# GSA on the glass



## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

I am getting some GSA on my glass.. I know that it is a phosphate deficiency.. I have upped the amount that I dose and it is still coming back after a scrub. What else do I do? I am dosing 1/2 tsp 3x per week.
TIA Ken


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

Are you positive it's not GDA instead?


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## bigstick120 (May 23, 2005)

Add more PO4


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## Avalon (Aug 14, 2004)

GSA can also be caused by low CO2, not just low P. You're dosing a lot of P, so I don't think that's the problem. Also, a mild form of GDA can also look a bit like GSA, but usually after a few days it's pretty obvious. If the tank is getting overgrown, you should prune since an overgrown tank can block CO2 circulation. If not, increase CO2 levels. Alternately, reducing the photoperiod can help on all fronts.


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

thanks everyone.. I am going to boost my co2 up a little bit and see what happens.. I will post the results here.


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## mavisky (Jun 18, 2008)

I've been trying to stretch my DIY mixture to 1 1/2 weeks and I've had problems badly with GSA, I'm going to go back to my once a week refreshing (until I can get through this wedding and other bills to buy a tank and regulator) and also drop the photo period by an hour.


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## BiscuitSlayer (Apr 1, 2005)

I'll bet your problem is related to phosphates.

I have had a GSA problem when my CO2 levels were pretty high. I upped my phosphate dosing to a consistient level and now I don't have a GSA problem at all.


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

I will up them a bit too.. my photo period is only 8 hrs. I am afraid to take the one light away and make it a noon burst. everything is growing good to me.


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## mavisky (Jun 18, 2008)

Wow, perhaps my photoperiod is too long then at 12 hours :eek5:


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

wow.. 12 hrs.. that is quite a long photo period.. are you having any issues yourself?


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## ColeMan (Mar 9, 2008)

BiscuitSlayer said:


> I'll bet your problem is related to phosphates.
> 
> I have had a GSA problem when my CO2 levels were pretty high. I upped my phosphate dosing to a consistient level and now I don't have a GSA problem at all.





bigstick120 said:


> Add more PO4


My results have been similar: up the PO4 dosing, GSA disappears.


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

thanks again everyone.. I will up it for sure!


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## ColeMan (Mar 9, 2008)

It's like magic, Ken, I'm telling you - mine went away literally overnight after a good scrub of the glass and some more PO4...well, I guess it went away from me manually removing it, but it didn't come back, that's the important thing...Althouth I did see a spot on the glass a few weeks ago with about 10 little spots of GSA, each with a little, green "hydra-head" on the end. It's weird, like a...like a...like a miniature, green featherduster worm or something...some weird mutation of GSA, I'm assuming...but I digress...best of luck.


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## rich815 (May 21, 2008)

I upped my phosphates and it did not help much. Only when I dropped my light period from 9.5 to 8 hours and lifted my lights from just over the water to about 4 inches did it start to slow, at least on plants leaves. I still have it on the glass every few days but overall much less than before I did those things.


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## mavisky (Jun 18, 2008)

I've got some on some of my rocks, and on the glass. Plants are spot free though. Going to drop my photo period an hour at a time, although I also think the lack of good co2 was affecting this last outbreak. Just carpeted the whole front of the tank with DHG and it should help to suck up some of the nutrients that the GSA was using.


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## myjohnson (Jan 2, 2007)

i have the same problem guys...this was a nice read. I'll make a new topic to keep you guys updated on my fight against gsa.

again this was a great read!


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## dooboogoo (Apr 19, 2007)

this is definitely helpful. I'm getting either a GSA or GDA problem in my tank. I think things are still balancing out cuz I just set it up about a week and a half ago.


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## Avalon (Aug 14, 2004)

FYI, I recently limited CO2 to provoke a PO4 deficiency--for the first time in a long time, I got GSA; I also inadvertently noticed a N deficiency symptom too (plant necrosis). Oops. My basis held true. Lots of PO4, lots of N, and a lack of CO2 = stunted plants + GSA. I couldn't take it anymore, so I fixed the problem by increasing CO2 via circulation. 

I also noticed that the growth of certain plants changed dramatically. I'm not sure if this is a result of higher PO4 levels or lowered CO2 levels or both. My initial guess would be the lack of CO2 is the cause. More testing to come.


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