[APD] extra plants - ALGAE ALGAE ALGAE

["S K" <syl2005 at verizon_net>]

I'm a little confused on this post ... namely:

> based on that, plus my own experience, a 29 gallon
> aquarium without CO2 will very soon grow a healthy crop of various
> algae.

and then, it seems, in contradiction:

> Even a 29 gallon aquarium with CO2, but an inadequate or
> fluctuating amount of CO2, will also soon become an algae garden.

>From my (admittedly meager by comparison) experience, co2 is extremely 
helpful in eradicating algae. It gives plants the edge, since they 
(supposedly) utilize the co2 whereas the algae does not, and can grow in the 
poorest of conditions. Sort of helpful in keeping the water healthy, I 
suppose, but unsightly for me.

A couple years ago, the jury was out on Excel ... but consensus was, it 
wasn't a replacement for CO2. If that has changed, that would probably be a 
good way to go ... but, at this point, bare few plants to utilize it. The 
last time I went to the LFS for a tank planting, I think a few plants were 
actually bog, which didn't really help. It's been a while since I've paid 
attention (the tank was pretty sufficient and unchanged in the last 2 years 
or so) ... and didn't recognize some of them. I know the emersed and 
immersed leaves are different, and it was difficult for me to tell. In any 
case, they didn't help. And the stem plants are pretty much dead and buried. 
Ordering online is chancy, and I need to really plant the tank as much as 
possible.

Slvia


> Message: 4
> Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 19:13:09 -0800
> From: Vaughn Hopkins <hoppycalif at yahoo_com>
> Subject: Re: [APD] extra plants - ALGAE ALGAE ALGAE
> To: aquatic plants digest <aquatic-plants at actwin_com>
>
> If I understand Tom Barr's current experimentation, algae and plants do
> not compete for nutrients.  In a well fertilized aquarium there is
> enough for both to do well.  But, if there is inadequate CO2, or a
> fluctuating amount of CO2 present, or if there is ammonia present,
> algae is more likely to start growing from the abundant spores always
> present.  So, based on that, plus my own experience, a 29 gallon
> aquarium without CO2 will very soon grow a healthy crop of various
> algae.  Even a 29 gallon aquarium with CO2, but an inadequate or
> fluctuating amount of CO2, will also soon become an algae garden.  The
> only exception to this seems to be if you use Excel as a replacement
> for the missing CO2.  So, my suggestion is that you take advantage of
> Big Al's special on Excel before trying to fight off algae with masses
> of plants.
> I do have h. difformis, h. zoosterfolia, and stargrass in abundance in
> my aquarium, and will be heavily trimming it probably tomorrow in
> preparation for a couple of weeks of inability to do further trimming.
> If that would be helpful, I could hold off on the trimming until Sunday
>  afternoon and send the cuttings for shipping cost only.  (My cuttings
> would not be algae free though!)
>
> Vaughn H.
>
>
> On Friday, January 20, 2006, at 07:01 PM, S K wrote:
>
>> In any case, my best guess is to stock with stemmed, healthy plants,
>> that
>> will outcompete the algae. I'm trying to keep things simple.
>
>
>

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