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Re:green water



Chetlen R. Crossnoe wrote, Friday, March 13:

>....3)  Speaking of green water, I heard on this list at one point that someone
>tried putting daphnia in the tank, inside a very fine-mesh net, in order to
>clear the water.  Does this work?

That was me.  I found that it was very important to use a monofilament mesh
made of a polymer that does not release toxic compounds.  I started with
nylon curtain material, commonly available in fabric stores, and it slowly
killed my plants.  It took me a long time to find out that the fabric was
the cause of my plant problems.  I am now using a monofilament fabric,
ethylene tetrafluoroethylene, 250 micron mesh opening, that I got from
Tetko, Inc. 420 Saw Mill river Road, Elmsford, N.Y. 10523, Tel. (914)
592-5010.  Now that I have the proper fabric, the Daphnia cages work quite
well, keeping the water clear in tanks that would otherwise contain pea
soup.


 David Aiken wrote, March 13: (re accessory pigments in plants absorbing
green light)

>I can accept it all except for the "magically" at the end  of line 3. <g>

The accessory pigments absorb light in wavelengths where chlorophyll does
not absorb very well, and then they re-radiate the light at lower
wavelengths where chlorophyll does absorb well.  As much as 90% of the
energy can be captured by the chlorophyll, which is an extremely efficient
rate of energy transfer.


Paul Krombholz, in frostbitten central Mississippi where the temperatures
are back to normal and rain is on the way.