise, for I have been involved heavily in
>optical engineering for over 30 years. Your flame opportunities will go
>up dramatically, as I shift to subjects that are not so close to home.
>:-)
>
>If the lamp housing is on, or close to, the top of the tank, the amount
>of light reaching the bottom does not depend on depth.
>
>We aren't talking the Monterey aquarium here, but a tank 1m deep and a
>tank 0.5m deep will have virtually identical illumination at the
>substrate. Check it out with any light meter, keeping the
>lamp-to-water distance constant, changing only depth.
>
>A distributed source, like fluorescents, couples light into the water.
>with inside-the-tank propagation within what is called the critical
>angle. Light hitting the sides of the tank is totally reflected, for it
>is beyond the critical angle. It is absorbed or reflected by objects in
>the tank, but keeps going until it finds such objects, like a huge
>light pipe.
>
>The situation is only slightly different for a pendant MH hanging well
>above the water, in that the the total light in the tank depends
>greatly (by roughly 1/R^2) on the lamp-to-water distance. Once the
>light is inside the water, however, the propagation is still in a light
>pipe, and only absorption and scatter cause light to be lost. The water
>absorption, at normal aquarium depths, can usually be ignored, unless
>you are horribly addicted to overfeeding. <g> There is a little more
>absorption of the valuable red light in thick-wall glass tanks, but
>this is mostly a secondary effect of concern only in FW tanks.
>
>It would be nice if some of the old-timers would quit advising that
>more light is needed for deeper tanks. In general it isn't. I recognize
>that heavy plant growth absorbs a lot of light, and a really thickly
>planted tank may use some more Watts (NOT lumens, by the way), but
>that's the subject of another missive. The point is that it is
>certainly not the depth that calls for more light.
>
>Wright
>
>
>
>
>- --
>
>Wright Huntley o (408) 248-5905 Santa Clara, CA huntley at ix_netcom.com
> __ o __ __ __
> |\ o /| /| __ /|
> ....| \......../\/\.........../ |............./ |../|........./ |.......
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>From: Mike Bateman <vandi at well_com>
>Date: Sat, 21 Oct 1995 18:52:10 -0700
>Subject: New tank problems, cont. :(
>
>Ok, I'm a little discouraged. I'm not getting the results I had hoped
>for. Maybe someone can lend some words of wisdom?
>
>I thought I had an attack of green water. My green water ended up being
>new tank cloudy water. The bright light and green plants gave the water
>a green look to it. Dumping a bunch into a white 5g bucket showed no
>green coloration. The water has been cloudy for about 2 weeks now and
>hasn't shown any indication of clearing. Although I didn't want to
>invest in a diatom filter, I might have to so I can enjoy the tank. My
>other tanks have always cleared up in a week or so if they became cloudy
>at all.
>
>I also haven't noticed any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate buildup. How can
>biological filtration ever establish without a nitrogen source? Should I
>increase the bioload on the tank? I only have 4 Ottos, 4 Mollys and the
>two F. acus.
>
>Anyway, I'm wondering if I have too much light, too few fast growing
>plants or some other inbalance because I have hair algae up the wazoo.
>I have a little bit of spot algae, but it hasn't become a problem. I
>haven't noticed an accumulation of any other type of algae.
>
>I want to get my terminology correct. The stuff I have is green, soft
>and grows kind of long. I had some nice locks of hair growing in the
>bottom of my skimmer cup. I've since cleaned it and it hasn't come
>back yet. The plants however are getting it. There may also be some
>brush algae but since I've never had it I don't quite know how to
>recognise it yet. There is a fine "fur" on some of the leaves. Maybe
>its young hair algae.
>
>I've decided its time to order some SAEs from Albany Aquarium. I called
>them yesterday and they have them for $5@ and $30 shipping. Better than
>what Ned's was wanting for them ($7 and $35 shipping).
>
>Another problem. I've got two farowellas. I don't know if there is
>enough of their kind of algae in the tank and they're abdomens are
>looking a little empty. What could I suppliment these guys with? I'm
>probably going to put one of them in my other tank since it does have
>the standard green algae that grows on the rocks and accumulates on the
>glass after awhile.
>
>The Mollys appear quite happy with whatever they're eating as do the
>Ottos. I don't want to starve the poor things. Like I said, I haven't
>noticed any major accumulation of other types of algae. It seems to be
>predominately of the hair variety.
>
>I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I suspect my lighting is too intense
>and I plan to run out tomorrow and purchase a couple cheap cool whites.
>I'll put them in place of two of the VHO bulbs and see if that slows the
>algae growth. The plants continue to thrive but even the faster growing
>ones are being attacked by this hair algae. It's a bit discouraging. I
>wouldn't mind a high maintenance tank if it were the plants that were
>out of control. :)
>
>I test my iron every couple of days and my new Lamotte iron kit shows
>the iron level around 0.4. A partial water change didn't seem to help.
>The fish haven't shown any signs of stress. Would it be wrong to
>suspend Duplaplant24 for awhile? I'd like to see a visible drop in the
>iron levels.
>
>Mike
>
>------------------------------
>
>End of Aquatic Plants Digest V1 #25
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