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Re: five o'clock shadow algae



on 01:48 PM 6/20/99 , Aquatic Plants Digest wrote:

 >More info on maintenance...have DIY CO2...use "Leaf Zone" for water
 >changes,(mainly iron &K), Plant-tabs every two months or so,
 >Flourish once a week....

As someone mentioned already, probably too much fertilizer. I'd suggest you 
stop everything but Flourish for a few weeks; if there are signs of 
deficiencies, you might need to add another fertilizer then.

In particular, Do you mean "PlanTabbs" from Aquarium Products? The ones you 
are supposed to drop into the tank, one for every 5 gallons of water? The 
package reads PLANTABBS, then some numbers (15-15-x?) then "AQUARIUM PLANT 
FOOD"? (Apologies for the vagueness, I'm looking at a 1" high picture of 
the package in the TFP catalog)

If so, notice the numbers. That second number (is it 15? I know it isn't 0, 
which it should be) is the amount of phosphorus in the fertilizer. This is 
something your plants probably don't need more of, and algae loves it.

If these tablets are used as directed, I guarantee they'll cause a major 
algae problem within weeks...

I suppose they might help if stuck into the substrate, but there are better 
alternatives.


--
michael moncur   mgm at starlingtech_com   http://www.starlingtech.com/
"The future is much like the present, only longer."       -- Don Quisenberry