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Re: Green dust




> Subject: Green Dust Algae again
> 
> So I have this stuff in my tank. It takes about 36 hours after a water
> change before it is visible on the glass. I have been doing 75% water
> changes 2x/week the past two weeks, wiping it off the glass before I drain
> the tank. It is not helping. I don't have a diatom filter or UV sterilizer.
> Will this stuff go away if I do a 4-day blackout? Or what else can I try?
> I'm wrinkling like a prune from all the water changes.
> Tank specs:
> 72 gallon all-glass bowfront
> 220W AH supply CF light
> cylinder CO2
> KH=4.5, pH=6.8, GH=3
> using 1/2t KNO3, 1/2t K2SO4, pinch of H2PO4, 10ml flourish, 10ml flourish
> iron, 4t baking soda, 2t seachem equilibrium every water change.
> Tank is 8 months old.
> 
> Sorry to repeat this Q.
> 
> - -Rachel

Since it grows fast, the blackout should really hurt it. Scrub and the water
change and then the blackout. I've never been able to keep it long to play
with it. But the blackout method should have a large effect on it.
If you have plants that respond poorly to blackout(eg Glossostigma!), you
might try one day on/one off or the midday nap method. I've never tried
these on this algae but it may mess with it.
I can tell you that nutrients seem to play a lesser role and that the
biological bacterial colony and the plant health together seem to help.
From what others have said and experienced it does seem to hang on for
awhile somewhat like GW. The tanks I managed to get it to start up in never
had enough fish load/critter load/regular feedings. Once a regular routine
and decent load present, it seemed to go away in one tank and another of a
friends.
It will grow fine in a tank with good NO3, PO4, K, traces, CO2 and light.
I recall Michael Rubin had the first case I'd seen. We cleaned his tank out
and sat down and got yaking about something else. 2-3 hours later, there was
a nice film on the tank glass again.
I never see it on plants, just the glass mainly. He has about 2.5x less
light and the same types of bulbs (PC's).
Light plays a role but it does seem to go through a large range of
intensities. 
I had disturbed a tank pretty good and added the little bit of algae I had.
Nothing for about two weeks then finally it came on strong. I did the same
routine and measurements for the CO2, NO3, K, traces and PO4. The only thing
was that in two of the tanks, the bacterial stability seemed much greater
and the tanks with deeper gravel beds faired better(no algae) even though
every tank had the algae added.
     I moved the plants around more in the two tanks that got the algae. I
stopped doing that about the time I got the algae and it hung on(I did not
try to remove it at the first two weeks). Finally, I got sick of the eye
sore, my curiousity satisfied, but then I went and totally killed it off.
I figured it would put up more of a fight.

Regards, 
Tom Barr