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Re: [APD] algae and NO3



I don't doubt high NO3 in isolation is not a proximate
cause. But I think that in many folks' tanks, going high
with NO3, can result as if an algae trigger. Like I said, I
don't know the chemistry and I can imagine a variety of
processes that might be at play, including insufficient
phosphate, or increase ammonia perhaps caused by the high
NO3 through one process or another. Maybe in a tank that is
so very clean of algae, high KNO3 doesn't spur algae growth
but in many of our tanks, for the rest of us, there is
enough there that it makes a diff (by whatever combination
of processes).

I'm just not ready to tell folks that no matter how much
NO3 you add, it won't prompt algae problems. Nor am I
saying that you have or have not said that you can add as
much as you want. 

I know it solved a lot of my headaches to simply cut back
to roughly 10-20 ppm. I'm not proffering the results of an
experiment, I'm just offering a heuristic that I believe,
in general, will have good results -- fine tune to your
individual case. For someone like Luis Navarro, fine tuning
might mean going to double or triple the NO3 levels I
maintain and ending up with gorgeous growth. But that's
Luis.

I guess it's sort of like using nitormethane ("Nitro") as
an automobile fuel energy booster. Nitro, as an isolated
element, doesn't make a car go out of control, but for most
drivers, it's a good rule of thumb to avoid "Nitro" because
the car will be more difficult to handle and cause most
folks problems.


sh
--- Thomas Barr <tcbiii at yahoo_com> wrote:

> I do not recall saying that Scott.
>   
>   I speculated that high NO3 might cause algae a very
> long time ago, we  did not know at the time, but you will
> be hard pressed to show that  I've ever said high NO3
> cause algae in any post. Go look.
>   
>   I went to 75ppm a number of years ago, maybe 1998 or so
> when I said it  was not so. I only did one test then.
> Today I have extended so far that  the shrimp start dying
> off before I got any algae. I've also been  adding more
> NO3 and over dosing often for other reasons. So the 
> confidence levels are much higher now. 
>   Same with high PO4 levels etc.
>   
>   So you can kill your fish/shrimp before any algae will
> appear with NO3.
>   
>   Multiple variations, say poor CO2, + high NO3/PO4/Fe,
> K, etc, who knows  what the person is looking at and
> claiming a  correlation/causation..........may cause
> algae.
>   
>   But not if the NO3 is the only isolated variable in a
> planted tank.
>   That also extends to non CO2 tanks.
>   
>   Regards, 
>   Tom Barr
>   
>   www.BarrReport.com
>   
> 
> I remember reading Tom Barr talking about nitrates
> spurring
> algae growth. Your position has changed again, that's
> fine.
> Mine hasn't. Mine is that it's a good guideline to aim
> for
> about 10 ppm and then fine tune from there by watching
> the
> plants, watching the tank.
> 
> sh
> 
> 
> 
> 			
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