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Re: Dim the lights--kill the fish:Aerate--kill the algae?



<major snippage>
>I added some more light 
>After about a week I had a serious outbreak of Blue Green Algae,
>Did a water change and cleaned it up
>tried adding nitrate,
>turn off all the lights.  48 hrs later I find two dead fish 
>are "breathing" furiously.  And then it hits me (like a V8)--I've got
>CO2 running in there and no lights for 2 days--these guys can't breathe.

Yep...  lack of oxygen, too much CO2.  I think adding light caused a 
nutrient imbalance when the plants started growing more.  This lead to 
a BGA outbreak.  You then exacerbated the problem by turning off the 
lights and causing the O2/CO2 problems.  Best guess anyway...  :)

>So how do I explain to people that I killed my fish by turning off the
>lights, and killed the algae by turning on a bubbler?  

Its been observed that water movement/oxygenation can have a negative 
(positive?) effect on BGA.  This has not been my experience, but for 
many others it has.  Turning off the lights switched the plants from 
CO2 using/O2 producing to the opposite.  Therefore, you had plants using 
O2, and you were pumping in CO2.    At least that's my best guess.

Now, on to how I managed to get rid of BGA.  I had problems with it a 
while back on a very well established tank, similar to your description.  
Is sheeted everything, stunk to high heaven, and was killing plants.  
What I did:  
	*  pruned out dead/dying plants
	*  removed as much BGA with a python as I could on a daily basis
	*  vacuumed up all the mulm and vacuumed the gravel thoroughly
	*  lowered the pH  (mine was far too high I came to find out)
	*  increased the kH and gH (I was using RO water and not adding 
	   back the minerals.  bad john, bad.)
	*  did small (10%) water changes twice weekly for a month
	*  began the PMDD program and am now taking serious notes as to 
	   what the effects are

I don't know exactly which of these did the job, but the overall effect 
has been dramatic.  No more smell, no more BGA, no more dying plants.  
Cryps are thriving as well as java fern.  I think I just wasn't taking 
good enough care of it.  Now that its stable, its easy to care for.  

Good luck, and whatever you do, let us know how it goes for posterity.