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Liquid Vital and algae



Recently I had the oppourtunity to try Liquid Vital on my 100 gal FW
tank...Since I got the sample for free, I figured what the heck, I'll
give it a try. My tank had been plagued by thread algae for approx 3
months.  The long hairlike strands grew in individual strings to about
10 inches long.  I have had this before in my tanks and figured It was
just a temporary instability and as the tank cycles through its algae
stages It would eventually disappear.  I figured I would try and use the
Liquid Vital to see if I could speed up the process. I used the bottle
until it was empty.
(Its a 16 oz bottle)

My tank parameters are
as follows:

100 gal fw tank
Dupla substrate heating coils
metal halide lights 175 x 2
co2 injection controlled by Dupla controller
approx 85% plants of all types
25% water change every 2-3 weeks using tap water
Dupla plant tabs added during water change
Dupla 24 drops ...4 daily to keep iron level up approx .01
Ph 6.8..Nitrate, Nitrite trace..phosphate trace
stocked with assorted rainbows, Kribs, coryies etc..
The tank has been setup for approx one year.

	An expensive tank I admit but I had the money so what the heck..Im sure
other people have great results using low tech methods..( I dont want to
start that
debate again.)
The plants grow quite well, I remove about 1/2 a 5 gal trash can full of
plants per
water change.

	The bottle says to use one quarter teaspoon per 10 gallons for the
first 30
days, until the desired results are obtained..(whatever that is)..may
then be reduced
to 3 times a week..The liquid is light orange/brown in color with no
smell.

	I began adding the Liquid Vital on March 12 and just ran out yesterday.
So a 16oz bottle lasted about 35 days plus or minus 5. During the first
3 weeks I noticed no
improvment in the hair algae. However, It did not seem to be spreading
like it used to.
After the fourth week the algae began to receed.  And as of this date
the tank is completely algae free.  Note that I changed nothing in my
normal routine. No chemicals are added to the water except for Dupla
tabs and 24 and I dont add dechlorinator. As of this date I havent
really noticed and change in plant growth. I always had good growth and
I dont think the Liquid Vital had any effect on that.  

	The question is:  Did the Liquid Vital make the algae disappear?..or
was it just a temporary instability?...I'll admidt I dont have an
answer, I do know that the algae is gone.  Perhaps ths is stuff only
works on some of the easier algaes.  I dont plan
to purchase any as of this date, but if the algae returns, I might.

	I'll admit that this was not a highly controlled experiment, but merely
casual
observations made over the past month....
Comments, questions are welcome.