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Nitrate addition?
Hey, All:
I have recently added light to my 5.5 gallon tank, increasing the level to
30 watts total (two 15W Philips Agro-lites). This has not only caused an
increase in plant growth, but has, as you can imagine, spured the algae on
quite a bit. The particular trouble algae is a long, branching, pale green
type that seems to grow in single, branching strands all around the leaf
margins, preffering the higher light areas to lower ones. I have three
small *true* SAE's in the tank, and they pass it up.
I have tested the water, and it shows no nitrate (Aqua Pharm test kit). I
am debating adding nitrate to shift the system to phosphate limited, and
wanted your input (I have sodium nitrate in granular form). My fears are as
folows:
-Will the initial high phosphate AND high nitrate state cause a bloom of
algae?
-I use Seachem's Discus Buffer and Neutral Regulator to stabilize the pH
(6.6-6.8). These are phosphate based buffers, so will the pH be in danger
of rapid swings as the plants and algae consume phosphates? I have tried
the combination of Seachem's non phosphate Acid Buffer and Alkaline Buffer,
but have not found these to be as stable as the ones I am using now.
Thanks for any ideas,
Matthew Shaffer
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