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Re: fur



> I don't think fur algae is a bad sign that something is messed up. I have
> come to find it pretty ubiquitous. In some tanks where it does not establish
> I will occasionally find tufts growing, even in the filter. In any case, in
> a tank where it was very well established, I eventually determined adding
> additional iron caused a deluge of the stuff. It's not bad, it's just there.
> 
> Sylvia

Sure a nice little mild case but this feller has an infestation.
He said:
> I'm  not sure what to call this algae. It looks very much like short, green
> fur.  When it gets
> heavy it fairly well coats the leaves of my plants, blocking the light and
> eventually killing
> them.  

That ain't good by any standard. A little here and little there is tolerable
by most of us depending on our motivational requirements:) Some/most folks
don't mind some algae here or there. I do though.
It takes a bit more than excess iron to have this happen. FWIW I have played
with iron enough to know it does not cause fur algae in and of itself -
unless something is also messed up or not quite in a decent range (namely
CO2 or lack of a macro). If things are not raised up along with those higher
iron levels it's hard to say that it's the iron's fault(or PO4 etc etc). I
can assure that I have some of the higher iron reading around yet I have no
green fur in my tanks or elsewhere:) or any algae in general. Something else
must be at work here.
You cannot say one element causes anything unless the other balances like
light/CO2/NPK etc are in a good range. You will not know whether it is the
iron or something else or a combination of something else then. Plant won't
use nutrients if they don't have the light and CO2. Light usually is not it
as long as there's enough intensity. So CO2 is then next. Nutrients are
last. It takes all 3, not just one. If the CO2 is dicey then the iron is not
a bad one to limit for algae but your plant growth and removal of nutrient
will slow down which is quite fine by some folks.

Your happy and that's the bottom line for all of us. A small amount here and
there is no biggy for most folks. Most of us accept some algae.

Regards, 
TomBarr

>> "Fur algae is a bad sign something is messed up. Do a big water change. I
> bet you have loads
>> of nutrients and the plants are not using them. Check CO2 first. Then
> check your NO3 levels."