Re: [APD] Re: Dust algae with skunky smell

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

--- Pete <peteal at sympatico_ca> wrote:

>> 
> Yeah, I was thinking it might be BGA.  When really thick
> and scraped off 
> with a razor it had a sliminess and clumped together.
> Doesn't grow everywhere like other BGA explosions I've
> seen posted though.

The filmy slimy stuff -- most likely BGA.

> Yep I do add potassium and some magnesium, both from the
> same hydroponic 
> fertilizer source (all seperate doses)
> 
> 
> Can never find those kits, the Hagen/Nutrafin kits seem
> to have replaced 
> everything.  

LaMotte kits are best bought on-line directly from LaMotte.
Then you know that the chems are fresh. They have a dry tab
test kit for NO3 that's very easy to use and is accruate in
a range that interests aquatic gardeners.  It's a little
pricey, but you can turst your results.

http://www.lamotte.com/pages/aqua/testkits.html

Nitrate-nitrogen test kit 3354 (tab) or 3319 (liquid &
powder) -- note that you multiply the nirtate-nitrogen
results by 4.4 to convert to a nitrate reading, so the
ranges on these kits are very useful. They measure down
below 1 ppm and up past 10 -- so you can key in on a target
level inyour tank inthe 5-10 ppm range using this kit.


> Not bad themselves (well made at least and
> consistant) but it's 
> only in 5-10-20-50 steps with the 5-10 being the only
> easy comparison. 

The margin of error is probably about 5 ppm which swamps
the range you want to be measuring. I wouldn't rely too
much on the nitrate reading when testing such relatively
low amounts amounts in the water (i.e., 5-10 ppm).

> Don't have a potasium kit, that's hard to find. Just did
> a test and nitrates 
> are between 5-10  (It's hard to keep those steady as the
> plants just suck it 
> up :P ).  Phosp is around 2 (another Nutrafin/Hagen hard
> to read due to 
> close colours test kit), I gave it a double initial dose
> after the last 
> water change to try something different.  Might have
> helped as this week 
> it's not so bad.
> 

> Yeah, been scraping and cleaning as much as possible
> before every water 
> change. A little hard for all the glass behind the plants
> (ticks my fish off 
> too).  I've been combining this with putting the UV on
> after
> a change/cleaning also but I don't want to run it too
> long as I find it 
> seems to suck the iron (I think) out of the water. 

If you leave it running, I'll bet you notice no diff in
your plants as far as iron is concerned. And at worst, if
it did slightly depress their iron levels, then just up the
traces a litle bit. But I'll bet you wouldn't have to. The
iron doesn't leave the tank unless you remove plant
cuttings. This doesn't mean you should/must leave the UV on
24/7 -- I'm just betting it won't cause iron probs in your
plants. Iron kits, when measuring the trace levels in our
aquariua, are not much use at all. More learned gardeners
than I (as well as some chemists) seem to agree on this
point.

> If I
> run it for more than 
> 4 days my fast growing stem plant (a cabomba like plant)
> goes mutant and new 
> leaves are twisted.  

I don't think that's iron deficieny. Could be potassium.

> Still one of the most useful things
> I've brought for 
> the aquarium ;-)


And you can't beat the decibel level ;-)
> 
> Thanks for the thoughts, looks like I'll keep the
> phosphates boosted and 
> keep up the cleaning/waterchanges and see what happens.
> Pete.

Maybe try boosting the potassium or try dosing the
potassium all once, once a week -- if things seem to
improve then poop out towards the end of the week, then
that's a sign maybe more K is needed.

Excess potassium isn't much of a problem unless it's way up
there, so boosting it isn't much of a risk.

Good luck, good fun,
Scott H.

=====
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