Re: persistent algae

[Thomas Barr <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

> It's the "It could be an unknown" that scares me.  But, I haven't
> finished evaluating K yet since the levels are still off the scale of my
> current test kit.  I should have bid on your available Lamotte kit for K
> a few days ago...

Well I did sell it. You can analyze that for yourself:-) But I do have
access to much more accurate test at the moment and have been satisfied with
the trends and levels I've used over the years.

> Yes, there are 2 in a 40 gal.  I don't like SAEs that much; after they
> grow large they are extremely hard to capture and they become a problem
> (in my tanks) by eating all manner of plants, despite a varied diet.

I have similar beef's with them but if hungry they will eat it.
I've watched them try to eat the algae balls also. They certainly do eat M
matogrossnese var green. That I'm 100% certain of. Young ones seem the best.
Put the big ones out to pasture:) Bring them down to the LFS.

  I
> will consider 2 more though, since I am desperate.  To be honest, I
> watch them a lot and I have never ever seen them eat brush algae.  They
> glide over other places - wood, plant leaves, etc and seen to eat green
> algae, but never the red, so far as I can tell.  I'm not into starving
> them to force the issue I guess.

I'd say 5 total or so should be enough.
> 
>>>> How much TMG Flourish etc are you adding and KNO3 and or fish load
> etc?>>>
> 
> I was adding 10ml after water change and 2x 5ml additions during the
> week, but have cut back to 10 ml after change + 1x 4ml during the week.
> I only added 1/8 tsp KNO3 in the last 2 weeks since it seems to be a
> major cause of blooms of all manner of weeds (algae).

Humm, since you are feeding well(?) this might help but I think uptake will
pretty high if the K, PO4, Traces, CO2 are good for NO3.
NO3 is a thorn along with CO2 for algae and if NH4 appears that kicks off
the whole algae game good.
 
> I'm lazy, you are apparently not.

I prefer to call it unmotivated:)

> I can try this, peroxide is cheap
> and relatively non-toxic (I hate working with chlorox and I already
> proved to myself that it kills the moss too).

Well the old turkey baster method then. Good for the lazy in you and also
should work well. Turn off all flow in the tank for 5 minutes or so.
Fill that turkey baster with 5mls or better yet a nice disposable 5 ml
pipette and squirt the H2O2 right on the area infected very, very slowly.
This high concentration of H2O2 will kill the local area before it dilutes.
Some folks have tried this with good success. I have not tried it yet since
I have mainly been working with other algae lately. Seems like a good lazy
method for spot control.
 
> Ahhh, a dirty filter.  I have an Eheim 2213 on there, but it prob.
> needs cleaning, so this is another thing.  I doubt it has a huge effect
> though.

You'd be surprised. All the fish waste, reduced flow, plant matter and other
bio loading does what?
 
>>> Well you likely have enough NO3 from fish?>>
> 
> Yes, that could be since I like to keep 1inch/gal fish.  Any less and
> it looks empty to me.

That's not that bad.

>> It's getting use to all that light that is the issue I believe.>>>
> 
> Yes, it's been a bit of a trial and it's not over yet.

Well faster cars often give bumpier rides till you get the hang of things.
 
> More algae eaters may be in order; I'll just have to figure out to
> remove them later.  The shrimps won't stay alive for me in the current
> tank condition.  I dose CO2 quite high (KH=4-6, it fluctuates over the
> week due to the Onyx and pH = 6.4 until I just turned it down last
> night).  Maybe this is too much CO2 for the poor shrimp, so I cut back.

They have made it through some pretty high CO2 levels for me. That increased
filtration, good O2 production, low absent NH4 I think is the key to most
critters. Low O2 seems to be the worst issue for critters, I've pushed them
up to 50ppm or so. They are all alive still.
 
> Thanks very much for the thoughtful comments.  I will try to be
> patient, but getting a tank stabilized has never been this hard before.
> Roxanne Bittman

Well, you'll get balanced out. Patient and lazy may take awhile but it'll
get you there. Impatient and lazy:)? Bad combo. Try the baster method and
see how you like that. Don't use more than 5 mls or so at a time(wait 12-24
hours etc).
Regards, 
Tom Barr