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Re: RO water & algae problem
On Tue, 5 Aug 1997 MMacG1167 at aol_com <Matt MacGregor> wrote:
> I said I don't add any fertilizer to the water or have any in the substrate
> (besides laterite). I do have PMDD ingredients that I got from that guy who
> sells them for 30$ over the APD (I think his name is Neil Schneider). But I
> kind of got spooked when people started talking about the supposedly high
> level of Copper in his trace element mix (Microplex) and was not impressed
> with the results during the period of time I did use it. I think I may not
> have been adding the appropriate amount, however (6ml a day to a 55 gal
> tank), because the result was an already bad case of algae simply exploding.
> In any event, all the plants seem to be doing quite well without it, but
> maybe I'll give it another try using just the nitrate and pottasium
> ingredients.
Yes you bought it from me. Due to concerns expressed in discussions on
this list, I tried locating another micronutrient mix, with lower copper
content.
I was unsuccessful. The only way I could purchase micronutrients without
copper,
appropriate for our purposes, was to buy the individual chelates, and
mix them
myself. Since I'm not a chemist and this is not my full time business,
this
seems impractical. I did invest some time trying to find an alternative,
but
ended up going back to Microplex.
I'll add I have experienced no problems with snail deaths due to the
copper
concentration, and other people have expressed similar experiences,
YMMV.
After all the copper concentration in Microplex is only 1.5% and then
it's
diluted quite a bit in the PMDD and then again in the tank. If the iron
concentration is .1 ppm and the copper stays in the same proportion,
copper levels would reach .038 ppm. That's 38 part per billion. If you
are in an area with high copper concentration in the water, you should
probably avoid Microplex. But for others I don't think it's a problem.
We must all remember that the formula presented by Conlin & Sears is
only
a starting point and has to be tailored to individual aquarium
requirements.
If you have .5 ppm iron .2 ppm Phosphates and 0 nitrates, you are
providing
an optimal environemt for algae. It seems to thrive on Phosphates in
both fresh water and marine aquariums. Without sufficient nitrates the
higher plants will be unable to utilize these nutrients. Others on this
list may have more to add. Just my $.04 (inflation adjusted) worth.
BTW please check my sig line for the corrected new address. I posted it
incorrectly the other day.
--
Email: pacneil at home_com
Neil Schneider * The Feynman problem solving Algorithm
Poway, CA USA * 1) Write down the problem
* 2) Think real hard
* 3) Write down the answer
* Murray Gel-mann in the NY Times