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Thank you Roger Miller



Last month I wrote to the group about a problem I had with an ever
thickening green algae what I referred to as "five o'clock shadow" because
it reminded me of my face after a long camping weekend... anyway Roger
Miller gave me some specific advice ....

Robert Miller wrote:

This looks to me like too much fertilizer.  Pick one of your fertilizers
and stick with it.
I've never used Planttabs, but from reading their content I'd never make
them my fertilizer of choice.  I think that either of the other two might
be used alone, but I think the Flourish is more complete.  Complete may or
may not be good.
You may need to do a 3-step clean up.
1)  Big water changes - nearly a complete water replacement - to remove
excess nutrients.  With fertilizer in the substrate water changes alone
won't be enough.  Some gravel vaccuuming might help but there are no
guarantees.  Also scrape the glass and clean any removable ornaments.
2)  Moderate your methods - pick one fertilizer, stick with it and don't
overuse that fertilizer.  Be careful to not overfeed your fish and while
you're at it make sure that the lights aren't on for more than 12-14
hours/day.
3)  After 1 and 2 and you've given your cleaning crew some time to work,
remove and replace the most seriously affected plants, remove and trim
other plants and replant the least algae-infested parts.
You might see improvements quickly but more likely the whole cleanup
process will take several weeks to run its course.

<snip>

Well, I followed his advice fairly closely. I clipped the most heavily
affected plants, made about three half tank water changes, vacuumed the
substrate, cut down on the fertilizer (just "Flourish" once a week now) and
waited for the "algae patrol" to give my tank a close shave..... and it
worked!....my tank is once again looking marvelously healthy......it's such
a pleasure to have such a wealth of expertise from the group accessible
right from my own living room...thanks again Robert.

I as I gain experience I look forward to sharing and helping others.

Craig David
Long Beach, CA
(now if we could just cool this heat wave just a bit)

p.s. thanks to Robert H and others who gave me advice and also to Jeff
Valine for your support on my California water views....(perhaps we met in
FFA?)