# Chronic Algea Problems



## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

Hi, I've posted on here before about this algea problem, but I'll admit I have been lackluster in my handling of it and I really want to get this under control, so here's my problem:
I've got a 105 gallon tank with extremely high light, ~5 WPG. I swapped the lights a few months ago from a 2.6 wpg setup, becuase I couldn't grow anything. 
As for plats, I've only got baby tears, Green Cabomba, and what I think is Water Primrose (http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/myplants/81-Water_Primrose_Ludwigia_palustris.html)
I used to have more, but I had to do a total teardown becuase of the algea. I also recently (about a half a week now) had a complete c02 blackout, which lasted about 6 days. My Cabomba was very weak and had difficulty staying rooted. That's my most immediate, concern, but I do definitely need more plants, which I think is one of my reasons for my algea. 
My PH is between 6.4 and 6.5 and I've got softish water, +/- 120 GH. As for KH, I dont know and I'm buying a drop checker today.
As for dosing, my tank was setup by the people at discusmadness.com (very nice btw) and I use their ferts. For the information they provide, here it is:
for Iron:
Iron Plantex + B (10,000 mg/L)
That has Mg, Cu, B, Zn, Molybdenum, and Manganese.
.54 grams of this will increase iron by .1ppm in 100 gallons, and I dose 1 teaspoon three times a week.
On the same day I do my KNO3 dose, which is...
4.1 grams 3 times a week, 12.4 grams of KNO3 will add 20.09ppm nitrate and 12.67 ppm Potassium to 100 gallons. 
And finally Phosphate: 
Monopotassium Phosphate. 0.76 grams of this will add 1.4ppm phosphate and .58ppm potassium to 100 gallons, and I do 1 teaspoon of that on the days I don't dose my iron. 
Plus I am overdosing excel about 2 to 3x recommended every day. 

I used to have Red Cabomba, but it all died except for one stem which I am nursing right now. I also just bought two pots of glosso, two pots of HC, and some of this: http://www.aquabotanicstore.com/product_p/p114.htm

As for my algea problems, I had no algea for the first 2 months of having the tank, then some GSA, but really not problem. I also had moderate growth and it was all great. However, my foreground plants were all dying becuase they weren't getting enough light, so I upped my light to where it is now and that is why I am getting these problems. I first had some Green Hair Algea, which turned into GBA, which I got rid of by doing a blackout, which was about a month before this co2 blackout. Now I've got a ton of BBA. I really want to get rid of this stuff, so I was wondering where I should start. 

As for lights, I have them on 12 hours a day, but with different watts on at different times.
This is my lighting system:
http://64.26.25.241/Merchant2/merch...e=DM&Product_Code=dmalca3&Category_Code=dmalc
(I hope I can post that link)
and I have it on 12 hours a day, but the metal halides are only on from 12:30 to 3:30 (the lights are on 8 to 8)

I set up the drop checker (I found my old one) so I'll post what it says tommarow. (with a 4dkh solution)

EDIT: I want to increase my flow also, but when I do I'm scared that my filter will overflow. I'm using the CS 1000 by CPR (my tank is an overflow filter, reef ready, that sort of thing). 
I plan to drill some small holes to increase the flow, so I can increase the flow on in and out of the tank, and I'm buying new filters/pads as well to increase flow. Increasing water flow will help my BBA, right?

Thanks a lot, 
and please be gentle, I'm a (big) bit of a noob!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

IMO- stuff the tank with a super-easy nutrient hog like Hygrophila, forget the carpet plants for now till you get the tank back in balance. Crank back up the CO2 where it should be (what kind of CO2 and are you measuring levels in your tank to make sure the dosing is stable) and read up on EI or PPM fert dosing (check the sticky in the water parameters forum); I'm not too good with ferts yet, but that dosing looks a bit wack?

Have you spot-treated the algae with Excel?

You said you want to get more filtration- but didn't say what you're running now other than you're using an intank overflow...?

Have you checked your ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAtes? Is this tank stocked? With what, how many, and how big?


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

Fish wise? I've got something like 40 or so small tetras, a large bushy nose pleco, 8 otos, 50 or so amano shrimp, and like 7 cat corys, and 2 skunk loach.
These are mostly approximations,
for the tetras I have neons (gold, normal, and albino) 
rummy noses
Columbian (my biggest fish, they're like 3 years old and my first fish ever)
and some others that I'm forgeting.
This will eventually be a discus tank, but that going to be in a while.

I bought some new pads and my new filter is coming, and just from the new pad alone I can increase the flow alot. 
MY filter setup is complicated, so honestly I don't want to go into it, partly becuase I am not to comfortable with it myself. I'm now just pruning and replanting my stuff so I can get more plants in there, becuase I think that is my problem.
I'll run the tests tommarow, and my drop checker was green in a 4 dkh solution, so I guess thats good. I'm starting to see some BGA (or GBA, I forget which way it goes, but its the bacteria one) but once I get the new filter I think it will go away. I'll look into that plant you mentioned and see what its like. So first I want to get my hardware under control, i.e. my filter and the water quality. I'm going to do a 60% water change and filter swap this weekend and I hope that will clear up some of these problems. I see alot of particles floating around all the time and I get this crap on my substrate and on my plants, especially my baby tears.
I would get some wysteria, but I'm scared of it over running my tank. We'll see how the condition improves once I put in my new plants.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Water wisteria is the common name of one species of Hygrophila; Hygro is the genus. If you just float it, it's easy to remove later. Stuff is dirt cheap- there was someone in the Swap N Shop who had a ton for sale, you could see if they still do.

BGA is the cyanobacteria. Blue-green algae. 

Sounds to me like you have a good handle on what you need to do. Water flow is key for many algaes, BGA in particular. Adding a filter can only help. Might want to consider some powerheads if you still have some dead spots?

When you change out your filter media be careful not to get rid of too much established biomedia all at once.

Might want to consider dropping your photoperiod down to 8 hrs/day or less. MH are killer lights- maybe lessen those by an hour or two as well?


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

When I say "filter media" I mean my ocean clear filter, I've got biio balls in my bio filter. 

What is a power head? Can you explain that please?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Just an example, not necessarily recommending this powerhead: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4644

Basically an in-tank water pump to increase circulation.

I wasn't referring to any specific media in any filter, just a general warning to not remove too much bio media at any one time


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

I've got no room in my tank for that, it wont fit under my canopy. 

I'll try to increase flow as much as possible, but sometimes I get scared and I don't want all that water getting everywhere, I've had one major spill and it was pretty bad, but it was only a couple gallons of water. When i increase the flow, I get this rushing of water down into the filter. The rushing is all of a sudden and in bursts, which is why it scares me. (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~CR1315.html)
which scares me.
That gets pumped into an Ocean Clear filter, which goes into my tank.
I've got plenty of bio balls in there for my biological filter.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

So bascially, your filtration system now is an overflow that goes to a wet/dry that goes to another filter then back into your tank?

You probably do have dead spots. There are many different types of powerheads, and they are completely submerged inside the tank- theres no room taken up at all inside a canopy by them? They're not ususaly extremely expensive... I'm sure there are some threads in the Equipment forum where you could find some good recommendations if you do a search.

What new filter do you have coming in?


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

When I said "my new filter" I meant the inner thing. 
http://www.amazon.com/Ocean-Clear-C...?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1204479322&sr=8-10
It arrived today, along with 2 pots of HC and some Red Nessa, which apparently is a VERY difficult to grow, so I expect it to die soon. I've bought some wisteria, so once I get alot of plants in there I think my tank will be successful.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

OK- new filter cartridge.

Depending on how much algae you have now and how many plants you add, you may still have some issues.

Just keep in mind powerheads may help at some point? Good way to increase circulation w/out overflowing your wet/dry.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

I bought a powerhead, I got the http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15955
the number 2 becuase I didn't want to much flow, I hope it's good and it eases things. I planted two posts of HC and they seem to be happy. My red nessa will probably die, but thats okay. I think the wisteria will be very benefitial to my tank.

Is there anything else I should do? I will start manually taking off the algea with a scrubber, etc. My BGA is growing and its concerning me. Should I spot treat excel when I do my next water change? How do I do that? Do I Dilute the mixture? Spray bottle? How many sprays?

Thanks


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

I also just bought some SAEs and a few more otos. I'm going to buy some sterba's corys (I've already got somewhere around 7 but I love them, they're my favorite fish)
I hope the SAEs dont disturb the discus which I will be putting in my tank. Hopefully not. I've heard they can get very big, but we'll see. I've also heard that they work wonders with BBA, which is my major problem.
The powerhead plus the new filter should clear up the GBA, and if needed I can increase my nitrates.
I feel like my dosing is wack. I'll read up on making my own ferts and getting a good regime.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Run a search on Excel and algae- good instructions are also in the sticky at the top of the forum.

I think something is very out of balance in the nutrients in your tank; CO2, ferts, maybe both... definitely read up on them and compare to your current setup.

www.rexgrigg.com is a good place to start, as well.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

I've seen many dosing regimes but what is the +/- thing?
That really messes me up, why isn't it just +?

my co2 is at 30ppm so I think thats not my problem.


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

The +/- just means that it is an approximate amount. As long as you add close to the recommended amounts, it will be fine. Also, each tank will have different specific nutrient requirements/usages, so the +/- also indicates that these values can be adjusted if needed.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

Alright, I just bought my ferts. I'll be dosing this:

NITRATES=360 grams in 500 ml of water = 1.16 ppm nitrate/ML
For every TSP(5 ML) we get 5.8 ppm of nitrate for 100 gallons. 

1 tsp every other day for 5.8 ppm (ideal) of nitrate

PHOSPHATES= 55 grams in 500 ml of water = 0.2 ppm phosphate/ML
For every TSP we get 1 ppm of phosphate for 100 gallons.

Dose according to your test kit, but for 1.5 ppm in 100 
gallons we dose 1.5 tsp. Dose every other day

POTASSIUM= 15g (2.5 teaspoons) added to 100 gallons=17.77 ppm

Is that all good? For iron I'm just going to use what I'm doing right now (Iron Plantex + B) on the days when I'm not dosing everything else.

For the 20 gallon I'm just going to use ADA ferts, they're much easier and I don't mind the small extra cost.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

Weird stuff: I tested my water and my phosphates were over 5 ppm. I was like what?! and did a 60% water change. I tested them again and got the same result. Whats going on? I've been adding less phosphates.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Have you tested your tap water for phosphates?


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Terri,

CO2, CO2 and CO2.

I really do not see any issue with nutrients here, which is mostly from lack of consistent dosing for most errors, or simply mistakes in calculation, deletion of something etc.

You have a CPR over flow and reef ready system on a 105 gal tank.

You have more light than you can handle.

And the biggest reason for algae is CO2 issues.

More light = more issues if you cannot get a hold of things.
There's no plant you cannot grow at 2.6 w/gal of light.

Adding 2x that amount is not going to make them grow any better, it will however, make the algae do great.

You need to focus all your energy on doing good water changes, cleaning, and then followed by a good review of everything about the CO2.

You need to prevent off gassing in the over flow, and seal up the wet.dry section tower box below.

Next, add the CO2 via a needle wheel powerhead or a venturi, or a DIY reactor with the outflow placed right next to the return pump for the tank.

You should have at least 400gph for the reactor and 600-800gph for total filter flow through.

Raise the level if you have a built in overflow to about 2" below the water's surface. With a CPR, try and tape and seal up any off gassing areas between the acrylic edges, clear thick tape and or duct tape works okay.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Wö£fëñxXx (Dec 2, 2003)

Double ditto with Tom.

Dickin with tap water tests and phosphate removal 
is useless. you want those in the water, it does not 
even matter how much, throw your cheap test kit 
away and focus on light, C02.

Use less light.

Using ADA ferts are fine if you don't mind spending 
a small fortune to have someone else mix you some 
NPK with H20 and give you a pretty bottle, nothing 
is easier than dry powder period, scoop and toss 
simple as that.

Light and C02.

Read Toms post again, all of it, especially the part 
about having more light than you can handle. 
5wpg thats nuts nothing but grief.
Raise that thing up off the tank a foot or more.


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## newshound (May 9, 2005)

you will not have shrimp for long if you have skunk loaches.
they are feisty little buggers.
and loaches are social animals (well fish) so they should be kept in groups of five or more.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

Right now my regulator is a Milwaukee MA957. It seems to be working fine for me. My drop checker says I've got 30ppm co2, thats with a 4 dkh solution. I've got an inline reactor which is the reactor 1000 http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9918
I was thinking about getting a sumo regulator or something of the sort, but I feel like I would screw something up somehow. I'll look more into another regulator. What else do you think I should change about my co2? I don't see many problems with what I've got, but of course thats how I got into this mess, right? 

I've been very good with water changes, but what do you mean about cleaning? I understand what that means, but specifically what do you think I should be doing more. Removing debris? Algae?

My lighting uses either 200 PC watts or 300 watts HQI (metal halide). Should I stick with the Metal Halide only? Thats 3 WPG, 8 hours a day. Sound good?

So steps I will take are...
Seal up my overflow as much as possible (I can see only one place to do that.









on the circled part) It's not EXACTLY my filter, but you get the idea. 

And only use the MH part of my lighting.


What else should I do? 
BTW thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it. I know I'm a noob, but this is what makes me... not a nooob.... 

I'll post some pics of whats under my tank to show you guys what I've got exactly.


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## Wö£fëñxXx (Dec 2, 2003)

Cleaning: yes you have the Idea.

Lighting: use one or the other MH/PC and raise 
the unit off the tank if it is not already.

C02: if you are correct in the drop checker 
solution/range/color and still having issues then 
look to the light by reducing it yet more.

Dosing: thats the simple part NPK-TE-Fe.

Your welcome.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

I can't raise up the lights at all, they're under a canopy and wont get raised any higher than they already are. I'll redo the Drop checker solution. i know it's 4 dkh and im 100% positive. As long as its at 30 ppm or at least around there, I've got no problems with my co2, right? or wrong?


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

I raised my lights off the water about 7 inches. Hopefully that plus using only the metal halides will help my lighting problem. I've been testing my water and apparently I already have phosphates in my water, between .5 and 1.0 ppm, so I'll be reducing my dosing of that. I'll also working my way up to a full dose of KSO4 soon.


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## Wö£fëñxXx (Dec 2, 2003)

Terri, that is a good start, but I believe you will 
have to raise them further, but that will be for 
you to decide, it really does not matter to me.
It is you're tank. 
I am just giving you experiential advice. 

As far as Phosphates go, I would not reduce 
dosing on that just yet, you are seeing readings 
for at least a couple of reasons:

1: Did you calibrate you're test kit?

2: You're plants are nearly dead therefore
everything you have been dosing is not being
used hence the accumulation. 

Once the plants do start growing they will be 
looking for the P among all the other nutrients.

Keep us informed.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

Okay, I'm buying a new phosphate test kit just to be safe. It's coming in a few days. I've been putting some really healthy plants in the tank. Some good cabomba, baby tears, glosso, water primrose, wisteria, something that looks like red foxtail(not exactly sure if it is), HC, some Rotala Magenta as well. They're all healthy and we'll see if they grow. I've added a whole lot, so we'll see if they start to grow. I've also removed all the dead stems I've got (My Magenta and Baby tears). 
I think my co2 is good, but then again I don't know if it is. As I asked above, if my drop checker says 30ppm (I refreshed the solution to make sure I wasn't getting a false reading) then does that mean my co2 is "good"? I'm looking into getting a sumo regulator as an upgrade from my Milwaukee one, but is it even necessary?
I'm getting very little algae growth now and my SAE's are taking care of whatever there is now. 
Whats the next step? I can try to raise my lights maybe another inch or so., but thats as much as possible. 3 WPG is still too much? It's more like 2.8 or so becuase my tank is not exactly 100 gallons, it's actually 120, minus rocks and such (becuase I've got a lot) is ~115. So my old lighting (260 watts) is actually 2.2 wpg while this lighting (300 watts) is 2.6 wpg. I use 100 just as an easier benchmark. That was probably a mistake, but hey, I'm still learning.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Yep, tape that seal around the tower up as best you can with some duct tape, 2 layers and that should hold for a few years.

With the MH's, try 12-16" high.:thumbsup: 

Drop checker readings are just a suggestion.
They involve color recognition and have a long delay between actual readings and the time it takes for the checker to respond, 2 hours on a good day.
But it's not a bad references to start with and then tweak from there.
It gets you to the ball park at least.

From there, slightly move the CO2 up.
Keep there for awhile and watch fish.
Do not rush this.

Watch plants, and algae carefully.
Your goal is to see algae stop growing new tufts etc.

From there, you can kill it.

Add some Excel, add some algae eaters in mass.
That will help speed things up.
But the root issue for you is still cO2.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

plantbrain said:


> Yep, tape that seal around the tower up as best you can with some duct tape, 2 layers and that should hold for a few years.


Okay I did this. 


plantbrain said:


> With the MH's, try 12-16" high.:thumbsup:


I'll try to get a little higher than I am right now. I can maybe get ~9 inches, but thats it. I simply can't do it. I could try to make a bigger canopy for my tank, but I A. have no idea how to do anything with wood (I'm not a builder person) and B. it would cost a fortune. Are my Metal Halides still to much?



plantbrain said:


> From there, slightly move the CO2 up.
> Keep there for awhile and watch fish.
> Do not rush this.


So i should start increasing my co2? To what level should my co2 be at/how do I know how high I should make it? 

When you say that my my co2 is wrong, can you be a little more specific? I don't mean to be a bother, but it is hard for me to grasp what you're saying when you're vague. Thank you. 
And I asked the people at sumo regulators a question, but they never responded. I may go with Rex Grigg's Regulator. Is a regulator upgrade unnecessary? Would it really improve that much from my Milwaukee one?

Thank you very much


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

Alright, I've cleared up ALL of the bba . No more algae growth!
I've been having okay growth and my HC is spreading a little bit. 
I have been getting a little bit of hair algae, but I've been cleaning that up. I'm very pleased with the strides I've taken to battle my algae. I added new white sand which will tell me if I'm getting algae growth. It's been sparkling white for a while. I've still got a bit of BGA growing at the glass under the substrate, but that doesn't bother me that much. 

Unfortunately, I can't do much more for my lighting aside from getting a different system, which I "could" do but I don't think its necessary unless one of you tell me it is. I trust your opinions but obviously due to monetary issues I am reluctant to change. 

Tom Barr- I've been reading a lot on your website about CO2, but I still don't know what steps to take. I'm preventing degassing as much as possible. I've been slowly increasing my co2. Do I want more CO2 so that the plants aren't limited by the co2 and they can take all the nutrients while the algae gets left in the dust? If I have to little than the co2 gets used up and the algae takes the left over nutrients and thrives? 

I dont know what the next step is, I think I want to get my dosing perfect. I'm very confused about dosing. I don't want to do EI becuase I am more comfortable with knowing where my levels are at, plus I do frequent water changes because of my discus, but I can work around this and I think EI might be the best way. 

I've been trying to figure this whole thing out, but I really don't know. 
I've seen many different numbers for my ideal levels of nitrate. 5 says chuck, 20 says rex grigg. I really don't know. I would like some expert opinion on whats best for me. 

Should I just follow one of the dosing regimes on this forum (in the sticky)?

Thanks very much guys, especially to Tom Barr and Craig, you guys have been great and I really appreciate it. Also you're some of the most experienced people on here, so I know your advice is good.


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## markalot (Apr 8, 2007)

Can you turn off one of your lights instead of raising it?

I believe the reason for wanting you to raise co2 is that your gas pedal (lights) is still on the floor and you need more fuel. Slowing it down by reducing the light will really help the most, in my non expert opinion.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

I'm lowering the photo period as well, but one light is left and the other right side of the tank, so I can't shut one off. :\

What I guess I could do is...
for like the first 2 hours of my photo period have 1.6 WPG with my PC
for the next 5 I can have 2.6 wpg with my MH
and for the last 2 I can have 1.6 WPG with my PC

but that doesn't make sense to me. I don't think thats enough light, honestly.
I'm getting a little bit more hair algae, so I may do a Hydrogen Peroxide treatment on it. 

I think I may switch to EI dosing. How does this regime sound?
For a 120ish gallon tank.

1 TSP KNO3 on Monday Wednesday Friday

MY liquid fert phosphate (very easy to do honeslty) 1 tsp gives me 1 ppm phosphate on Monday Wednesday Friday

1 1/2 TSP K2SO4 on Monday Wednesday Friday

and for my traces I will still use my liquid ferts, since I know exactly how much is good. And I'll use them on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.

Sound good?

That should give me approximately

8.6 ppm nitrate

1 ppm phosphate

15 ppm potassium

and then my traces. 

seem okay?

And I have a question about EI dosing. If you don't want your ferts to be the limiting factor of plant growth(which is why you do your water changes), and you don't want the lighting to be the limiting factor, is it co2? I'm going to re-read your article about it, Tom Barr.
And as for water changes, one 60% WC a week is good enough for my discus and its less work for me, so I'm fine with that.

I've also started adding a little bit of excel (10 ml), the normal dose without the starting large dose which honestly I feel uncomfortable doing because I don't want my discus to die or anything.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

I've been seeing quite a bit of pearling on my plants, all of them except my Magenta and my baby tears. I've seen a few bubbles on my hc even! I'm trying EI dosing. Hopefully that kicks this up a notch!.


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## Wö£fëñxXx (Dec 2, 2003)

You're light schedule sounds good, try it that 
way for 2~3 weeks while being consistent with 
nutrients especially the C02.

Plants do not need as much light as you think.

Using a lot of light is fine, don't use it for to long.

_Be mindful of the plants condition_.

N and P seem a bit lean to me.

With discus fish load and feeding will 
compensate those _some_.



> 1 1/2 TSP K2SO4 on Monday Wednesday Friday


That is excess, 1 to 1-1/2 tsp K+ _for the entire week_ 
will be plenty.

Excel is good stuff, using it wisely in a large tank is smart.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

I'll up it to a 1 1/4 TSP KNO3 and lower it to 1/3 TSP K2SO4 each dose? That seem good? Or should I do a big dose the first day of the week?
My tap has phosphates in it already, so what I'm dosing right now is good I think. My test kit still hasn't arrived. We'll see what happens soon. 

Btw what do you guys do when you go away for a few days? I'm going away for a two days and then 3 or 4 days later on. I rarely go away so I never have this problem. I'm not sure if I can get someone to dose for me. Dosing in excess wouldn't be good, right? Should I do a blackout for the 3 or 4 day trip? That would kill off the rest of my BGA. Maybe I can find someone to dose for me, but its not likely. This is coming at the worst possible time, but I have to leave and deal with this.

Well its actually not that bad, I went one day without ferts and there was some GSA/GDA but nothing terrible. I just dosed. Tommarow morning I'll dose again and then I wont be able to dose wednesday or thursday or friday morning. I think I will reduce my photo period for this trip.

EDIT: I got someone to dose for me! I'll be dosing 1/2 tsp KNO3 an d 1/2 TSP K2SO4 and my traces+iron every other day and a little bit of excel. I wont be dosing phosphate

I'm doing reduced dosing just for these few days. I'll be back friday and everything will be back to normal. My baby tears is spreading and I think my glosso might be. I've been getting A TON of pearling and my cabomba looks great.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

Alright I'm back, I only took a quick look and I saw alot of growth, especially on my baby tears. I'll get everything back to normal tommorrow.

Alright, I had to do a massive trimming and replanting today. Everything looks good. My white sand is all algae ridden now, but my cabomba looks really amazing. The heads are a little smaller than tennis balls, it's really a cool thing to see. 

The glosso is definitely spreading, which is a very cool thing to see. HC.. not so much. I'm going to try to use what I've got right now. 
My tank is more of a dutch scape than a nature aquarium, but I'm okay with that.


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## Wö£fëñxXx (Dec 2, 2003)

Excellent news Terri, thanks for the update


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

Okay I got my phosphate test. It's a very accurate digital tester. I've got .7 ppm phosphates in my tap already so I'll be adding half my phosphate dose which should put me at 1.4. In my tank right now there is 1.4. I'm looking now for a good nitrate test, do you have any suggestions?

For anyone who is interested in the phosphate digital test, it's the Milwaukee low range phosphate test. It's pretty expensive but you know EXACTLY where your levels are which I think is good, especially with phosphates which have been my problem nutrient for a while.


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## MarkMc (Apr 27, 2007)

territhemayor said:


> Okay I got my phosphate test. It's a very accurate digital tester. I've got .7 ppm phosphates in my tap already so I'll be adding half my phosphate dose which should put me at 1.4. In my tank right now there is 1.4. I'm looking now for a good nitrate test, do you have any suggestions?
> 
> For anyone who is interested in the phosphate digital test, it's the Milwaukee low range phosphate test. It's pretty expensive but you know EXACTLY where your levels are which I think is good, especially with phosphates which have been my problem nutrient for a while.


Terri,
Unless you really enjoy checking and knowing what your levels are there is no need for it especially if you are going with EI. Phosphate is no longer considered a problem nutrient (unless you have a reef tank). In fact I'd venture to say that a lack of phosphate could contribute to an algae outbreak. But again, if you enjoy the testing part of it, lamotte and siefert make good cheap test kits.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

Everything seems to be going really well, my sand got green but now is reducing green-ness. My baby tears have spread a lot and my cabomba still looks fabulous. Even my red cabomba is doing very well. my phosphates are high today, 2.0, so I wont dose them tommarow morning and I'll see what the levels are by tommarow. Everything is looking really good except my Red Watermilfoil (http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/myplants/99-Red_Watermilfoil_Myriophyllum_tuberculatum.html)
it's looking sickly and has some BGA (or GBA, i cant remember which way it goes but its blue green algae) 
Should I dose more iron? It's not as red as it is in that picture and I think my dose is a little lean for me. It's to .1 ppm in 100 gallons, so I may be running low on it, plus from what I read it's not to bad to overdose Iron a little bit. 
My HC pearls once in a while but hasn't taken hold, but I'm fine with that. I'm just glad that my glosso actually did something, thats really cool. 

I still want a good nitrate test kit, I've heard bad things about the lamotte one. I'll keep looking.


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## territhemayor (Aug 12, 2007)

Alright, *almost* everything is doing great! My glosso is spreading like crazy and my baby tears and cabomba are doing really good. Things not doing good:
My Red Watermilfoil looks VERY bad. I'm thinking of replacing it with either Macranda or some other Ludwigia, but there are two spaces where I need plants to fill.
This is an old picture from before this new progress.









But the watrermilfoil just looks awful. Here's a few pictures from my tank now.

















It's BGA, but I don't have low nitrates. I'll do a filter cartridge change to improve water quality and clean all my pads, etc, next time I do a water change. 
Here is my glosso








and my HC which isn't growing and was uprooted. What do I replace it with? More HC? Im going to look at more foreground plants. 









I'm very pleased with the end outcome, I'm getting high growth and little algae, but I do want to have it start looking real nice now.


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## Wö£fëñxXx (Dec 2, 2003)

Hey Terri, Glad things are much better, it is cool
taking some things we learn, putting them to practice,
then seeing the results eh?

The BGA can be caused by one of several issues:

Dirty filter and or to much light in conjunction with: 
Poor flow/low current
low N03, dose may need to be increased a smidge.

Several ways to rid the tank of that smelly goo:
Stir the affected area during water change with 
increased KN03 dosing.

Increased flow if flow is a factor.

A heavy water change with a heavy dose KN03 then
black out for 3 days,

or give the tank anti-biotic's.
But-if you do not deal with the root cause it may very
well return.

The red mil foil is very sensitive to low C02, you are
obviously getting it dialed in better but a bit more 
tweaking is still needed or add more Excel*.

The Red mil foil and HC are evident.



*Can be very expensive in a large tank.


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